As a rookie, Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis watched from afar as the Houston Texans went from a team that finished the 2022 season with the league’s second-worst overall record to a club that claimed the division title and then earned a playoff victory this past January.

Levis believes Tennessee can follow in Houston’s footsteps after the Titans ended this past campaign in the basement of the AFC South standings.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s our goal,” Levis recently told Armando Salguero of Outkick. “It’s crazy to think how our division has gone from a second thought in the league to now one of the most competitive, exciting, young divisions. We know what it’s going to take because of that now.”

At this point last offseason, the Texans had a first-year head coach in DeMeco Ryans and a rookie quarterback in C.J. Stroud who hadn’t yet been named the team’s starter. Stroud and Houston defensive end Will Anderson Jr. ultimately earned Rookie of the Year honors, and the Texans went 10-7 before they notched a dominant 45-14 wild-card playoff win over the Cleveland Browns.

“The NFL is the NFL because anyone can win on any day, and we understand that,” Levis said about comparing the 2024 Titans to the 2023 Texans. “As much as people like to believe we’re not going to be worth anything this year, we’re going out there, not necessarily to prove them wrong, but to prove ourselves right and show people what we’re about.”

Levis made nine regular-season starts as a rookie and, per Pro Football Reference, finished the campaign ranked 31st among qualified players with a 33.2 adjusted QBR and 30th with a 37.1 percent passing success rate. Over his nine games, he went 3-6 and tallied eight touchdown passes with four interceptions.

Levis worked this offseason to improve his mechanics under new head coach Brian Callahan and first-year offensive coordinator Nick Holz. The 25-year-old sounds confident he’s at a point where he can help the Titans prove doubters wrong this fall.

“We’re trying to make a playoff run,” Levis directly said. “We’ve been looking the last couple of years to make something shake, and we feel like we have a team now to make it happen.”

As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Titans at +425 betting odds to make the playoffs this coming season. Some may scoff upon seeing Levis’ comments, but it’s worth noting many assumed last summer the 2023 Texans wouldn’t be anything to talk about around Christmas.