Titans scratch out 31-12 win over Dolphins in Brian Callahan's first win as head coach

Miami Gardens, Fla. – Just win, baby.

It may not have been pretty, but the first win of the season sure felt like a beauty for the Tennessee Titans – a 31-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

It was also the first win of the Brian Callahan era.

Titans controlling owner Amy Adams presented Callahan with a game ball in the celebratory locker room after the Strunk contest.

“I don't know if I can put it into words for you,” Callahan said of the feeling. “It feels great, most importantly because our guys deserve it. These guys work hard, and they practice hard and they do everything right. They deserve to win.

“It's nice to see some smiles and some energy. I thought we played a really good game tonight.”

The Titans are now 1-3 heading into the bye weekend.

Titans quarterback Will Lewis started the contest, but he didn't finish it.

Back-up quarterback Mason Rudolph replaced Levis after suffering a shoulder injury while diving head first on a third down run in the first quarter.

Rudolph guided the Titans the rest of the way, and the team did enough on offense to win it.

“It always feels great to win,” said Rudolph, who completed 9 of 17 passes for 85 yards in the contest. “It's great for Cali to get his first, big win. It's always good to celebrate in the locker room, and for a coach to get his first win, it's big time. … I thought we ran the ball really well — I didn't do a lot.”

Callahan said Levis will be tested after the game. He said if Lewis is healthy, he will be the team's quarterback.

Kicker Nick Folk provided all the offense with three field goals in the first half. Folk added his fourth and fifth field goals of the night in the second half to give him five field goals for the night, matching a career high.

Tennessee's defense was suffocating, getting one stop after another. The Dolphins managed just 13 first downs and 184 yards of offense in the contest as the Titans pounced on the football.

Offensively, the Titans ran the ball for 142 yards, with Tony Pollard leading the way with 88 yards and a touchdown.

Pollard's late touchdown gave the Titans 30 points in a game for the first time in a long time.

“Coach said it's been like 1,000 days,” Pollard said with a laugh. “It's great, especially going into a bye week. It's huge for us to take that momentum and carry it into next week.”

The two teams played a scoreless first quarter, with each team committing one turnover.

It was perhaps a sign of things to come on a pretty sloppy night of football.

In the end, the Titans proved more resilient and better.

Dolphins linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah intercepted Levis on Tennessee's opening drive.

On Miami's possession, however, edge rusher Arden Key jumped on a lateral, giving the Titans the ball back.

The Titans took a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter on Folk's 53-yard field goal, a drive that was capped by Rudolph.

The Titans came up with a big defensive stop on Miami's next possession, and cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., linebacker Kenneth Murray and safety Quandre Diggs all contributed to Tyreek Hill's stop on fourth-and-one.

The stop led to another long field goal by Folk, this one from 52 yards, and the Titans led 6-0 at the 8:20 mark of the second quarter.

The Dolphins cut the lead to 6-3 on a 44-yard field goal by kicker Jason Sanders with 4:13 left in the second quarter.

The Titans extended their lead before halftime with a great performance in the final seconds of the half. After receiving the ball at their own 44-yard line with 16 seconds and no time out, Rudolph completed a 26-yard pass to receiver Tyler Boyd and Rudolph and the offense raced down the field in time with one second left.

When Falk came in to kick his third field goal of the night from 47 yards, the Titans led 9-3 at the half.

Sanders' 56-yard field goal with 9:02 left in the third quarter cut the lead to 9-6.

The Titans finally rallied for a touchdown midway through the third quarter.

After Pollard's 41-yard run, Wildcat running back Tyza Spears took a direct snap and then scooted for a seven-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 16-6 lead with six minutes left. third quarter

Folk added another long field goal from 51 yards to give the Titans a 19-6 lead with 36 seconds left in the third quarter.

Falk then hit his fifth field goal of the night, from 29 yards out, to make it 22-6 with 10:45 left.

A one-yard touchdown run by Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley made it 22–12 with 3:36 remaining, before the Titans scored on a safety in the final minute to make it 24–12.

Pollard's late touchdown run with 24 seconds left made it 31-12.

The Titans celebrated in the locker room after the game.

“Lit,” linebacker Ernest Jones described the scene. “We were excited. It's hard to win in the National Football League, so to get a win is pretty exciting.”

The Titans have a bye this weekend. The team will return to action on Oct. 13 against the Indianapolis Colts at Nissan Stadium.