Titans kick off the preseason on the road at 49ers, a first chance to set the early bar

The Tennessee Titans will open their preseason on the road against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium, a matchup that functions as an early benchmark for a team trying to establish its top priorities for the coming season. As the NFL moves into exhibition play, coaches typically use the first game to evaluate foundational details, from timing with the quarterback to how reliably units communicate in real game speed rather than practice pace.

For the Titans, the early test is as much about process as it is about results. Preseason openers often feature deeper looks at position groups, more extensive play-calling variety, and rotation decisions that can reveal whether the team’s practice performance translates to execution under pressure. Against a 49ers team that plays with a heavy emphasis on discipline and structure, Tennessee’s first-week focus is likely to include fundamentals that show up clearly in live reps, such as protection assignments on offense and coverage responsibilities on defense.

The 49ers- Titans pairing also matters because preseason games are one of the few remaining opportunities for staffs to evaluate the depth chart beyond the most familiar starters. In many cases, a team’s preseason “bar” is set by how its second and third units operate when the opponent presents a different look than what they have practiced all week. That is where small adjustments can have outsized impact, particularly for fringe roster players who need consistent tape to earn more opportunities.

Exhibition contests also tend to clarify how a team intends to use its game plan time. The first preseason game often sets the tone for what the next couple of weeks will emphasize, including whether Tennessee’s staff leans on specific tactical wrinkles, how long it keeps certain combinations on the field, and how it manages reps for players with limited work. While preseason results do not determine the regular-season standings, the usage patterns often hint at what the team values heading into the roster decisions that follow.

Because the matchup is listed as the preseason opener, it arrives at a moment when everyone’s workload is being calibrated. The league’s teams typically face the same balancing act, pushing for sharp play without turning the exhibition into an all-out physical toll. That balance can influence how aggressively players are asked to practice certain tasks, and it helps explain why coaches treat preseason as a sequence of evaluation windows rather than a single performance.

What to watch next is how each side handles its early rotations and whether Tennessee can sustain execution when the game shifts from planned scripts to on-the-fly problem-solving. For the Titans, the most meaningful takeaway will likely be clarity: which combinations look ready to handle responsibilities, which mistakes appear fixable, and which roles are taking shape as the preseason progresses.