ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Mason Rudolph had about 24 hours notice before taking over the role as Tennessee Titans starting quarterback.

Rudolph started in place of injured passer Will Levis in the Titans' 34-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, completing 25 of his 40 pass attempts for 215 yards with a touchdown, a lost fumble and an interception. Rudolph told media after the game he only took "a few reps here and there each day" with the first-team offense throughout the practice week and didn't get the news he'd be starting until Saturday as Levis continued to test the AC sprain in his injured right shoulder.

Levis initially injured his shoulder in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins. The Titans didn't have a game the next week, giving the young passer 10 days of rest before starting the Week 6 game against the Indianapolis Colts. As Titans coach Brian Callahan explained, that extra rest might've proved a little deceptive when it came to Levis' arm strength and ability.

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"He ended up feeling it toward the end of the (Colts) game on a couple of those throws," Callahan said. "It's hard to simulate what that feels like, the pressure you're facing having to make that throw. He came out of the game and it bothered him. And then you take the whole load of a week and a game and you try to come right back on Wednesday and you play again, and he felt it. It was sore. It hurt. His mechanics were not where they needed to be and his arm strength felt weakened. It didn't feel great.

"So we limited him on Wednesday trying to get back and see if he could go Thursday. He went full Thursday with pads on and we had him try every possible throw we could throw. Every downfield throw. All over the place in practice. And he came out of that practice and didn't feel great."

Callahan says it was ultimately his decision to sit Levis. So Sunday's workload fell on Rudolph, who led the Titans on two scoring drives in their first three possessions but struggles to sustain any of that success. From multiple pre-snap penalties and botched quarterback-center exchanges to missed throws, ineffective runs and dropped passes, the offense found just about every way to struggle.

Eight of the Titans' last nine drives spanned five plays or fewer, including four that didn't earn a first down.

"It's not fun," Rudolph said. "All you can do is get back to Tennessee and keep working. Figure out a good plan for Detroit. We've got good guys in the locker room. There's no quit. Just take it back day-by-day and keep each other accountable."

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Callahan said Levis' status is week-to-week. The problem with AC joint injuries, he says, is the only way for them to heal is with proper rest. Rudolph said he doesn't know if he'll get a greater share of the reps heading into Week 8 and all he can do is "attack the reps (he's) given."

But as the Titans prepare for a road test against the Detroit Lions in seven days, Levis' status is no more certain.

"He tried to fight through it and I appreciate that, the fight for his teammates to come play," Callahan said. "But at the end of the day those things just need some rest. Right now, that was the right decision for him."

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Tennessee Titans started Mason Rudolph over Will Levis vs Bills