The Tennessee Titans will learn as the week progresses if quarterback Ryan Tannehill will be able to extend his starting streak to 55 games. But even if the hobbled QB can play against the Houston Texans on Sunday, Tannehill’s backup, Malik Willis, still might be in the Titans’ game plan.

Tannehill sustained an ankle injury in Tennessee’s 19-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Willis entered the game for the second snap of the fourth quarter as Tannehill limped to the sideline medical tent.

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Willis handed off to running back Dontrell Hilliard on the next snap, then the Tennessee field-goal unit came in for a three-pointer that gave the Titans a 16-7 lead with 13:47 left to play.

That was Willis’ only action at quarterback on Sunday as Tannehill returned for the next Titans’ possession and finished the game under center.

But it wasn’t Willis’ only appearance on Sunday. The quarterback also lined up at wide receiver twice. On one of those snaps, Tennessee tried to spring Willis on an end-around, but Tannehill lost the football, and the Colts recovered at the Indianapolis 45-yard line with 11:06 left in the fourth quarter.

Until Sunday, Willis hadn’t played since the Titans’ season-opener, when he completed 1-of-4 passes for 6 yards and ran four times for 16 yards mopping up in the Titans’ 41-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 19.

“Wanting to make sure we’re doing things that we think can help us and Malik’s abilities, so we’ll kind of see where that package goes,” Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said. “I thought we had a good play, thought we really liked where things were and what it would look like, and, unfortunately, we just weren’t able to execute on that particular play. But we’ll try to keep doing what we feel like could help us and his skill set and see where things go.”

As Tannehill sat out the preseason, Willis started Tennessee’s three exhibition games. In addition to completing 28-of-51 passes for 318 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, Willis led the AFC with 159 yards and one touchdown on 14 rushing attempts. He had the conference’s longest preseason run at 50 yards.

Vrabel said Willis had built on his preseason experience even though he had little game action over the past seven weeks.

“I think he’s continued to improve,” Vrabel said. “He’s taken the ownership of the show team, and that’s where every backup quarterback gets their reps, but still understanding the game plan and still being ready to go, so I kind of like where that’s been the last couple of weeks.

“I thought maybe the first week of the season it was something that was new for him, and we had a conversation about how he needs to operate and get those guys to function where it’s preparing for the next week’s game, so I think it’s been good.”

Even with Tannehill’s injury, it might be more likely that Willis will appear on the field as a gadget player before he does as a quarterback.

Tannehill already has shown how determined he is to stay on the field.

“It would be hard to keep some of those guys from trying to go back in and doing everything they possibly can to help the football team,” Vrabel said. “Ryan is just one example of that, of many. But he certainly had all intentions of doing everything he could to get back there.”

On Monday, Vrabel said Tannehill was “progressing.”

“A lot of guys in there the day after a game getting treatment, so we’ll continue to evaluate all those guys and see where we are on Wednesday,” Vrabel said.

As Jarrett Stidham’s backup at Auburn, Willis completed 11-of-14 passes for 69 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for 309 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in two seasons with the Tigers. After transferring to Liberty, Willis completed 377-of-604 passes for 5,107 yards with 47 touchdowns and 18 interceptions and ran for 1,822 yards and 27 touchdowns on 338 carries in two seasons with the Flames.

The Titans took Willis with a third-round choice in the NFL Draft on April 29.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.