The Tennessee Titans opened the 2026 season with a thud, and the league’s first wave of power rankings didn’t do them any favors. After a 23-10 home loss to the New York Jets, Tennessee landed near the bottom of every roundup, a reflection of just how flat Sunday looked from start to finish.
The offense never found its footing. For most of the afternoon, the Titans were stuck on three points before Cam Ward connected with Elic Ayomanor for a late touchdown in the fourth quarter. By then, the game was already out of hand, and the damage to Tennessee’s first impression had been done.
Nick Shook didn’t mince words about what he saw. “It was painful to watch Cam Ward attempt to operate the Titans’ offense, which was lifeless for most of their season-opening loss to the Jets.
Tennessee never established a rhythm when possessing the ball, lost the time-of-possession battle by more than 17 minutes and didn’t find many gains until the game was out of reach. The defense struggled to hold up against the rush, too, losing the trench battle in a lopsided affair.”
Conor Orr pointed the spotlight squarely at Ward and the pressure that comes with a shaky start. “As we noted in the quarterback carousel post to start the season, the clock begins on Cam Ward early.
This is unfortunate-and to be fair, I also mentioned Jaxson Dart as well-but the reality is that each week Ward doesn’t look the part, the Titans inch closer to the end of a lost season in which the team might be in line for a top pick at the same position. Ward is so much fun when he’s confident and in the right offense.
I just don’t know if there’s a roster to support that player right now.”
Ralph Vacchiano’s take was just as blunt. “Brian Daboll’s offense managed just 195 yards against the Jets - and 65 of those came on the final garbage-time drive of the game. Robert Saleh’s Tennessee debut was a total disaster.”
That’s the common thread across the rankings: Tennessee showed almost nothing against a Jets team plenty of people viewed as a rebuilding group heading into the year. With Saleh and a new coaching staff in place, plus added talent through free agency and the draft, the expectation was that the Titans would look like a different team in 2026. Instead, Week 1 looked an awful lot like last year’s three-win version.
The schedule doesn’t ease up now. Philadelphia comes to town in Week 2, and Tennessee badly needs a response. An 0-2 start would put the Titans in a dangerous spot early, and calling this one a must-win doesn’t feel like a stretch.
In Other News...
Dolphins Young Defenders Earned Respect Even After That Raiders Loss
Even in a loss that left plenty for Miami to clean up, a couple of young defenders still managed to draw notice for the right reasons. Micd-up audio from the Raiders game caught Kirk Cousins praising rookie Jacob Rodriguez and safety Michael Taaffe, with Rodriguez earning particular respect for handling the green dot in his first NFL start and Malik Willis also drawing a nod for his continued progress.
For the Dolphins, those kinds of moments matter because they speak to more than a single play or a final score. Jeff Hafley has already been talking about the teams overall performance, and with San Francisco next on the schedule, Miami has a chance to see whether those younger players can carry that early respect into a tougher spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
How Much Of Florida Gets The Dolphins Game This Week
The Dolphins trip to face the 49ers on Sunday comes with the kind of broadcast wrinkle that still matters to fans who plan their weekend around kickoff. This one will be shown regionally on FOX, with the Miami market and much of southern Florida among the areas carrying the game, alongside selected markets in the West that will also get the matchup.
For Dolphins fans elsewhere in Florida, the bigger question is whether their local FOX station will be tied up with another game in the same window. The broadcast maps for Sundays afternoon slate always create a patchwork feel, and this week is no different, with some parts of the state seeing Miami-San Francisco while others are assigned to a different NFL pairing depending on market and time slot. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Already Look Like A Team That Needs More Help
The Dolphins have already spent the early stretch of roster work looking like a team that is still trying to find its shape. Under new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, Miami claimed seven players off waivers after the initial cuts, a clear sign that the front office is willing to keep turning over the bottom of the roster in search of useful pieces. It is the kind of activity that usually says more about need than comfort, especially when a team is trying to shore up depth in multiple places at once.
Miamis biggest concerns still seem to sit on the offensive line and on defense, where the margin for error can disappear quickly if injuries hit or development stalls. That is why the Dolphins are being linked, at least in a speculative sense, to former high draft picks such as Evan Neal, Cody Ford, Azeez Ojulari and Jeff Okudah. None of those names comes with a clean solution attached, but they do fit the profile of players a team in Miamis position might circle while continuing to sort through a roster that does not feel finished yet. [Read more 🡒]