The Titans are coming out of their bye with a lot more noise around them than usual, and not much of it is good. Two weeks off gave Tennessee time to sit with a trade deadline that shifted the roster, and now the first opponent back is a Jaguars team that looks nothing like a soft landing spot.
Jacksonville enters Week 10 at 6-2 and sitting on top of the AFC South, and the Jaguars added even more firepower at the deadline as they chase a real Super Bowl push. Tennessee, by contrast, may have leaned toward the future, but there are still players on this roster with plenty to prove right now. Cam Ward is the biggest one.
If the Titans are going to make this interesting, the path is pretty clear: turn it into a shootout. Tennessee did that against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8, and if they can get into another score-for-score game here, a few tweaks could be enough to steal one at home.
That would mean Ward has to keep pace with Trevor Lawrence, who has gone from a rough start to his career to becoming a franchise-level quarterback. The Titans are hoping Ward can follow a similar arc, and his first 300-yard game in Week 8 offered a real hint that he might be on that track.
In the best-case version for Tennessee, Ward posts something close to those same numbers and a battered Titans defense does just enough to keep Lawrence and the Jaguars from pulling away. It also helps that newly acquired All-Pro S Jessie Bates won’t be out there for Jacksonville yet.
But the injury list cuts both ways, and Tennessee’s missing pieces are a problem. WR Carnell Tate won’t play, and the Titans are also without standout rookie LB Anthony Hill Jr., veteran LB Cody Barton, and multiple starters along the offensive line. That’s a lot to ask a team to absorb against a quality opponent.
The worst-case scenario is pretty easy to see from there. Those absences create holes Tennessee can’t patch, Lawrence starts carving up the defense, and Ward can’t overcome the damage around him on his side of the ball.
That outcome may be the more likely one, but Ward still carries the spotlight. This is the first game of the Titans’ season that doesn’t fit the “must-win” label, but it absolutely qualifies as a must-improve spot. And the quarterback could end up defining it.
In Other News...
Mike Borgonzi Just Put The Titans On A Very Different Path
The Titans spent the trade deadline taking a far more aggressive route than most of their AFC South neighbors, and the front offices latest moves have made the direction of the rebuild impossible to miss. Under general manager Mike Borgonzi, Tennessee dealt away Jeffery Simmons and Amani Hooker, turning two established defensive pieces into a haul of draft capital that stretches across the next two years.
Around the division, the reaction was much more measured. The Jaguars and Colts chose different paths with their own trade decisions and returns, while the Texans were quieter overall, even parting with a second-round pick for Marvin Harrison Jr. Borgonzis approach leaves Tennessee with more flexibility and more long-term swing potential, but it also signals a roster reset that will be judged by what those picks eventually become. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Just Gave Titans Fans Another Reason To Feel Disrespected
Jacksonville is already treating this week like a transition period, and that matters for Tennessee because the Jaguars are making roster moves with the Titans right in the middle of the schedule. Coach Liam Coen said new defensive additions Jordan Davis and Jessie Bates will not play in the upcoming matchup, with the team citing player safety, time to learn the system and the timing of the trades as reasons for keeping them out.
Davon Godchaux, another recent acquisition, will be available, so the Jaguars are not sitting all of their fresh faces. Still, for Titans fans looking at a divisional opponent that can afford to ease in key pieces while preparing for Tennessee, it is another reminder of how much the AFC South race can hinge on timing, health and how quickly a team can absorb change. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Just Lost Two Key Pieces Before A Brutal Jaguars Test
The Titans are heading into a tough Week 10 matchup with Jacksonville short-handed in two important spots, after placing offensive guard Peter Skoronski and punter Tommy Townsend on injured reserve. Both moves will keep them out at least four games, and they come at a time when Tennessee can least afford more instability up front or on special teams.
Skoronskis absence takes another piece out of an offensive line that already has plenty to sort through, while Townsends loss forces the Titans to adjust the kicking game against a Jaguars team that has been a difficult test. For a roster trying to steady itself in a divisional stretch, losing two contributors at once only sharpens the challenge ahead. [Read more 🡒]