Cam Ward has a quick chance to put last week behind him, and the Tennessee Titans need it.
His roughest outing as a pro came against the New York Giants, when he left a wide-open Carnell Tate in the end zone on one play and then threw an interception in the end zone to finish off another. If either of those plays goes differently, the Titans probably walk away with their first win of the season.
Now Ward gets Baltimore, and the matchup doesn’t exactly scream shutdown defense. Through three games, the Ravens are sitting in the middle of the league in passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed and points allowed. That’s not the usual Baltimore standard, even if the franchise has built its reputation on defense over the years.
For Tennessee, the formula around Ward does not need to be complicated. He does not have to carry the offense by himself.
The Titans just need him to protect the football and cash in the easy throws when they show up. That didn’t happen last week.
A lot of it comes back to his footwork. Paul Kuharsky wrote a strong piece this week breaking down the issue, and it’s not exactly new territory.
Ward’s footwork was a problem last year, and it was supposed to be a major offseason emphasis. Robert Saleh said this week that Ward’s footwork has been better early in games but breaks down as the game goes on.
That hasn’t been the impression from watching it. The bigger issue appears to be inconsistency from snap to snap, not just late in games. Until Ward can clean that up and do it the same way every time, the Titans are likely to keep getting the same uneven version of him they’ve seen through his first 20 NFL games.
In Other News...
Titans Suddenly Have A Lineup Problem They Can't Afford In Baltimore
The Titans head into their Week 4 trip to Baltimore with more uncertainty than they probably wanted this early in the season, as injuries have put parts of the lineup in flux. Tyjae Spears and Garrett Dellinger are among the players listed as questionable, and Robert Saleh has already acknowledged that availability is still very much up in the air as the week moves on.
For a Tennessee team trying to stabilize its rotation and settle on the best mix up front, the timing is not ideal. Baltimore has a way of exposing any soft spots, so the Titans may have to adjust their starting group if the injury report breaks the wrong way, and the last thing they can afford is another last-minute scramble before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Walk Into Baltimore Facing A Derrick Henry Problem Again
Baltimore brings the old problem right back onto Tennessees schedule, with Derrick Henry set to face the Titans after moving on from the franchise following the 2023 season. Since joining the Ravens, Henry has been piling up the kind of rushing production that once made him the centerpiece of the Titans offense, and now Tennessee has to deal with him from the other sideline.
For Robert Salehs group, the challenge is familiar even if the uniform is different: find a way to slow a runner who still forces defenses to commit extra attention while Tennessee keeps pushing forward with Cam Wards development. The Titans task gets tougher up front, too, with two injured offensive linemen now on injured reserve, leaving less margin for error in a matchup already shaped by one of the leagues most familiar headaches. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Keep Finding Painful New Ways To Waste Their Chances
The Titans are already in a familiar and uncomfortable place after four weeks, and the latest loss to Baltimore only added to the growing list of small failures that have turned into big problems. Tennessee had chances to keep itself in the game, but the afternoon kept tilting the wrong way, from special teams mistakes to a late interception that undercut any hope of a rally. Former Titan Derrick Henry also found the end zone, another painful reminder that even the good moments have a way of slipping out of reach.
What makes the slide harder to watch is how many different phases have taken turns letting Tennessee down. The offense faded badly in the second half, while Brian Dabolls decisions were part of the broader conversation around how the game unraveled. Even Carnell Tate, who turned in a notable performance, was part of the story in a way the Titans could not afford after a costly fumble, and the result left them still searching for their first win. [Read more 🡒]