The AFC South could look a little different after Week 1, and not in the way plenty of people might expect. Tennessee has a real shot to come out of the opening slate without sitting at the bottom of the division.
That matters for a Titans team coming off its first winless season in division history. A rebound has to start somewhere, and the opener against the New York Jets gives Tennessee a chance to grab it right away.
The projection here has the division lined up this way after the first weekend: Jacksonville at 1-0, Tennessee at 1-0, Houston at 0-1, and Indianapolis at 0-1.
The Titans’ path is the cleanest of the bunch. They have what looks like the most favorable matchup in the division, which gives Robert Saleh a chance to get Tennessee moving in the right direction fast.
Jacksonville also draws a soft landing spot at home against the Cleveland Browns. The Jaguars did lose some punch this offseason, with Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd both mentioned among the departures, but Cleveland still looks like the kind of opponent most teams would prefer to face in Week 1.
Houston, meanwhile, gets one of the tougher assignments in the division by hosting the Buffalo Bills. The Texans do have home-field advantage, but they’re still staring at an uphill climb against a Buffalo team that comes in close to full strength and opening a new era under Joe Brady.
The injury list makes that challenge even steeper. WR Jayden Higgins is out for the season with a torn ACL, and rookie DT Kayden McDonald has been placed on IR with an ankle injury.
Buffalo could have some early-season rust, but the Bills also bring a reloaded roster and plenty of motivation after a divisional-round playoff loss.
Then there’s Indianapolis, which gets Baltimore at home. That’s another matchup against a team that usually lives near the top of the league, even if the Ravens are now under a new head coach in Jesse Minter, who brings his defensive play-calling expertise to a unit led by star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson.
The Colts finished last season on a seven-game skid, and while adding CB Sauce Gardner should help the defense, the quarterback matchup is hard to ignore. If the choice is Lamar Jackson or Daniel Jones, the pick goes to the two-time MVP every time.
So yes, Tennessee has a realistic route to being tied for the top after Week 1. It depends on a few first-year coaches getting off to good starts, but that’s exactly the kind of opening the Titans need.
In Other News...
Robert Saleh Sounds Early Alarm After Titans Opener Unravels
The Titans season opener against the Jets never settled into the kind of rhythm Tennessee wanted, and by the end of a 23-10 loss, the issues were easy enough to spot. Head coach Robert Saleh pointed to missed throws from quarterback Cam Ward and a Jets running game that kept the Titans from finding much traction, leaving Tennessee with more questions than answers after one week.
Salehs postgame tone made clear this was less about one bad afternoon than about getting a team to tighten up before the schedule moves on. He was frustrated with how it unfolded, but the message was plain: the Titans have to clean up the execution quickly if they want the early part of the season to mean anything. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Already Face Early Heat After This Lifeless Home Opener
The Titans home opener turned into an ugly reset in front of a restless crowd, with the Jets leaving Nashville with a 23-10 win and a clear sense of momentum under first-year coach Aaron Glenn. It also marked a notable step forward for New York, which picked up its first winning record since early 2024 behind a steady debut from Glenn and offensive coordinator Frank Reich, plus solid work from Geno Smith and Breece Hall.
For Tennessee, the louder story was the reaction inside the building. The home crowd booed as the Titans sputtered through a flat afternoon, a sign of how quickly the early-season pressure can build when a game slips away at home. The schedule does not ease up from here, either, with Philadelphia next on the slate and little time for Tennessee to let this one linger. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Still Have One Big Problem Despite Staying Within Reach
At halftime against the Jets, the Titans were still hanging around, but the reasons for the gap on the scoreboard looked familiar. A short catch by rookie Carnell Tate gave him his first reception of the season, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. was busy again with nine tackles, and Chimere Dike managed a grab after putting the ball on the ground on a kick return. Tennessee had enough individual flashes to stay within striking distance, even while the offense continued searching for steadier answers.
The bigger concern was on the other side of the ball, where Alontae Taylor had a rough stretch in coverage and was flagged for pass interference. For a team trying to keep games close and create opportunities late, that kind of breakdown is costly because it erases the work done elsewhere. The Titans were still alive at the break, but the defensive margin for error already looked thin. [Read more 🡒]