The Tennessee Titans are back in Nashville on Sunday, Aug. 23, for their first home preseason game since the rebrand, and the Seattle Seahawks are the ones coming to Nissan Stadium. Before the lights come on for game day, the two teams will also hold a joint practice on Frida.
After Tennessee’s opener against the San Francisco 49ers, the picture is still pretty simple: the Titans got the win, the starters only logged three drives, and the overreactions have mostly stayed in the manageable range. But with game two on deck, the expectation is that things should start looking a little more real.
One of the biggest things to watch is Tate. He finished last week with zero catches, and that was enough to stir some mild concern around the Titans fanbase.
Tennessee’s receivers as a group had a rough night, but Tate stood out for the wrong reasons by not hauling in any of his three targets. Robert Saleh brushed that off after the game, and that makes sense given the setting, but with more snaps coming Sunday, Tate should have a better chance to settle in.
Another 95-yard touchdown drive would be nice - and this time, the wish is to finish it with a Tate touchdown.
The secondary is the other area that needs immediate attention. Tennessee’s defensive backfield was the most frustrating part of the opener, and there’s no way around that.
Saleh said there was “an urgency” about the cornerback play, and the numbers back up the concern: the Titans gave up 238 passing yards against the 49ers even though neither Mac Jones nor Brock Purdy played. That puts a bright spotlight on Cor'Dale Flott and Alontae Taylor, the newly-signed veterans who need a stronger showing against Seattle.
There’s also a rookie worth keeping tabs on in Keldric Faulk. He quietly made noise in the opener by disrupting passing lanes and bringing pressure off the edge.
A sack against the Seahawks would be the kind of game-two jump that starts to build the case for him as a breakout piece in Saleh’s defense. It isn’t a must, though.
Another solid outing without a sack would still count as progress. But the hope is obvious: Tennessee wants to see Faulk turn the promise from last week into something bigger.
Up front, the Titans need steadier play from two of the offensive line’s more debated spots. Third-year tackle JC Latham turned in a surprisingly efficient debut, which gave the fanbase some reason to believe he may have taken a real step forward. Beside him is rookie right guard Fernando Carmona, who is battling for the starting job and, according to Saleh, has the “inside track” thanks to a strong start to the preseason.
If Ward and the offense are going to look cleaner this week, that growth from Latham and Carmona matters. Tennessee’s protection unit has drawn plenty of debate all offseason, and these two linemen are under real pressure to show the Titans can get by without a major offseason signing up front. If they hold up, Ward gets a chance to settle in, and that could be the path to the offensive performance Tennessee has been waiting to see.
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Titans Injury Wave Puts Early Pressure On Their Young Offense
The Titans are already dealing with an early-season squeeze on their young offense, and the injury report has only made the margin for error thinner. Tennessee has lost Jaren Kanak and Jaylen Harrell for the season, while backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and first-round pick Carnell Tate both showed up on the injury report before being expected to come through fine.
With Tony Pollard working back from a sore foot, the running back room had enough uncertainty that Tennessee moved to add DErnest Johnson for depth. The hope is that the current wave of injuries stops short of becoming a longer-term problem, but for a team trying to settle in around inexperienced playmakers, every missed practice has felt like another test of just how quickly this offense can steady itself. [Read more 🡒]
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Head coach Robert Saleh has noticed the way Carmona has attacked the opportunity, and the rookie has also pointed to the daily reps against defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons as part of his growth. With another preseason start apparently on deck, Carmona is doing more than simply filling a practice rep. He is making the Titans keep a close eye on a battle they may have hoped would sort itself out a little more quietly. [Read more 🡒]
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Robert Salehs arrival has already changed the tone around the unit, and the Titans did not stop with a single fix in one area. They added another premium pass-rush piece with their second first-round pick, the kind of move that can reshape a front if the player hits as expected. The bigger question now is how quickly all those changes come together, and whether Tennessee can turn a promising collection of moves into something more than just offseason optimism. [Read more 🡒]