NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Titans walked into Sunday looking for a reset at home. Instead, they got another reminder of how far things have slipped.
Tennessee fell 26-3 to the previously winless Texans at Nissan Stadium, and the loss landed hard because it came after weeks of talk about progress. The Titans had just played three straight one-score games and were hoping a return to AFC South play could kick-start something. What they produced was their roughest showing of the season.
The opening possession offered a brief tease. Cam Ward moved the offense down the field, but the drive died in the red zone, where Tennessee has been stuck far too often. Joey Slye’s field goal put the Titans up 3-0, and that was the high point.
After that, the offense collapsed. Tennessee’s next eight drives ended in punt, fumble interception, punt, punt, punt and a pair of turnovers on downs to close out the game. The Titans didn’t score again, going 55:39 without points while dropping their 11th straight divisional game.
The mistakes came fast. Tyjae Spears lost a fumble on his first carry.
Ward threw an interception for the third straight week when Danielle Hunter hit him as he was trying to deliver a second-quarter pass. Houston turned both Tennessee giveaways into Ka’imi Fairbairn field goals.
Fairbairn finished with four field goals, including a 53-yarder right before halftime, and Houston took a 12-3 lead into the break. The second quarter has become a disaster zone for Tennessee all season: opponents have now outscored the Titans 49-3 in that frame, with the Texans accounting for all nine points Sunday.
That cushion was more than enough for Houston’s defense once the Texans got going. DeMeco Ryans was back calling plays, and with Hunter and Will Anderson unleashed off the edge, Tennessee’s protection unravelled. Anderson recorded three sacks and Hunter added one more, while Ward finished 23 of 36 for 170 yards.
A week after what looked like a step forward against the Ravens, Ward never found a rhythm against Houston. He missed open receivers, struggled to throw on time early and spent the fourth quarter surviving behind an offensive line that had its worst day of the season.
Tennessee’s defense kept the game from getting out of hand in the first half, but it eventually gave way. C.J.
Stroud led a 17-play, 74-yard touchdown march that burned the first 8:23 of the third quarter and ended with a two-yard scoring run by Stroud himself. He later added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Jaylin Noel and finished 26 of 34 for 261 yards.
Stroud looked comfortable attacking a makeshift Tennessee secondary, finding room all over the field as the crowd thinned in a stadium that announced just over 52,000 fans.
The last time the Titans won a home divisional game was January 7, 2024, against the Jaguars in the final game for Mike Vrabel and Derrick Henry. Since then, they are 6-33, a stretch that puts them on pace for one of the worst three-year runs in modern NFL history unless something changes fast.
For now, there doesn’t appear to be much appetite for a shake-up.
“The bright thing about it is the sun will come up tomorrow,” said Ward, who is now 3-19 as an NFL quarterback. “We get another chance to play a really good team next week, try to get our first win.”
When asked about the possibility of benching Ward, Saleh shut it down.
“Cam is our starting quarterback,” Saleh said. “We’re going to give him every opportunity to be successful this year. We’re going to continue working with him, grinding with him, and trying to help him get better.”
Saleh and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll have tied their jobs to Ward developing into the answer, but through five games, the second-year quarterback has shown little to suggest he is that long-term fix.
The frustration around the team is only growing. The questions are basic and there are no easy answers: where does this team find a win to avoid the first 0-17 season in NFL history, and what exactly is supposed to inspire confidence moving forward?
The new Nissan Stadium is close to being finished, but the Titans may need a much bigger overhaul than a new building. The roster isn’t strong enough, the schemes aren’t clicking, and the losses keep piling up.
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