The Tennessee Titans don’t need fireworks tomorrow in their season-opener against the Jets. They just need points, and after last season’s struggles, even that feels worth talking about.
While most eyes are on Cam Ward’s sophomore debut and the expected work from Tony Pollard, Wan'Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate, there are a few other Titans who could slip into the scoring column in a hurry. If Tennessee is going to find a surprise touchdown against New York, these are the names to watch.
Tyjae Spears has been the most obvious candidate for a bigger workload all offseason. With Pollard in the final year of his contract and Spears healthy entering the year, the backup running back has a real opening for more snaps and more chances near the goal line.
He is not projected to explode in Week 1, but if the Titans lean on the backs and short passing game as the contest wears on, Spears could pick up enough touches to matter. Whether it comes on the ground or as a receiver, he looks like a sneaky bet to get into the painted dirt.
The defensive name on this list is Darrell Taylor, and he brings the kind of big-play upside that can swing a game fast. Tennessee brought him in this offseason to be a primary starter at corner, and that secondary is going to be judged in part by what he does.
After a quiet start, Taylor finished the summer on stronger footing, highlighted by a pick-six off reigning Super Bowl Champion Sam Darnold in the Titans’ joint practice with the Seattle Seahawks. Now he gets Geno Smith, who led the NFL with 17 interceptions last season.
With Garrett Wilson standing out as the main proven target and New York’s receiver group leaning heavily on rookies, Taylor has a shot at another takeaway - and maybe another return to the end zone.
Jha’Quan Dike is a different kind of threat. As a rookie last season, he did most of his damage on special teams and was one of only two Titans to make the Pro Bowl for his kick-return work.
Even so, he still found the end zone four times as a receiver from fellow rookie Cam Ward, tying Elic Ayomanor for the most touchdowns by any Titans wideout last year. Dike is expected to slide behind Tennessee’s deeper pass-catching group this season, but his return ability and his occasional offensive pop make him one of the more interesting surprise-touchdown candidates in the game.
Then there’s Isaac Singleton, the long shot of the bunch. The rookie back was drafted for his physical style and future upside, but with Pollard and Spears ahead of him, there’s only so much room to climb.
Still, surprise touchdowns usually come from someone you didn’t expect, and Singleton has a path if the Titans need to lean on the run. He led Tennessee with eight carries in the preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers while competing for the RB3 job, and he was listed with Julius Chestnut on the unofficial depth chart.
Chestnut was the one at risk when roster cuts were made, which leaves Singleton as the likelier reserve if one of Tennessee’s backup runners gets a chance tomorrow night.
In Other News...
Titans Already Face An Ugly Cam Ward Question After Week 1
The opener did little to quiet the noise around Tennessees offense, and Cam Ward was at the center of it. In a weekend full of big numbers and sharp contrasts around the league, the Titans were the team left sorting through protection issues, stalled drives and an attack that never really found a rhythm in Week 1.
Wards first game put the spotlight squarely on how much work this offense still has ahead of it, from the quarterback play to the way the unit functions around him. The questions after one Sunday were less about a single bad sequence than about whether Tennessee can build something more reliable soon enough to keep the season from getting defined by the same problems already showing up. [Read more 🡒]
Robert Salehs Titans Debut Raised A Frustrating Week 1 Concern
Robert Salehs first game as Titans head coach ended with a familiar kind of frustration, as Tennessee fell 23-10 to the Jets in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. The bigger concern for the Titans was not just the scoreboard, but the way the offense repeatedly stalled in favorable field position, forcing punts inside Jets territory and leaving the team without much to show for those chances.
Saleh was asked about those empty trips after the game, and it immediately put a spotlight on how much work remains to be done in his debut season. The afternoon also carried a distinct road-game feel for the Jets, with Geno Smith noting the strong presence of New York fans at Nissan Stadium, a reminder that even in Nashville, the crowd dynamic was not fully in Tennessees favor. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Home Opener Exposed Problems Fans Already Feared
The home opener brought a familiar kind of frustration for Titans fans, as Tennessee fell 23-10 to the Jets in a game that laid bare some early-season concerns. Malik Willis never really got the offense rolling, finishing 14 of 25 passing with a late touchdown after the game had already tilted away, while the defense had its own problems slowing down New York through the air.
Still, there were a couple of encouraging notes amid the disappointment. Rookie Carnell Tate showed promise, and Anthony Hill Jr. also turned in a performance that stood out on an otherwise rough afternoon. For a team trying to settle early doubts, those flashes mattered, even if the bigger picture after the opener was more about what went wrong than what went right. [Read more 🡒]