The Tennessee Titans are staring at an 0-3 start, and that record says plenty. But it doesn’t say everything.
There are real problems here, no doubt. The passing game has gone off the rails, special teams has handed away too many clean moments, and the offense as a whole has too often looked stuck in place. Still, buried inside that ugly start are a couple of signs that the Titans are not a mess across the board.
The defense is one of them. Tennessee has done enough on that side of the ball to keep itself respectable, even if it has given up some long drives along the way. The Titans are top 10 in points allowed per game, tied for third in the NFL with 18 tackles for loss, and they’ve piled up six sacks over the last two weeks.
That’s not empty production. It points to a defense that is doing its job.
Another encouraging piece: the Titans have been relatively disciplined. They are top-five in the NFL in penalty yardage, which usually isn’t where you find a team that looks lost from week to week. That kind of number suggests this group is at least being coached with some structure, even if fans don’t love every decision or call.
The offensive line has also been better than some would have expected. It has quietly held up well, and the numbers back that up. That matters because it removes one of the easy excuses from the conversation.
What’s dragging everything down is Cam Ward’s regression. The passing game has been so uneven that the offense has looked like it’s chasing three-and-outs all season. Brian Daboll has to find the parts of Ward’s game that are working and lean on them more often.
Special teams has been another major problem. Two fumbled kick returns, a key missed field goal, shaky and poor kickoff attempts, and several bad punts in the first two weeks have all added up to a unit that has fallen far short of what the Titans got last year under Bones Fassel.
So yes, the football has been hard to watch. But the Titans aren’t without positives.
If the quarterback play and special teams can be steadied, the rest of the team has shown enough to suggest this could look different later on. The record is 0-3 right now, but there are still pieces here that can matter if Tennessee ever gets itself into winnable spots.
In Other News...
Ryan Clark Turns Up The Heat On Cam Ward And The Titans
The Titans winless start kept getting more familiar Sunday in Baltimore, where a sluggish opening turned into another loss and another round of criticism for a team still searching for traction. Cam Wards day began with an early interception and ended with modest production in a 24-18 defeat, as Tennessee fell to 0-4 and watched the Ravens control enough of the game before Lamar Jackson exited with an ankle injury.
Even with Jackson leaving and Tyler Huntley stepping in, the Titans could not swing the result back in their favor, leaving more frustration around a young quarterback trying to settle in and a roster still looking for answers. Ward finished with 222 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but the bigger issue remains the same for Tennessee: the performances are not matching the urgency of a team that has yet to put a win on the board. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Ward Just Gave Titans Fans A New Reason To Worry
After the Titans loss to the Ravens, Cam Ward had another moment that will linger with Tennessee fans as much as the result itself. The rookie quarterback met with the media afterward and, before settling in to answer questions, initially said he would leave if the wait stretched beyond three minutes. He stayed, but the exchange added a little more edge to a frustrating night for a team still trying to find its footing.
Ward also addressed the interception he threw in the game and circled back to the bigger issue facing Tennessee: the need to eliminate the kind of bad plays that keep putting the Titans behind. It was the sort of postgame reflection that sounded honest enough, but the kind of honesty that also reminds everyone how much work remains. Next up is Houston, and the Titans will be looking for cleaner football before that matchup arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Keep Finding Painful New Ways To Waste Their Chances
The Titans early-season frustration only deepened in Baltimore, where another loss pushed Tennessee to 0-4 and added a fresh layer of regret to a team already searching for answers. This one had the familiar mix of self-inflicted wounds and missed opportunities: a late interception, special teams penalties, offensive stagnation after halftime and a game that kept slipping away while former Titan Derrick Henry found the end zone for the Ravens.
Carnell Tate gave Tennessee a reason to keep leaning in with a standout effort, even if a costly fumble undercut it, and the coaching side only added to the unease. Brian Dabolls decisions were part of the conversation throughout the night, as the Titans once again seemed to find new ways to turn a winnable stretch into another empty result. For a team trying to stop the bleeding, the bigger problem is that the defeats are starting to look different only in the details. [Read more 🡒]