Titans QB Cam Ward's Promising Progress Stalls In 26-3 Loss vs. Texans

All of the optimism surrounding QB Cam Ward went out the window on Sunday. The Titans' signal caller had arguably his worst outing of the season, completing 23 of his 36 passes for 170 yards and one interception. It certainly wasn't all his fault that the team only produced three points.

Ward was sacked four times and was under duress throughout the contest, largely due to LT Dan Moore Jr. having a horrendous performance on Sunday. Truthfully, the entire offense looked overmatched on a day where a fellow 0-4 team stood across from them.

The Titans shot themselves in the foot far too many times to have a realistic chance with this one. This team doesn’t have the talent or experience to overcome those type of mistakes. 

At one point, they had four straight drives in the first half that resulted in a three-and-out, a fumble, an interception, and another three-and-out.

To take their struggles a step further, Tennessee only produced 108 total yards of offense through the first three quarters, ultimately ending the game with just 187 in total.

While things haven’t necessarily been as bad as they were on Sunday, they haven’t exactly been much better. The former first overall pick is now 3-19 as a starter and has just five total touchdowns and four turnovers through the first five games.

Notable Postgame Quotes

And with another lifeless loss in the rearview mirror, Ward was bluntly asked why he deserves to continue being the Titans’ quarterback long term.

“I just think my process. What I’m willing to sacrifice each and every week to get to the player that I want to be, but also the player that the team needs, and the organization needs to win games. I love the criticism. I love everything that comes with the quarterback territory. At the end of the day, it’s the best position in the world. (When) stuff goes the right way, you take all the credit, and when stuff goes the wrong way, you take all the blame. I know I’m capable of this position. I have the right guys around me to uplift me, and myself to uplift them. And we’ll eventually put it together.”

Coaches and teammates continue to rave about Ward behind the scenes and the amount of work he puts in. However, It’s clear that Ward’s effort inside the building isn’t carrying over to the games. The second-year quarterback was asked why he thinks that is.

“We just gotta continue to have urgency. I think we have that each and every week, but at the end of the day, we just gotta make plays. I have to make plays. The whole team has to make plays. That’s what it comes down to — making plays.”

Ward was then asked what this team could do to start fixing these seemingly never-ending problems and how much blame he puts on himself for the issues at hand

“I just try to continue to do my job. At the end of the day, I have a lot of stuff to continue to get better at. I think that’s gonna put us in position to win games… But everyone in the building knows it’s going to take all 11 of us on offense to get things how we want it. But as far as my job, there’s still a lot of things I have to clean up. I have to continue to motivate my guys the way they need to be motivated. I have to continue to lead with my style. I think if we keep doing that, if we keep on making progress forward, the wins will eventually come.”

One thing is for certain, Tennessee needs better production from their young quarterback they invested so much in. If Ward starts to figure things out and he starts to play well, the wins will follow. 

But if they don’t, the Titans might need to have some uncomfortable conversations this offseason.