Cam Ward was bad as a rookie. In most measures, he was worse than J.J. McCarthy last season. Nobody paid it much mind.
The Tennessee Titans didn’t play a single standalone game, which helped keep Ward’s struggles in the shadows. Those who broke down his play chose to single out impressive highlights and blame the situation around him for a poor season. And it was a poor situation. Ward deserved a pass. But that was with the expectation that a new coaching staff and an upgraded supporting cast would lead to better results.
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It’s hard to judge anything off one game in an NFL season. But a season doesn’t offer many better opportunities than facing the New York Jets at home when the talent around you is healthy and fresh for the opener. And Ward was just as bad as he was last season.
Through the first nine possessions of the game, which spanned 55 minutes, the Titans had one field goal, one fumble and seven punts. They had seven first downs, 130 yards and trailed 23-3. Ward had 140 passing yards and that looked a lot better because of one garbage-time drive. He got 57 of his yards and his only touchdown on that drive, after the Jets had practically moved onto next week.
There was also one comical rep in which Ward flipped the ball to himself on a trick play. You can do things like that when everything is going well. This one ended with a quick sack.
“I am very disappointed,” Ward said, via the team’s site. “We are better than what we showed offensively. We trained a lot this offseason, we had some hard days. It didn’t pay off for us today, but it is going to pay off for us eventually, whether it is next week or the week after. We are going to get it rolling.”
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Are they going to get it rolling? While the Jets have improved on defense, they allowed the highest passer rating in the NFL last season and were 32nd in defensive DVOA. Again, it won’t get easier for the Titans or Ward. And they did practically nothing on offense. Next week the Titans host the Eagles and their stellar defense. It could be ugly.
On Sunday, Titans fans booed. First-year head coach Robert Saleh was asked if he had a message to fans who might be apathetic about the team already, just one game into the season. Maybe it’s too early for that, but it seemed like the same Titans from a season ago. The coaches changed, many teammates changed. The quarterback remained the same. As did the results.
Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward is tackled by New York Jets defensive lineman Will McDonald IV during the Titans’ season-opening loss. (Photo by Chris Carter/Getty Images)
(Chris Carter via Getty Images)
It’s too early to give up on the No. 1 overall pick after 18 starts but there needs to be some positive signs, and soon. There haven’t been any yet. Ward struggled in the preseason — Titans beat writers said Ward did look good in practices — and that poor play carried over to Sunday. Other than draft pedigree, there aren’t many tangible reasons to believe in anything better coming up. That’s a tough place to be one game into your second season.
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Panic meter: Too early to jump ship on Ward, but not too early to be seriously concerned
Nobody is trying to say Maye has played well lately. The three interceptions he threw in the New England Patriots’ opener were awful. But the criticism of Maye on social media has gone overboard.
Going back to the recent postseason, Maye has had five subpar games in a row. Those games came against the Chargers, Texans, Broncos and two against the Seahawks. The Texans, Broncos and Seahawks have top-five defenses and the Chargers were a top-10 defense in DVOA last season. Half of one, against the Broncos, was played in a blizzard. There were also factors around Maye that weren’t great, whether it was the struggling offensive line last season or injuries to A.J. Brown and TreVeyon Henderson in Week 1 this season. But it has become easy and trendy to shred Maye and call him a fraud, so here we are.
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Maye had a fantastic 2025 season. It was against an easy schedule in NFL terms, but it’s still pro competition. He didn’t play in the MAC. He played well enough to deservedly come one vote from winning NFL MVP. He’s 24 years old. Maye is and will be fine. He needs to play better than he has lately. Not playing an elite defense every week should help.
Panic meter: Not nearly as much as you’d think, based on social media pitchforks
Colts get blown out
The Colts were one of the NFL’s darlings in the first half last season, getting off to a great start and being one of the league’s best offenses until Daniel Jones tore his Achilles. There wasn’t a fast start this season. They lost 41-23 to the Ravens. According to RotoWire, teams that lose by 14 or more points in Week 1 make the playoffs just 18.8% of the time. And losing at home in Week 1 by any margin is a bad sign. Only 21.8% of home Week 1 losers make the playoffs, compared to 29.5% of road losers according to RotoWire.
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And it’s not just the leaguewide trends. The Colts didn’t look good in the opener. They allowed more than 500 yards on defense. Jones had the fourth-worst adjusted EPA (expected points added) per play among all Week 1 quarterbacks. There was never any guarantee Jones would bounce right back after a major injury, and his Week 1 performance was alarming. He had just one run for 4 yards. He didn’t pass it well. Nothing looked easy. In a season that is critical for head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard, in terms of their job security, this was an awful start.
Panic meter: Maybe the Ravens are just that good, but the Colts couldn’t have been much worse
Chargers get blindsided
Look away, survival pool players. The Chargers’ 26-14 loss to the Arizona Cardinals wasn’t shocking only for the loss itself, but how uncompetitive the Chargers were in the game.
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The Cardinals clearly outplayed the Chargers. They outgained Los Angeles 393-268. They had more first downs and a better yards per play. It was a 12-point win and that wasn’t fluky.
Before being too concerned about the Chargers, remember that odd things happen in Week 1. The Patriots lost to the Raiders at home last season and won the AFC. The Seahawks lost to the 49ers at home and won the Super Bowl. Three of the last 10 champions were 0-1, according to RotoWire.
The Chargers looked poor on both sides of the ball. For now, we’ll assume this was the weird Week 1 result we’ll be talking about months down the road.
Panic meter: A bad loss, but this seems like a one-off result
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