Cam Ward, Titans struggle mightily in Week 1 loss to Jets

Cam Ward did not get his second NFL season off to a good start. The Tennessee Titans quarterback had a tough showing in a 23-10 Week 1 loss to the New York Jets, throwing poorly save for one drive towards the end of the game.

Ward’s stats for the game were pretty rough, with the 24-year-old throwing 19-of-32 for 140 yards and one touchdown.

That touchdown, Ward’s only shining moment in the matchup, came off a strong drive in the final minutes of the game. Ward pulled the Titans 65 yards down the field in nine plays and just under two-and-a-half minutes for the garbage time score.

The touchdown drive was the only reason that Ward broke 100 passing yards and passed 50% on passing completion; if you remove it, Ward’s stats are even more bleak.

Among the Tennessee offense, it wasn’t just Ward that struggled: The Titans only put up 195 total yards, including just 68 on the ground, and held almost half as much possession time as the Jets. Ward was also sacked three times in the matchup, indicating problems in the offensive line; and the Tennessee defense at one point seemed to have 13 players on the field, but still couldn’t hold off a touchdown from Breece Hall.

But the performance from Ward, hailed as the future of the franchise, was the most worrying. More than just missing his throws, the young QB often just looked lost on the field.

And again, this was a resounding loss to a pretty mediocre Jets team. Tennessee looked toothless against a New York team that was still making plenty of its characteristic mistakes — like losing nearly 50 yards on penalties, or getting the ball on a recovered fumble off a kickoff and then missing a field goal.

While it’s still a little too early in the season to panic, it’s a bad omen for the kind of season that that Titans might be having. Expectations for the team were already low, but Ward’s struggles indicate that the team’s future — already in need of so many structural changes — might also need a new quarterback to guide them.

The Jets, meanwhile, are already starting the season with a lot more positives. New York scored on its very first drive of the game, with Kenyon Sadiq running into the corner of the end zone; they picked up 367 total yards and looked like a solidly competent offense to start the year.

The one things that the Jets didn’t get was an interception. New York didn’t record a pick during the entire 2025 season, and is hoping to break that streak sooner rather than later.