Ward rushes for two touchdowns in loss to Eagles

The Titans’ offense looked dead on arrival with 34 yards on their six first-half drives. They opened the game with four consecutive three-and-outs and didn’t get on the board until late in the fourth quarter, when Ward tossed a short touchdown to Wan’Dale Robinson. It looked like Ward was getting in rhythm late in the game, but he ended the contest with a ghastly interception directly into the hands of Jevon Holland, who was standing in the end zone waiting for the ball. Ward took care of the ball until the game-ending throw, but this was a one step forward, two steps back showing from the young passer. That has unfortunately been the case for the better part of the last three weeks. Ward is not on the fantasy radar for Week 4 against the Ravens, and his poor play is making all of the team’s fantasy options largely irrelevant.

Ward also took three sacks for 13 yards. His touchdown was a too little, too late 11-yard strike to Elic Ayomanor with the Titans trailing 23-3 at the 2:42 mark of the fourth quarter. As was the case down the stretch last season, Ward did a good job of avoiding turnovers, but he struggled to generate positive plays of any kind. He was besieged by pressure, but he just wasn’t making anything happen. That could come in time — there’s a new experienced play-caller in Brian Daboll and several new weapons in the skill corps — but this was a highly discouraging start to the year at home vs. a not-exactly-amazing Jets defense. It was certainly confirmation that Ward is on the outside looking in of top-24 status in superflex leagues for the time being. The Eagles are a rough Week 2 matchup, even if the Titans are at home.

Cam Ward’s preseason has been as bad or even worse than his rookie campaign. Ward in last week’s preseason game against Seattle completed eight of his 12 attempts for 69 yards. His average depth of target on completed passes this preseason sits at a meager 1.2. Carnell Tate, meanwhile, has been targeted five times on his 23 preseason routes and does not have a reception to show for it. Daboll has been somewhat defensive this month when asked about Ward’s immense struggles after working on basic fundamentals with the second-year QB in the offseason. Ward, one of the most inaccurate passers in recent NFL history, is unlikely to support more than one fantasy-viable pass catcher in 2026.

Ward would have cleared 100 yards in the box score had TE Gunnar Helm not stepped out of bounds while hauling in a downfield pass during a scramble drill. Ward’s ability to make ridiculous throws off-script remains a plus and a minus. It wasn’t a great game for his connection with rookie Carnell Tate. The duo went 0-of-2 out of five total pass attempts from Ward on the first drive this evening against Seattle.

Davenport penned a lengthy piece detailing how OC Brian Daboll is focused on developing QB Cam Ward’s play on third down, in the red zone and in the two-minute drill. This is pretty straightforward. Those are all high-leverage situations, so harping on Ward’s performance there makes sense. Robinson played on all three drives in the Titans’ first preseason game while veteran Calvin Ridley was on the field for one. Rookie WR Carnell Tate was on the field for the first and third drives. A featured role on third downs could help Robinson return FLEX value — he’s certainly being paid like he is going to be featured.

Ward, who played three series, didn’t offer up many highlights, but he did help author a 95-yard touchdown drive on the Titans’ opening series vs. the 49ers’ backups. Learning a new offensive system as he breaks in a heavily revamped supporting cast, it’s not a surprise tonight was a “growing pains” effort even if it came against the second and third string. If Ward plays in the Titans’ second preseason game, it will be against the defending champion Seahawks.

“The Titans have added a lot of really good pieces who fit what they do,” the executive told Lombardo. “I think Robert Saleh has hired an excellent staff, and I believe in the quarterback. Cam Ward is going to take a jump, and I expect them to be solid enough on defense to win some games.” One of the most erratic, inaccurate quarterbacks in the league in 2025, Ward has worked this offseason with new OC Brian Daboll to improve his lower body mechanics and has reportedly learned how to make more cautious throws when downfield shots are not open. Saleh, for one, has said he’s not concerned with Ward’s 2025 accuracy issues. With the additions of Carnell Tate and Wan’Dale Robinson, Ward will have a vastly improved wideout group with which to work in 2026.

Titans beat writers last week sounded the alarm on Ward’s inaccuracy during OTA sessions. It’s an extension of major accuracy issues Ward had during his rookie year with the Titans. Ward in 2025 ranked 32nd out of 35 qualifying QBs in completion rate over expected, frequently sailing intermediate and short-area passes over the heads of his pass catchers in a dysfunctional Titans offense. Saleh said as a member of the 49ers coaching staff he saw Brock Purdy miss some passes in offseason practices so he is not worried about Ward’s issues. Purdy in 2025 was the NFL’s second most accurate passer behind Drake Maye.

Gall really dug into Ward’s play and coach Robert Saleh’s qualified responses on the matter. We’ll spare you the details on the latter subject, but it is safe to say that Gall is displeased with both parties. Per Gall, Ward “frequently” overthrew receivers downfield and found it hard to complete passes in the flats, especially checkdowns to the right side of the field. Keep in mind that the Titans are installing a new offense, and Saleh did say that Ward fared well on the unscripted plays, so there is at least something positive here. The Titans retake the field next week for mandatory minicamp. Hopefully, Ward delivers a bounce-back performance then.

Last week, Ward told reporters that he lost 10 pounds this offseason because he wants to play “faster.” The comment rightly caught one astute Rotoworld analyst’s attention. New Titans OC Brian Daboll has incorporated quarterback rushing into his prior offensive schemes, and it sounds like Daboll and Tierney want Ward to run a bit more than he did last year. Tierney has coached under Daboll at every stop since 2017. The key is drawing a line “between being aggressive and being reckless.” Tierney does not want Ward to run as often as his former quarterback, Jaxson Dart, did last year. Dart averaged 6.1 attempts per game. Instead, Tierney hopes Ward might try “to gain that last necessary yard on a third-and-6 scramble,” yet refrain from trying to bowl through a defender, seeking 10 more yards. We should not expect Ward to suddenly become a true dual-threat quarterback, but he should average more than the 9.4 rushing yards per game that he produced as a rookie.