Ward somewhat serviceable vs. Browns

Ward also added a two-point conversion on the ground. The Titans offense got off to a fast start, leading 13-0 after one quarter. Ward finished the day passing for 304 yards, averaging 7.6 yards per attempt and surpassing 300 yards for the first time in his career. He made plays with his legs, scrambling for multiple first downs on short-yardage situations. A sack-fumble from Ward led to a Bengals score the other way in the third quarter and the 24-year-old also took a long sack towards the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. The Titans could not convert a fourth down in overtime to close the game. Ultimately, Ward had one of the best games of his season against the Bengals but came up short. For fantasy purposes, Ward’s work on the ground is encouraging for his elevated floor and an improved passing skillset makes him a fantasy QB2 heading into the Titans’ Week 9 bye.

Ward added just three carries for seven yards. Ward got the “quarterback win” as the Titans finally broke their five-game losing streak to begin the season, but this was more about the Colts imploding and setting up one short Titans field after another with turnovers. Ward did keep his connection with No. 4 overall rookie Carnell Tate going, finding him for 6/70/1 on seven targets. Ward didn’t find veteran Calvin Ridley for what would have been a wide open end zone grab, but we digress. His interception was a second quarter sail job as he was getting leveled by the blitz. Ward’s increasing chemistry with Tate is the Titans’ first real good news of the season, but today was not a particularly inspiring victory. They now get the Browns for a Week 7 home matchup.

Ward’s head, per Saleh, is in a “good place” ahead of the Titans’ Week 6 game against the Colts. Ward has been dreadful through five weeks, ranking 24th in EPA per drop back and 27th in drop back success rate. Only five quarterbacks have a lower adjusted yards per attempt than Ward this season. Daniel Jones and Tyson Bagent are the only QBs who average fewer fantasy points per drop back. Saleh has defended his second-year QB at every turn and does not seem close to benching him in favor of journeyman backup Mitchell Trubisky.

The Titans led off the day with a 58-yard field-goal drive that fell apart from a red zone first-and-5. They would not even flirt with crossing 30 yards in a drive for the rest of the game and crossed into Texans territory on only 11 more snaps all game, including just one inside the Houston 40. Ward took four sacks and avoided several others by turning Tyjae Spears into a PPR hero. The closest he came to actually putting points on the board was a double-covered bomb to Carnell Tate’s general area. It was, well, what you would have expected from both sides in the preseason. Ward remains a last gasp supeflex QB2 heading into Week 6’s game against the Colts.

Ward’s second pass of the game resulted in an interception, but he would settle in to put together his most productive outing of the season. Ward linked up with rookie first-rounder Carnell Tate on multiple long gains and ended the day with four completions of 20-plus yards. The two would connect on a 33-yard pass late in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-10, and on the next play, Ward would find Wan’Dale Robinson for a three-yard score to cut the Ravens’ lead to 24-18. Ward did a good job at evading pressure in this one. Despite being pressured on 11 dropbacks, per PFF, only one of those resulted in a sack. Ward has been sacked just once over the last two weeks, but will have a tough challenge ahead of him next week when the Titans play host to the Texans. Ward projects as a low-end QB2 next week.

Asked about Ward’s continuing footwork disaster, Saleh said the second-year quarterback “usually starts off good then fades into old habits.” Titans beat writer Terry McCormick then asked Saleh “why if his footwork gets worse as the game goes on, why the offense has had such slow starts. [Saleh] said it has been dropped passes vs. Giants and defense not getting off field vs. Eagles.” Saleh has made a point to shield Ward from all criticism throughout the preseason and through three horrific regular season outings. Ward ranks 20th in accuracy and 29th in EPA per drop back this season. He’s fresh off throwing a game-deciding end zone interception against the lowly Giants in Week 3. Mitchell Trubisky will probably get a couple starts this season if Ward can’t turn things around.

Ward’s gotten off to a slow start in 2026, completing 62.5 percent of his passes for a meager 504 yards and two touchdowns in three games. He has improved his sack rate quite a bit, cutting it from 9.2 percent in 2025 to 5.38 percent so far this year. The Titans backup is Mitch Trubisky. It is probably too soon to give up on Ward, but it doesn’t bode well for his future that Saleh is already being asked the question. Ward will be one of the bottom five quarterbacks in the Week 4 fantasy rankings against the Ravens.

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’s two scores on the ground doubled his previous career total, though he is now sitting on one passing touchdown through eight quarters. He is at least not turning the ball over, and has taken “just” five sacks. He has been so far unable to heat up his connections with offseason additions Carnell Tate and Wan’Dale Robinson, but he found Elic Ayomanor for two critical gains vs. Philly. Cutting out the negative plays was an absolutely essential first step for Ward, but he has yet to supplement them with big gains or consistent chain-moving. That included botching a Hail Mary in the fourth quarter this afternoon. Ward won’t be much of a superflex option for next week’s road date with the Giants.

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.