The Titans are 0-5 in head coach Robert Saleh’s first season, and 3-19 five games into General Manager Mike Borgonzi’s second season. But Titans CEO Burke Nihill says the franchise believes the right leadership is in place.
“I personally feel a sense of stability,” Nihill told ESPN on Friday. “I believe that Mike Borgonzi and Robert Saleh are ultimately going to get this team out of the woods and restore it to competitive football. The train is on the tracks. It just hasn’t picked up momentum, but it will. I can confidently say this organization is in a place where there is organizational belief in Mike, in Robert, and they absolutely have all the support they need to get this train moving and moving faster.”
Those comments would mean more coming directly from Titans owner Amy Adams-Strunk, but the ESPN report says Nihill is empowered to speak for her. Nihill says the organization knows the fans are frustrated.
“The first thing I would say back to the fans is just that we’re sorry,” Nihill said. “There’s nobody in this building that doesn’t feel . . . a sense of grief about it, because not only are we fans of the team as well, but we feel the sense of responsibility to deliver. And we’ve let our fans down because football is supposed to be fun. I think it starts on the field and the state of the franchise. We’re 0-5, and that’s not nearly good enough. It hasn’t been for a while.”
The Titans fired General Manager Jon Robinson during the 2022 season, fired head coach Mike Vrabel after the 2023 season, fired General Manager Ran Carthon after the 2024 season and fired head coach Brian Callahan during the 2025 season. All those firings haven’t turned the franchise around. Now they’re pledging patience with Borgonzi and Saleh.
Titans Clips
The Colts added quarterback Daniel Jones’s most frequent target to their injury report on Friday.
Tight end Tyler Warren was limited in the team’s final practice of Week 6 because of a groin injury. Warren is listed as questionable to play against the Titans on Sunday.
Warren has 30 catches for 214 yards and two touchdowns so far this season. He also has a touchdown run.
Linebacker Jayden Carlies (ribs) and wide receiver Ashton Dulin (hamstring) did not practice at all this week. Both players have been ruled out for Sunday.
Tight end Will Mallory (thumb) joins Warren in the questionable category. Jones (ankle) and wide receiver Josh Downs (hamstring) do not have injury designations.
Colts quarterback Daniel Jones landed on the team’s injury report for the first time this season on Wednesday.
An ankle injury is given as the reason for Jones’s presence on the list. He was listed as a full participant, so it does not appear it will impact his availability for the Titans unless his participation level drops in the coming days.
Wide receiver Keenan Allen (rest), linebacker Jayden Carlies (ribs), wide receiver Ashton Dulin (hamstring), offensive tackle Jalen Travis (ankle), and cornerback Charvarius Ward (rest) did not practice on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Josh Downs (rest, hamstring), guard Matt Goncalves (concussion evaluation), running back Jonathan Taylor (rest), and defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau (concussion evaluation) were limited participants. Tight end Will Mallory (thumb) and wide receiver Darius Slayton (knee) were full participants.
Cam Ward has been in the league for one full season and five games.
To this point, there’s been a lot of losing.
Ward — who has started every game since being selected as No. 1 overall last year — now carries a 3-19 record after Sunday’s 26-3 loss to the Texans. While Tennessee started the game with a field goal, the team failed to score on its last eight possessions.
The results prompted a question at the end of Ward’s postgame press conference: Have you gotten used to losing?
“No, I’m not a loser,” Ward said. “The record may say that we are that right now. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to go through some stuff to try to get wins. And, I mean, we attack this each and every day. But I mean, for that, no.
“If you’re able to look at everybody in our locker room’s track record, we’ve all won games at a high level. And we’re looking forward to doing that in the long run.”
And Ward isn’t shying away from the responsibility that comes with being a No. 1 overall pick and a starting quarterback.
“I just try to continue to do my job,” Ward said. “At the end of the day, I have a lot of stuff to continue to get better at. I think that’s going to put us in positions to win games, the more I can do my job the right way. But everybody in the building knows, it’s going to take all 11 of us on offense to get things how we want it. But I know as far as my job, there’s still a lot of stuff that I need to clean up. I have to continue to motivate my guys the way they need to be motivated. I have to continue to lead my style. And I think if we keep doing that, if we keep on making progress forward, like I know we can, the wins will eventually come.
“I love the criticism. I love everything that comes with the quarterback territory,” Ward added. “At the end of the day, it’s the best position in the world. Stuff goes the right way, you take all the credit. Stuff goes the wrong way, you take all the blame. I know I’m capable at this position. I have the right guys around me to uplift me and myself uplift them. And we’re going to eventually put it together.”
The Titans drove for a field goal to open Sunday’s home game against the Texans, but any hope that was a sign of good things to come came crashing down over the rest of the afternoon.
Tennessee punted four times and turned the ball over twice before failing on two fourth downs in the fourth quarter of a 26-3 loss that dropped them to 0-5 on the season. They ended the game with 187 yards and quarterback Cam Ward was 23-of-36 for 170 yards while being sacked four times.
The Titans now rank dead last in points scored and offensive yards, which led to a question for head coach Robert Saleh at his postgame press conference about whether the team needs to consider benching the quarterback in hopes of sparking better offensive results. Saleh said it is not on the team’s radar.
“Cam’s our starting quarterback,” Saleh said. “We’re going to give him every opportunity to be successful this year. We’re going to continue working with him, grinding with him and trying to help him get better.”
There haven’t been many signs that Ward is getting better and Sunday’s performance suggests things may actually be moving in the other direction, but any changes made to improve the offensive output aren’t going to start under center.
The Texans looked more like the Texans in the second half of Sunday’s game.
Houston outscored the Titans 14-0 in the second half and outgained the home team 137 to 96 yards, and Will Anderson Jr. had three sacks. Anderson also made four tackles.
The Texans won easily 26-3 for their first win. They are 1-4. The Titans remained winless at 0-5.
Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked field goals of 45, 35, 26 and 53 yards in the first half before C.J. Stroud scored on a 2-yard run and Jaylin Noel caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Stroud.
Stroud finished 26-of-34 for 261 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Hutchinson made four catches for 65 yards.
Titans quarterback Cam Ward was 23-of-36 for 170 yards and an interception, and Tyjae Spears lost a fumble. Wan’Dale Robinson caught six passes for 53 yards.
Ward took four sacks and was hit seven times.
The Texans and Titans are a combined 0-8. They are playing like it.
The teams combined for five field goals, with Houston taking a 12-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked field goals of 45, 35, 26 and 53 yards as the Texans went 0-for-2 in the red zone. Titans kicker Joey Slye had a 30-yard field goal after Tennessee stalled in the red zone.
Cam Ward threw an interception and Tyjae Spears lost a fumble, giving Houston short fields. The Texans’ scoring drives covered 49, 18, 34 and 34 yards.
Ward was 8-of-17 for 62 yards, and Tony Pollard has seven carries for 32 yards.
The Texans outgained the Titans 192 to 91 yards, with C.J. Stroud going 16-of-20 for 161 yards. Nico Collins has three catches for 45 yards.
Houston is again struggling to run the ball, with 31 rushing yards.
Dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things. Such as going multiple years without winning a game in its division.
The Titans have lost 10 straight games in the AFC South. That’s the longest active streak of intradivision futility in the league.
At home against the team based in the city from which the Titans relocated three decades ago, Tennessee hasn’t won since 2020. Via NBC Sports research, the Texans’ five-game winning streak on the road against the Titans is tied for the longest streak any visiting team at the Titans/Oilers.
The Raiders won five straight at the Oilers from 1967 to 1976, the Steelers won five straight at the Oilers from 1972 to 1976, and the Colts won five straight at the Titans from 2012 to 2016.
Last year, the Titans and Texans were each 0-3 when they met for the first time. This year, they’re both 0-4 — and not even the Weather Channel wants to televise this one.
The Vikings had both of their top wide receivers listed as questionable on their final injury report of Week 5 and the gameday decisions went in different directions.
Justin Jefferson will play after missing last Sunday’s win over the Dolphins with an ankle injury, but Jordan Addison will miss the game with a hamstring injury. There was some thought that Odell Beckham Jr. would make his Vikings debut on Sunday, but he is also inactive.
Beckham signed to the practice squad this week and was elevated on Saturday, but Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said he’d only play if the team was missing one of the other wideouts. They are, but Beckham is still out of the lineup. Jauan Jennings, Tai Felton, Myles Price, and practice squad elevation Jeshaun Jones are the other wideouts.
Vikings at Saints
Vikings: WR Jordan Addison, WR Odell Beckham Jr., S Jakobe Thomas, QB Max Brosmer, CB Chuck Demmings, OT Christian Darrisaw, DL Elijah Williams
Saints: QB Zach Wilson, LB Anfernee Jennings, S Mike Reid, LB Kaden Elliss, G Jeremiah Wright, DL Vernon Broughton, DL Nathan Shepherd
Bears at Packers
Bears: QB Caleb Williams, RB Kyle Monangai, OL Ozzy Trapilo, LB Keyshaun Elliott, DL Jamree Kromah, DL Jayden Loving.
Packers: OL Jacob Monk, OL Aaron Banks, OL Donovan Jennings, DL Anthony Campbell
Bengals at Dolphins
Bengals: S Kyle Dugger, OT Myles Hinton, TE Jack Endries, WR Colbie Young, OL Connor Lew, DT Landon Robinson
Dolphins: WR Caleb Douglas, RB Kaytron Allen, CB Reese Taylor, DE Rob Beal, OL DJ Campbell, TE Justin Joly, OL Chukwuebuka Godrick
Raiders at Patriots
Raiders: WR Jalen Nailor, S Tristin McCollum, S Dalton Johnson, C Trey Zuhn, DT J.J. Pegues, RB Roman Hemby, QB Aidan O’Connell
Patriots: QB Behren Morton, OT Dametrious Crownover, CB Christian Gonzalez, CB Carlton Davis, CB Karon Prunty, CB Channing Canada
Browns at Jets
Browns: QB Taylen Green, WR Tylan Wallace, TE Carsen Ryan, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins, DT Mike Hall Jr., DT Mason Graham
Jets: RB Breece Hall, WR Adonai Mitchell, G Dylan Parham, LB Nate Lynn, LB Kiko Mauigoa, CB Nahshon Wright
Colts at Steelers
Colts: LB Jaylon Carlies, WR Ashton Dulin, QB Riley Leonard, WR Darius Slayton, G Dalton Tucker
Steelers: RB Rico Dowdle, QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, RB Eli Heidenreich, CB Jamel Dean, CB Terell Smith, DL Kevin Jobity
Texans at Titans
Texans: CB Collin Wright, DE Chris Braswell, DE Sabastian Harsh, LB Aiden Fisher, G Febechi Nwaiwu, OT Nate Thomas, TE Marlin Klein
Titans: RB Nick Singleton, RB Michael Carter, S Amani Hooker, CB Jaylon Jones, T Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE David Martin-Robinson, DT Jackie Marshall
Giants at Commanders
Giants: RB Devin Singletary, OL J.C. Davis, DL Bobby Jamison-Travis, S Jason Pinnock, CB Nikko Reed, QB Jake Haener
Commanders: WR Stefon Diggs, QB Marcus Mariota, S Tyler Owens, S Nick Cross, S Percy Butler, G Tanoa Togiai, DE Charles Omenihu
The weekly list of NFL-imposed fines for Week 4 includes Titans defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers. On the surface, the $12,537 fine for “striking/kicking/kneeing” seems as perfunctory as any such fine ever does.
The video paints a different picture.
It happened in the second quarter of Sunday’s game between the Titans and the Ravens, on a play that resulted in a three-yard touchdown pass from Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson to tight end Mark Andrews. Although the game broadcast didn’t capture it, the film reveals the full incident. Ravens running back Derrick Henry cut-blocked Franklin-Myers. After the ball was caught in the end zone, and while Henry was on all fours and not looking, Franklin-Myers took a step back and then jammed his knee into Henry’s midsection.
The officials presumably didn’t see it, because no penalty flag was thrown. It was the kind of gratuitous move that could have resulted in an ejection. It’s somewhat surprising it didn’t lead to a suspension.
The end result doesn’t come close to matching the infraction. It’s less than the league fined Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and Browns running back Quinshon Judkins for a celebration that mimed smoking a joint. And it was nearly half the amount of a fine that was imposed earlier this season, we’re told, on Ravens receiver LaJohntay Wester for — God forbid — displaying an unauthorized logo on his gloves.
Those fines aren’t part of the weekly announcement from the league. Wester was fined $23,882 after the Ravens’ Week 1 game against the Colts for the foreign logo on his gloves.
While the fine schedule is negotiated between the NFL and the NFL Players Association, something is off if a player can deliberately ram a knee into the midsection of an unsuspecting opponent and be fined only $12,537, but having an unauthorized logo on the official gloves costs $23,882.
