The first game of the Robert Saleh era did not go the way the Titans would have drawn it up.
The Jets pushed the Titans around en route to a 23-10 win that wasn’t even as close as that sounds. The Titans only found the end zone with 2:42 left to play in the game and they only possessed the ball for 21 minutes across the entire afternoon.
Quarterback Cam Ward was pressured often while going 19-of-32 for 140 yards in his first game under Saleh and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. He said after the game that he felt the team had opportunities that they didn’t capitalize on and that they’ll do a better job of it in the future.
“Those are some big plays that we could have had, but we still got a lot of things to clean up for sure,” Ward said, via Turron Davenport of ESPN.com. “I’m very disappointed. We’re 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’s going to pay off for us eventually, whether it’s next week or the week after, but we’re going to get it rolling, and it’s exciting.”
Titans fans seemed unconvinced that better days are right around the corner. Loud booing could be heard during several portions of the game.
“It doesn’t make me feel any type of way,” Ward said. “The fans come here for a show. They spend their money to come see the Titans win games, and we want them out here each and every day.”
The Titans will be back at home to face the Eagles in Week 2 and a repeat of Sunday won’t have anyone buying that the Titans are on the right path in Ward’s second season.
Titans head coach Robert Saleh said he didn’t hold any grudges toward the Jets because they fired him during the 2024 season, but he might hold one for the beating they put on his team on Sunday.
The Jets scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the game and never trailed en route to a 23-10 road win that gave the team their first winning record since they opened 2-1 with Saleh in 2024. They lost their next two games and fired Saleh, who spent last season with the 49ers and joined the Titans in January.
Aaron Glenn replaced Saleh with the Jets and took over the defensive play-calling this season. The first look at that approach was an unqualified success as the Jets pressured Titans quarterback Cam Ward relentlessly and limited the Titans to 195 yards over the entire game. A good chunk of those yards and the only touchdown came in the final five minutes, so the full picture for Brian Daboll’s debut as the Titans’ offensive coordinator was not a pretty one.
It was also the first time Frank Reich called the offensive plays for the Jets and those results were just as good. The Jets’ offensive line was stellar in both phases, which led to a huge edge in time of possession — 38-plus minutes for the Jets — and total yards for the afternoon. Geno Smith went 19-of-24 for 215 yards with plenty of time to throw and Breece Hall picked up 102 yards on 22 carries to spearhead the rushing attack.
The Jets’ three first-round picks all contributed to the win. Tight end Kenyon Sadiq scored the first touchdown of the day and linebacker David Bailey was credited with a sack on one of several pressures. Wide receiver Omar Cooper had a 30-yard catch to set up Sadiq’s touchdown, but later left with an ankle injury.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick also suffered a groin injury, so the Jets will have some concerns on the health front heading into a Week 2 game against the Packers. That will be in front of a home crowd that will be fired up by what they saw on Sunday.
The Titans were showered with boos by their crowd and they may hear more of them next Sunday as the Eagles will be the next opponent on the slate in Nashville.
The Jets scored a touchdown on their first offensive possession in Tennessee on Sunday and they added another one on their first possession of the second half.
Running back Breece Hall sprinted around the left side of the line for a four-yard touchdown to extend the Jets’ lead to 17-7 with 9:41 left to play in the third quarter. Hall now has 14 carries for 49 yards and two catches for 16 yards on the day.
Hall’s touchdown came two plays after quarterback Geno Smith went deep to wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for a 40-yard gain. Smith and Garrett Wilson also connected for a 31-yard gain during the scoring drive and the quarterback is now 14-of-18 for 169 yards in his first start for the Jets since 2016.
The Jets have suffered a couple of injuries that will require monitoring as they move into Week 2. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (groin) and wide receiver Omar Cooper (ankle) have been ruled out.
The Jets dominated time of possession in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Titans and they have a halftime lead to show for their effort.
Rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq scored a rushing touchdown to cap the first Jets possession and they added three more points at the end of a 19-play drive that ran into the second quarter while eating up nearly 12 minutes of the clock.
Jason Sanders missed a 54-yard field goal later in the quarter, however, and the Jets’ final drive of the half ended without points, so it is a 10-3 lead for the road team.
The long scoring drive featured 15 rushing plays as the Jets leaned heavily on an offensive line that features a pair of former first-round picks in tackles Armand Membou and Olu Fashanu. Breece Hall ended the half with 13 carries for 45 yards while Braelon Allen picked up 31 yards on six opportunities.
All of the running meant that Geno Smith didn’t have to do much through the air to keep the chains moving, but he did find first-round wideout Omar Cooper for a 30-yard gain to set up Sadiq’s touchdown and finished the half 11-of-15 for 90 yards. Cooper later left the game with an ankle injury and the Jets have also seen defensive backs Minkah Fitzpatrick and Jarvis Brownlee depart with injuries.
The Titans had the game’s only turnover when kick returner Chimere Dike lost a fumble and that contributed to their lack of possession throughout the first 30 minutes of play. They’ll get the ball to start the second half and will need to find a better groove on both sides of the ball to come back in this one.
The Jets lead the Titans in the first quarter of Sunday’s game in Nashville, but they’ve lost a couple of players to injuries early in the game.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper are both called questionable to return. Fitzpatrick injured his groin while trying to chase Titans quarterback Cam Ward down on the first Tennessee possession.
Cooper had a 30-yard gain on a third down on his first NFL catch to set up a Jets touchdown, but is dealing with an ankle injury.
Titans punt returner Chimere Dike needed medical attention after getting run into by one of his teammates while trying to field a Jets punt late in the first quarter, but the team has not updated his condition yet.
