As Jacksonville defends its AFC South crown, a revamped Tennessee roster led by Cam Ward and Robert Saleh prepares for a final showdown in the original Nissan Stadium.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are in a competitive division.
Jacksonville was at the head of the AFC South in 2025, finishing 13-4. The Houston Texans weren’t too far behind at 12-5, and the Indianapolis Colts (8-9) could have been a playoff team if QB Daniel Jones didn’t miss the last four games of the regular season with an injury.
Then, there are the Tennessee Titans.
Tennessee was bad in 2024, finishing with a 3-14 record. Despite drafting QB Cam Ward first overall, the team ended 2025 with the same record. Now, Ward is entering his second season, and the Titans don’t have anywhere to go but up.
And there’s reason to think they’ll be better, maybe a lot better. The Titans have a new head coach, Robert Saleh, who is one of the game’s top defensive minds.
They also have a new offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, who helped Josh Allen become Josh Allen.
Now, he’ll look to do something similar with Ward. As expected, Ward’s first season was bumpy at times, both team-wise and individually.
But he played well enough to end the season with 3,169 yards (17th in the league) along with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Titans did a good deal to help Ward over the offseason. Along with hiring Daboll, Tennessee signed receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who eclipsed 1,000 yards with the New York Giants last season, and selected Carnell Tate, the best receiver in the draft, at No. 7 overall.
Defensively, the Titans got better by hiring Saleh, a former Jaguars linebackers coach who helped the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2019 season.
Personnel-wise, the Titans needed to improve a unit that finished 27th in the league in opposing scoring last year. The team did that by trading for edge Jermaine Johnson from the New York Jets. The Titans also signed and used their second first-round pick on Auburn edge Keldric Faulk, who went at pick No. 31. In free agency, the Titans signed Dal John Franklin-Myers as well as veterans Jacob Martin, Jordan Elliot and Solomon Thomas.
Tennessee also added to their defense in the second round of the draft by selecting Texas LB Anthony Hill Jr.
This will be the last time the Jaguars play in Nissan Stadium. After the season, the Titans will move into, well, Nissan Stadium, but a new one that cost $2.1 billion and will open next spring.
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