Same Trend With Titans Running Game Rearing Its Head in 2026

The Tennessee Titans had a tremendous game from running back Tony Pollard on Sunday. 

Pollard scored two touchdowns in the first quarter to give the team a 14-0 lead. His first score was from 36 yards out. He broke a couple of tackles and walked into the end zone on the Titans' opening drive. 

He then ran it in on the goal line for his second touchdown. Pollard had one more touchdown, but it wasn't until the fourth quarter. 

It looked like he scored in the second quarter from inside the Cleveland Browns' five-yard line, but a review overturned the call. Pollard's knee was down, and the Titans still had three more tries to score. 

The Titans went for it on fourth down, but were stopped after a string of questionable calls by offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. 

Pollard finally scored his third touchdown of the day, completing the hat trick in crunch time. The Titans were down 24-17 late in the fourth quarter, and Pollard tumbled into the end zone to tie the game. 

Unfortunately, the Titans couldn't win despite Pollard's strong play. The Browns hit a game-winning field goal as time expired to defeat the Titans 27-24. 

Pollard's performance was in vain. He finished with 129 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He also contributed 26 receiving yards. 

After seeing how the rest of the team ran the ball, it reminded me of how things went last year. Pollard is a very solid running back. 

He and Derrick Henry are the only active NFL players to have 1,000 or more rushing yards in the last four seasons. 

He isn't the problem. The problem is when the other players are on the field, as it was last year. 

Pollard rushed for 1,082 yards last season. The rest of the Titans' running backs were awful. 

Tyjae Spears couldn't stay healthy. When he was healthy, he still only managed 283 rushing yards. Julius Chestnut had 40 rushing yards. 

We're seeing the same issue in 2026. It wasn't just on Sunday, either. 

Outside of Pollard, only Michael Carter got touches in the backfield. Carter got three carries for seven rushing yards. 

Even if you look at the other games, the other Titans running backs have struggled. 

Sunday marked the first time this season the Titans finished with 100 rushing yards as a team. Let's be honest, that was only because of what Pollard did. He played 46 snaps, meaning he was on the field for 74.2% of the team's plays. 

This is why we're seeing the Titans struggle to run the ball again in 2026. Last year, the Titans had the third-worst rushing offense in the NFL, averaging 93.5 yards per game. 

The Titans have improved only slightly this year. They average the eighth-fewest rushing yards per game, at 91.1. 

At the end of the day, the other running backs on this roster, not named Tony Pollard, have struggled. We're seeing a similar struggle from the Titans' rushing offense. 

It's still early, but if we don't start to see better play from the other running backs on the roster, the Titans are going to have a bottom-five or bottom-10 rushing offense once again.