Robert Saleh disputes his quarterback’s assessment of the costly turnover against the Giants, suggesting Cam Ward missed a clear lane to run and never saw the safety.
The Tennessee Titans are saying different things about the end of Sunday's game.
As a refresher, the Titans lost 12-7 to the New York Giants on Sunday, dropping to 0-3 on the year. Cam Ward and the offense were in position to score a go-ahead touchdown and put them ahead after trailing all game.
The Titans had the ball on the Giants' eight-yard line with two timeouts and under 30 seconds to go. That should've been plenty of time for the Titans to have a good chance of winning the game.
Instead, Ward decided to force a pass into the end zone. It was intercepted by safety Jevon Holland.
Based on the broadcast, it looked like Ward had plenty of room to run with the ball and gain more yards. He may have even been able to score a touchdown.
One of the first things Ward was asked about after the game was the interception. Ward believed it wasn't a reckless throw and that if he had just thrown the pass a little higher, it would've gone differently.
Then, Robert Saleh has his weekly Zoom call on Monday after the game. He said something completely different from what his quarterback did.
Saleh shared what he thought based on his view of the play. He believed that, based on where Ward's eyes were going, he didn't even see the safety there.
"On the last play, you would love for him to extend it and see if he can get to 2nd-and-goal from the five, which is probably what it would have been," Saleh said. "Call a timeout and we're taking three shots at the end zone. He felt like he had his guy in the corner of the end zone. Obviously, when he sees the tape, I'm sure he's going to want that one back. Feels like he probably should have gave him a better ball. I don't think he ever saw Holland, but I'm sure from Cam's perspective, he wishes he did something different with it."
This changes things.
From Saleh's perspective, it seems Ward wasn't even aware that Holland was in the area. These are contradictory statements from the head coach and the quarterback.
Ward says that if he had just thrown the ball higher, it would've gone better, and now Saleh thinks that the quarterback didn't notice the safety underneath the play.
This is now the second time in the last two weeks that the Titans have lost a game nearly at the buzzer.
If the Titans want to turn things around and eventually start stacking wins, this has to change. The team has to be smarter in these moments because, as we've seen, it can have devastating effects when it's not handled the right way.
Regardless of whether Ward saw Holland there or not, he has to be more decisive in those situations.
This is something the Titans must get better at going forward. Now, they take on the Baltimore Ravens on the road in Week 4.
Kickoff is set for noon CT on CBS, as the Titans see Derrick Henry in person for the first time since his exit from the franchise in 2023.
