Following a heartbreaking last-second loss to Philadelphia, Tennessee's rookie playmaker rejects silver linings, demanding a higher standard as the winless squad searches for its first breakthrough victory.
The Tennessee Titans nearly pulled off the upset against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.
After going into halftime down 14-10, the Titans had a solid second half. They allowed three points from the Eagles' offense in the third quarter, tying things up at 17 heading into the final 15 minutes.
The Titans took a 20-17 lead with 1:56 to go. The Eagles had too much time, however.
Philadelphia drove down the field and eventually scored a go-ahead touchdown with nine seconds left, breaking the hearts of Tennessee fans everywhere.
The Titans lost 24-20 and are now 0-2 on the year.
There were good and bad things from the loss. For some, they are looking at this game as a moral victory.
The Titans looked much improved compared to their performance in the season opener against the New York Jets. Still, it wasn't enough to beat the Eagles.
One person who doesn't like moral victories is Titans quarterback Cam Ward. Ward made his fair share of plays to keep the Titans in it on Sunday. He finished with 183 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
After the game, Ward was asked about finding the balance between a moral victory in the loss and having something to build on for the future.
Ward didn't think the game was a moral victory, he believed it was nothing but a loss.
"It's not a moral victory; it's a loss," Ward said. "That's all it comes down to. But I mean, with every game, even last week, there was good, there was bad, but we gotta be a mentally tough team. We gotta be ready to play four quarters of football, overtime if we need to. We just need to continue to go in the right direction we're going in."
This kind of mentality isn't surprising from Ward. After the Titans beat the Cleveland Browns 31-29 on the road last year, Ward wasn't happy with the result, even though it was a win.
He was disappointed with how the team played, despite it being one of the three wins they would get that season.
That moment spoke to the kind of player that Ward is and the standards he holds himself and his teammates to. This is nothing new with the Titans quarterback. He wants to win.
Moral victories are great, but Ward isn't very concerned with them. He wants to put his team in a position to win football games.
He came close to doing that on Sunday.
If a couple more plays had gone the Titans' way, we might be sitting here talking about how the team is 1-1. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and the Titans are 0-2.
The Titans showed a lot of good things in the loss, but for Ward that's not what matters.
They have another chance for a win on Sept. 27, when they face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Kickoff is set for noon CT on CBS.
