Following a crushing goal-line blunder and an 0-3 start, Tennessee’s locker room remains united, shifting focus from individual mistakes to a desperate need for total offensive execution.
The Tennessee Titans haven't had the best start to the year from Cam Ward.
He hasn't been bad, but he hasn't had the ascension everyone expected in the offseason. So far, Ward has thrown for 504 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
To Ward's credit, he's done a good job of protecting the football and avoiding turnovers. Unfortunately, his first interception of the year cost the Titans a win.
He threw it to Jevon Holland in the end zone on Sunday as the Titans were trying to beat the New York Giants on the road. The Titans lost 12-7 as a result.
Ward has been under a lot of scrutiny after his decision to pass the ball in that situation.
If anything, the better play would have been to run and try to get the offense closer to the end zone. The Titans had two timeouts and could have had three more chances to score a touchdown that would've won them the game.
Robert Saleh even said that it didn't seem like Ward saw safety Jevon Holland sitting underneath.
Now, the team is sitting at 0-3, with the Baltimore Ravens next on the schedule. Ward got a lot of blame for the loss, which is typical for an NFL quarterback.
His teammates are still letting him know that they have his back. Tony Pollard had a rare media appearance on Monday.
He let everyone know that he didn't think all the issues on offense were on Ward, and that the team as a whole had to perform better.
"It's not just on Cam, it's everybody," Pollard said. "We have to execute better."
Ward is definitely to blame for how this team has played offensively. The team still accounts for some of it, though.
Heading into halftime on Sunday, the Titans had 100 yards of total offense and didn't convert a single third down. The team actually opened the game with five straight three-and-outs.
The Titans haven't been able to run the ball consistently well. They had under 100 rushing yards in the season opener and then somewhat turned things around in Week 2. The Titans reverted to their season-opener form, finishing with under 100 rushing yards again on Sunday.
Ward needs to play better, but so does the rest of the offense. The defense did what it could to keep the game within reach.
The offense needs to play consistent football, or it's going to keep costing the Titans games, as we saw on Sunday.
