The Tennessee Titans fell to 0-5 on Sunday after being handily defeated by their rival, the Houston Texans, 26-3. The Texans were also winless heading into this matchup, but they used the hapless Titans as a get-right game.
Tennessee is a disaster, in more ways than one. This was the top team in the AFC just five years ago. Now, the Titans are unrecognizable. No, literally — they are unrecognizable. The Titans debuted new uniforms, created a new logo, and found new ways to disappoint everyone in Nashville.
Reporters who have covered this franchise since the move to the Volunteer State in 1997 claim this is as bad as it's ever been, and it's hard to disagree with that assessment. The Titans are now 6-33 over the past three seasons and 2-18 at home. Both rank worst in the NFL. You read that correctly, by the way. The Titans have won two home games over the last three years. The last victory in front of their home fans came against a Chris Oladokun-led Kansas City Chiefs team last season.
Titans players and coaches have talked about "owning the (AFC) south." Tennessee is 2-20 in its past 22 divisional games, the worst record over that span since the 2008-2012 Cleveland Browns.
A major talking point when it comes to this "Titanic" disaster is the play of the quarterback. Former No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward has not looked like a legitimate starter through five games, and he's entering some pretty dangerous historical territory as the losses mount. Ward is now 3-19 as an NFL starter. It's the second-worst QB record through 22 starts all-time, behind Steve DeBerg (2-20).
Maybe wins aren't a legitimate QB stat, but through five games, Ward ranks 28th in both passer rating (77.2) and passing yards per game (179.2). He's thrown just three touchdowns. Jaxson Dart had three passing touchdowns in his one full game played this season.
The "bench Cam Ward" movement has picked up steam over the past 24 hours, but head coach Robert Saleh quickly dismissed the idea of sitting his second-year signal-caller.
"Cam's our starting quarterback," Saleh told reporters on Sunday. "We're gonna give him every opportunity to be successful this year. We're gonna continue working with him, grinding with him and trying to help him get better."
Should the Titans bench Ward after five games? No. I don't think they should, and here's why:
1. It's not just Cam Ward
As we exit Week 5, the Titans rank dead last in total offense (246.4 yards per game), dead last in scoring offense (11.6 points per game), and second-worst in passing offense (163.8 yards per game). No, your eyes aren't lying to you, the Titans stink. However, it's not just their quarterback.
This isn't a 2025 Minnesota Vikings situation, where Kevin O'Connell was forced to make a change under center because it was the one thing holding his team back. The Vikings had a top-three defense and a talented supporting cast ready to take off. The Titans don't have a Brian Flores defense or a Justin Jefferson. Benching Ward for Mitch Trubisky doesn't turn you into a playoff team.
Against the Texans, Ward completed 23 of 36 passes for 170 yards and one interception. He was bad, but his offensive line got absolutely WORKED. It was upsetting because the play of the offensive line through four weeks was one of the few bright spots for the Titans. Not on Sunday. That bright spot was blotted out by one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, which took over this game.
Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter combined for four sacks and five QB hits. Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. had maybe the worst game of his Titans career, right tackle JC Latham lost reps against his former Alabama teammate, and paying Peter Skoronski all that money in the offseason didn't make any difference.
— Performances (@NotPerformances) October 11, 2026
The Titans' entire offensive operation on Sunday was abysmal, from passing to blocking to running to even catching. Putting Trubisky in is not fixing all of this.
Defensive woes
Then what about the defense? Saleh is regarded as one of the best defensive minds in football, and the Titans celebrated his arrival by completely revamping that side of the ball. Tennessee paired Jeffery Simmons with new running mates on the interior, such as John Franklin-Myers, Jordan Elliott and Solomon Thomas. At pass rusher, the Titans traded for another former Saleh player in Jermaine Johnson II and drafted Keldric Faulk late in the first round. The Titans also added two new starters at cornerback in Alontae Taylor and Cor'Dale Flott. I'm not sure any of these additions have panned out just yet.
Through five weeks, the Titans rank No. 19 in total defense (331.8 yards allowed per game), tied for 10th-worst in sacks (10), eighth-worst in EPA per play (.03), tied for last in takeaways and rank dead last in total defensive pressures (44). The defense has been disappointing all year.
During the Week 1 loss to the New York Jets, there was a second-quarter drive in which the Jets rushed 15 times on their way to a field goal. They picked up 74 yards on 19 plays and took up 11:48 of game time. That's called imposing your will. In Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Hurts and Co. converted on 12 of their 19 combined third and fourth downs. That same Eagles team went 0-12 on third downs vs. the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4. Then, during the Titans' matchup against the Baltimore Ravens last week, Lamar Jackson completed 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the first two quarters. He didn't need to take the field in the second half because the 24-7 lead he built was enough to win the game.
Spotrac claims the Titans spent the most money in free agency this offseason ($319,877,500). You would never be able to tell by the play on the field.
I'm not defending Ward's play, which, again, has been bad, sad, disappointing — whatever descriptor you want to use. What I contend is that he's not the only problem on a very bad team.
2. You're abandoning the season mission five weeks in
The Titans have registered four losing seasons in a row, including two straight 3-14 campaigns. What was the goal for the franchise this year with a new head coach in Saleh and a new offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll? To me, the answer to that question was easy: Find out what you have in Cam Ward.
This season was all about figuring out what you have at quarterback. You can't do that with him on the bench. There are fans out there totally ready to give up on Ward and punt on their former No. 1 overall pick after 22 games. That would be an emotional decision. I actually thought Ward put together his best game of the season just eight days ago in Baltimore, throwing for 222 yards, one touchdown and an interception that wasn't his fault, while rookie Carnell Tate enjoyed a breakout performance with 145 yards receiving.
Maybe there was a disconnect with some people about the expectations for the Titans this season? You had Kyle Brandt on national television riling up the fan base by picking them to make the playoffs for some reason. I was expecting a "6-11"- type season from the Titans this year, so I can agree it's looked worse than I thought it would. But do you really want to pull the plug on the Ward experiment right now? Why not accumulate all the data you can before banishing him from Music City?
CBS Sports senior NFL writer Pete Prisco said on Sunday that Ward deserves the rest of the season to prove what he can do. But if he continues to play like one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL, then yes, Tennessee will once again hop on the QB carousel.
Should the Titans draft a quarterback next year? 🤔@PriscoCBS weighs in. #NFLPostgame pic.twitter.com/mGkqEpbuAt
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 12, 2026
Will Cam Ward eventually get benched?
Ward should not be benched after a 0-5 start, but I can admit that a benching could be coming.
It's easy for me to sit back and act like this is my "Madden" video game. "Let's sim to next year and draft Jeremiah Smith." The fact of the matter is, people's jobs are on the line. Being an employee of the Titans is an incredibly scary thought. It feels like those people don't have any job security. Seriously, the team just fired the executive who oversaw the entire rebrand that debuted this offseason. Brian Callahan was allowed to coach the Titans for 23 games before he was handed his walking papers. How long of a leash does Saleh have?
If we get to the point where the Titans are 0-9 and Ward is looking totally lost on the field, then yes, a benching is warranted. I'm just not abandoning what I would consider the season mission to figure out what I have in Ward five games in.
