SI

Fans Loved Cam Ward’s Mature Line About His WRs After Titans’ Rough Start to Season

Ward handled his tough first game well.

Brigid Kennedy

Ward threw for 112 yards and was sacked six times on Sunday.
Ward threw for 112 yards and was sacked six times on Sunday. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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The official start to Cam Ward's NFL career on Sunday was not as auspicious a beginning as anyone had hoped. Indeed, the rookie QB finished with just 112 yards, 12 completed passes (out of 28 attempts) and six sacks.

But as rough as those stats look, the Miami export was not operating alone. With the sacks, you must also consider the influence of the offensive line. And with the completions, you must also consider the efforts of those catching the ball. To that end, there were multiple dropped passes in Tennessee's opener vs. the Broncos—so it's not like Ward wasn't doing his part.

Still, the QB handled the optics and any frustration he might have felt about the performance with grace, using what could have been an opportunity to vent about his targets to instead dismiss any problems and take accountability himself.

"I am never going to get on those guys for dropping a ball," Ward told reporters on Wednesday, a few days after the team's 20–12 loss. "I'm going to throw a pick at some point in the season. So, bad plays are going to happen. The biggest thing is that we gotta get back to the huddle, we have to always have a next-play mentality. I am not too worried about that—those boys are going to catch the ball."

Unsurprisingly, fans loved it.

As for the O-line, Ward was just as mature there, too, telling the media that he wants "y'all to get up there and try to block one of them big boys on the D-line."

"I had some bad pocket movement as well, so I take full responsibility on my part, and they'll do the same, as well," he continued. "We're still getting used to each other, but we gon' turn around fast and try to get a win this week."

Super cool stuff, especially for a rookie. Rooting for him in Week 2 when the Titans host the Rams at 1 p.m. ET.

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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

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