Titans Coach Challenges Offensive Line

The Tennessee Titans' offensive line was a glaring weak point in their offense on opening weekend. The Denver Broncos' front seven, which led the league in sacks last year, dominated the Titans' front and spent half the game in Tennessee's backfield.

The last thing you want when you have a rookie quarterback under center is consistent pressure. The Titans made a lot of changes to their offensive line this offseason to help counter that. They brought in Dan Moore Jr. from Pittsburgh to play left tackle, which allowed J.C. Latham to move back to right tackle. They also added veteran guard Kevin Zeitler in free agency. However, those additions didn't do much to help them against the Broncos.

Cam Ward was pressured on 18 of his 34 drop backs. That's over 50% of his pass attempts. When he was pressured, Ward completed just five of his 12 attempts for 52 yards and was sacked six times. To make matters worse, Denver blitzed just 32.4% of the time, meaning most of the pressures they gave up were to four-man pass rushes.

Tennessee Titans, QB, Cam War — Sep 7, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) drops back to pass against the Denver Broncos in the first half at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

"I think we could've played better up front in the game," said Titans Head Coach Brian Callahan. "I do think it's fair to mention that team last year was the number one pass rush team in football. They were going to be a challenge. We couldn't help everybody all the time; there were going to be some one-on-ones, and we did a good job with some, and not as good a job with others.

"Have to be better there," Callahan continued. "It wasn't a one-person problem; we had some leakage in all parts at certain times. I thought we could've played better than we did over the entirety of the game as a unit."

Callahan's right, it wasn't a one-man problem. Outside of Peter Skornoski, who didn't allow a single pressure, every single one of the Titans' offensive linemen gave up multiple pressures. Kevin Zeitler, J.C. Latham, Olisaemeka Udoh and Lloyd Cushenberry were all credited with two pressures while Dan Moore Jr. was credited with four. They had no answer for Denver's pass rush all day long.

Luckily for the Titans, that's the best pass rush they'll face all season, but that doesn't mean they don't need to improve. This week they face a Rams defense that recorded 18 pressures and three sacks on C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans. Granted, the Texans have arguably the worst offensive line in the league, but the Rams still have a very good pass rush.

If the Titans want a shot at winning this game, it all starts up front. They need to protect Cam Ward, because if their passing game isn't firing on all cylinders, it's going to be very hard to put points on the board this weekend.

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