Close Won't Cut It — Why Titans Fans Shouldn't Take Solace in Narrow Week 2 Loss to Eagles

The Tennessee Titans looked a lot better in Week 2 vs. the Eagles, but a loss should only be treated as a loss.

Sep 20, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh during the third quarter at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

You have to imagine that the initial response from Tennessee Titans' fans to their Week 2 loss will be varied. On one hand, Tennessee came back from a miserable opening game and took a long-time elite franchise down to the wire. On the other, the offense still looked stagnant, and Robert Saleh's defense fell apart when it mattered most.

The argument is clear and relatively compelling on either side. However, I'm here to argue that Titans fans can't take solace in a loss like this one. If we're really going to call this a new era, it can't keep feeling like the maligned one that came before it.

A 24-20 defeat at the hands of the Eagles is a whole lot prettier than a 23-10 defeat at the hands of the Jets. But no matter how you spin those two individual outings, the Titans are an 0-2 football team. We haven't seen a win for this franchise since Week 16 of last season.

That came against a Kansas City Chiefs team starting Chris Oladokun at QB. The bar has to be higher, whether or not the Titans as they currently stand are capable of raising it.

The bar has to be higher for Saleh, Titans

I don't want to discount improvement. Two interceptions for the Titans' secondary, whilst missing starting CB Cor'Dale Flott, looks great on paper. But it was Tennessee's pass defense that allowed Jalen Hurts to go draw up a perfect two-minute drill for a game-winning touchdown.

The Eagles were in field goal range with less than one minute on the clock, and with no timeouts. They took one look at the Titans' defense and decided to keep marching, and that gamble paid off.

Hurts' 264 passing yards is just scratching the surface. Across from the Eagles' QB, Ward threw for just 180 yards on a 13/20 clip. For the second straight week, he had no scoring success through the air. Carnell Tate was the only Titans receiver to come down with three catches.

Familiar issues remain regardless of the final score

On the other sideline, WR DeVonta Smith's 10 receptions was just three shy of Tennessee's entire total. There's a lot more that went into this contest beyond the final score. Timely turnovers kept the Titans in this game, but the statistics favored the Eagles all the way through.

It's simply difficult to come out on top with discrepancies like those. A better game or not, it was similar gaps that defined Tennessee's game-one loss to the Jets. Significantly less passing yards and defensive collapses on explosive plays continue to haunt this team early on.

Until the Titans can overcome those plagues on a consistent basis, fans can't be blamed for shrugging at close games like these. The team Tennessee needs to be closes out a game with a lead under two minutes in the fourth quarter.

The Titans simply aren't there yet, and there's no use celebrating until they are.