Titans in Desperate Need of Division Win

Going nearly two weeks without football following their much-needed break on the bye week, the Tennessee Titans are in "win to preserve dignity" territory more than anything else, entering the second half of their 2025-26 season.

At 1-8, the team has struggled to gain, let alone maintain, any momentum throughout the campaign; of course, their struggles have been made worse by a newly-wrought head coaching vacancy and a bevy of injuries, among much else.

Remaining Division Duels

Specific to Tennessee's struggles has been an inability to win within their division, setting them aside as more of an outlier than the team's loss-heavy record already made them out to be. It doesn't help that the AFC South is led by the league-best Indianapolis Colts, at 8-2, who have accounted for two of the Titans' losses in the league. But Tennessee also lost on the road to the Houston Texans — in devastating 0-26 fashion — and is facing the Texans once again this weekend.

If the Titans, enjoying a benefit as the home team this weekend, still can't manage to net a victory, they'll only have two remaining chances throughout the rest of their schedule to snag a division dub — both of which will come against the Jacksonville Jaguars, splitting one at home and on the road.

Game Day at Nissan Stadium! #HOUvsTEN pic.twitter.com/M2KIqVqLP7
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 16, 2025

Onus on the Rookies

Part of Tennessee's plea, if they are to avoid a completely winless stretch in their division, will be overcoming their slate of aforementioned issues in spite of themselves for that ever-elusive victory. Primarily, the team's offense will have to produce on a level far beyond its normal output for the bunch to come out on top for the second time this season.

Much of that goes back to rookie quarterback Cam Ward under center, and many of the struggles that come along with being a first-year player in the NFL. It doesn't help that, given the team's dire circumstances on the whole, the QB has been forced to carry far more weight than most in his position.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) looks for a receiver against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Complimented by rookie wideout weapons Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor — in lieu of the seemingly perpetually injured veteran Calvin Ridley — Ward's success will depend upon the growing chemistry between himself and his rookie counterparts.

He and Tennessee certainly aren't expected to make the playoffs, or even compete for a spot, at this point; but, all the same, a division win would provide some much-needed pride at the very least.

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