Titans Exhibited Real Problems Against 49ers

Cam Ward did not have a great preseason debut. He missed layups, finished 5/12, and gave Tennessee Titans fans a few of the exact reminders they did not want after spending an entire offseason hearing about his next step.

But my biggest takeaway from Thursday night was not his stat sheet. It was that the Tennessee Titans finally looked like they could run a functional offense again. That might sound like a low bar, and honestly, it is.

But after watching this team struggle with communication, clock management, and basic operational details under the previous staff, a clean 95-yard opening touchdown drive from its own five-yard line is not something to shrug off.

The Titans got lined up. They got the calls in. They converted on third downs. They ran the ball effectively. And ultimately, Tennessee finished the drive with Tony Pollard in the end zone.

That does not erase Ward’s misses, and it also does not mean the passing game is ready to light the league on fire this season. It does, however, mean there is a lot more to Thursday’s uneven 19-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers than Ward's underwhelming box score – even if there was more bad than good. Let's walk through the major takeaways.

Cam Ward’s Flaws Were Evident Against 49ers

Let’s not sugarcoat it: Ward missed some throws he has to make.

The accuracy questions are fair; they have been since Ward entered the league. He's has never been the quarterback who makes every short throw look easy or operates with the surgical precision of, say, Peyton Manning. Ward is a creator. Ward is aggressive. He can make throws most quarterbacks will not even attempt, at his best.

cam ward — August 13, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Gracen Halton (93) tackles Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

However, that comes with some frustrating misses. There were a few plays against San Francisco where even the biggest Ward believer had to shake their head. More than a couple of open opportunities were left on the field.

But Ward’s decision-making was not always the issue. It was his execution, and that's an important distinction.

A quarterback making poor decisions is a much bigger concern than a young quarterback missing throws in a preseason game while working through a new system. Ward has shown he can recover from the lesser moments.

We watched him do that last season, when he found a way to play some of his best football down the stretch despite having far less talent around him than he does now. One rough half in the preseason does not erase that.

It's Been a Rough Couple of Years for Titans Fans

We live in such a "what have you done for me lately" society, but on the flip side, this organization has done its fans a disservice over the last few years. Titans fans have a right to be frustrated right now. There have been too many whiffs, too much dysfunction, and far too many visions of a successful future that never panned out.

So, when fans see Ward miss a few easy throws, or watch the defense give up chunks through the air, the instinct to say, “here we go again,” is more understandable. Nobody is asking the Titans faithful to forget how the last few years have gone.

brian callaha — Brian Callahan was hired to be the sixth head coach of the Tennessee Titans on Jan. 22, 2024. Previous to joining the Titans, Callahan was offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals, most notably during the 2021 season in which the team advanced to Super Bowl LVI. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

But this team needs time. Rome was not built in a day, and neither is a new offense, a new defense, or a sustainable winning culture. In the wise words of Aaron Rodgers: R-E-L-A-X.

Now that the clichés are out of the way, I want to point out that the Titans shouldn't ignore their mistakes. Again, Ward has to be more accurate. The secondary has to be better - a lot better. The pass rush has to show up more consistently. But we just haven't seen enough to declare that the latest rebuild is headed for the same ending as the last one.

Brian Daboll Stripped Tennessee's Offense to the Basics

The biggest signal of the night, at least to me, was how little Brian Daboll appeared to show on the offensive end.

When Ward was on the field, Tennessee’s offense looked extremely vanilla. There was virtually no pre-snap motion. In fact, without going back and charting every play, I don't think there was any pre-snap motion during the entire game. That should speak volumes about the slow rollout of this new scheme, and quite frankly, it makes me feel a tiny bit better about the whole thing.

The first preseason game is about making sure the operation looks right before you start adding all the bells and whistles later on. If Thursday's debut was mostly about building that foundation, there were some positives to come away with.

Tennessee's offensive line looked solid moving people in the running game. J.C. Latham had a commendable bounce-back performance after plenty of training-camp uncertainty. Rookie Fernando Carmona was a legitimately pleasant surprise as well, especially when the Titans got out in space and asked him to pull.

The team looked physical and functional up front. That's a good place to start, even if it was against a bunch of the 49ers' reserves. The other side of the ball, however...

Titans' Defense Has Plenty of Work to do

The Titans' concerns on defense are more obvious. Tennessee’s run defense looked fair, allowing just 84 yards in total, but the pass defense left plenty to be desired. Their struggles were hinted at throughout the two teams' joint practices earlier in the week. This is the biggest angle to worry about

The Titans just couldn't get enough pressure home, for starters, and the secondary gave up too many chunk plays. Cor’Dale Flott and Alontae Taylor were not effective, and the 49ers made Tennessee pay when the ball went in the air.

In addition, the Titans will be without safety Nazeeh Johnson, who was just dealt a six-game suspension by the NFL violating the league's Performance-Enhancing Substances policy. That's a loss of depth for a unit that already appears shorthanded.

It would have been comforting to see Tennessee's talent prevail on defense, as the Titans seemed to have a significant advantage on paper against the 49ers' backup squad. That made the result we got all the more disheartening.

alontae taylor — August 13, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver De'zhaun Stribling (15) is tackled by Tennessee Titans cornerback Alontae Taylor (24) during the first quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Still, I would like to see a little more out of this group before assuming Coach Saleh showed his full hand in a preseason opener. If Daboll kept the offense stripped down, it is reasonable to think Saleh did the same on the defensive end of things.

The Titans are installing revamped systems on both sides. The team needs these preseason reps, which is why Saleh keeping his starters involved is an encouraging look.

Thursday night's preseaosn opener was far from perfect - I might not even call it good. But the Titans also showed they can run the ball effectively, operate cleanly, and put together a long touchdown drive without looking completely overwhelmed. That's a start.

Let's circle back for Tennessee's next preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks before making a judgement, at the earliest. That contest takes place on Sunday, Aug. 23.

Add us as a preferred source on Google