With the first overall pick, Cameron Ward at quarterback, the Tennessee Titans traveled to Denver, aiming to defeat last year’s playoff team, the Broncos. Yet, the Titans fell short, losing 20-12 at Empower Field in Mile High.
The Titans did have some positives in this game. The Titans' defense struggled to force turnovers last season and that was an emphasis going into the 2025 season. In this game, the defense managed to intercept the Broncos' quarterback once, showing early improvement in their ability to generate turnovers. The Titans forced four Denver turnovers in this game, giving their offense more opportunities to score points. But here is the issue. The Titans only got six points off the turnovers in the form of two field goals. For a team like the Titans that was trying to win a game on the road against a tough team in a tough environment, you have to be able to capitalize on those turnovers. However, the Titans’ offense was unable to complete those drives and had to settle for field goals.
The reason the Titans have to settle for those field goals is that there are several reasons. Cameron Ward was 12/28 in this game, and his numbers could have been better if not for the drops that occurred. Just to give an example, on the last couple of drives for the Titans, down 20-12, Ward had some opportunities to make plays, but wide receiver Calvin Ridley had a pass glance off his hands twice that he had an opportunity to catch and make a big play and did not make it happen. These key dropped passes, along with the holding penalties and Cameron Ward taking sacks when needing to get rid of the ball hurt the offense tremendously.
But the offense was not all to blame in this game. The Titans' defense also had its share of penalties. Jarvis Brownlee Jr., who is in his second season, had eight penalties all of last season. He is a physical corner and plays to that line every time he suits up. In this game, his physical play ultimately worked against him. On third and three, the Titans stopped the Broncos, but Brownlee drew a pass interference call, which extended the Denver drive just before halftime in the second quarter. That drive would lead to the Titans eventually giving up a touchdown. Along with that penalty, there was another key penalty that occurred when the Titans stopped the Broncos late in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Cody Barton had the stop, but defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons came in close to the whistle and pushed the Denver running back down. In doing so, the officials deemed the action late and threw a flag. To win games, those are things that cannot happen. In totality, any team that commits thirteen penalties for 131 yards is going to have a hard time winning any game.
The game was a close one, but the Titans cannot afford to have drops, fail to execute, and commit penalties to this level and still stay in the game. They have to clean this up leading into next Sunday as they take on the Los Angeles Rams in their home opener, or else the result could be worse than this one.