The Tennessee Titans are 0-4, but first-year coach Robert Saleh held steadfast that quarterback Cam Ward saved his best game of the season for his most recent game, a 24-18 road loss on Oct. 4 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Ward's numbers back up Saleh's words.
For the most part.
The second-year, former No. 1 overall draft pick completed 20 of 31 pass attempts (64.5%), his second-highest completion percentage and number of total completions in a game this season. He threw for one touchdown, tying a season-best he's accomplished three times. His longest pass against the Ravens was for 33 yards, his second longest this year.
Ward also ran for 27 yards on four carries, though 22 of those came on one.
"I do think it was the best game he's played this
year," Saleh said Oct. 5 during his morning Zoom call. "When you look at is as a whole, he made a lot of plays with his feet, a lot of plays off-schedule. Did a good job hanging in the pocket.
"He's going to be a pretty damn good quarterback."
Then there was that interception.
'Still not where we want him to be'
After finishing his previous game by throwing an interception to seal a loss against the Jets, Ward tossed another costly one on the Titans' second play from scrimmage against the Ravens.
Trying to save a broken play, a falling Ward found running back Tony Pollard, who bobbled it into the waiting hands of Ravens linebacker Trenton Simpson.
Five plays and 37 yards later, the Ravens scored a touchdown to put the Titans into a 7-0 hole 1 minute, 59 seconds into the game.
Trenton Simpson intercepts Cam Ward on the opening drive!
— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026
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"He's done a nice job building off the positives that have been happening every week," Saleh said. "He's getting more comfortable in the pocket.
"Still not where we want him to be. I want to make sure we understand that. But I do think he's going in the right direction."
Cam Ward is going to be 'a pretty damn good quarterback'
While Saleh said more than once that Ward is going to be "a pretty damn good quarterback," the question is, can the Titans be a pretty damn good team?
Or even mediocre?
It's going to take some time, Saleh said.
And he's going to stick with his process. Give it time to sink in.
"I know it's a results-oriented business," he said. "But the only. chance you have to get the result you want is to have a great process.
"Changing things up and trying to change messaging doesn't change what needs to happen, which is you need to find a way to get better every single day. You need to attack the daily regimen."
'Learn how to stop losing'
That was Saleh's response when he was asked Oct. 5 whether his team knew how to win, and if not, how would they learn?
The Titans' four losses have come by a combined 28 points.
"You've got to learn how to stop losing first," he said. "Right now we're doing things every week where we're putting ourselves behind the 8-ball. Whether it's turnovers, penalties, missed assignments.
"But I think we are getting better."
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Titans coach Robert Saleh says QB Cam Ward had best game of season vs Ravens
