Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward’s costly interception in a 12-7 loss against the New York Giants was uncharacteristic.
Ward has been a solid decision-maker in his young career. But he's also 3-17 as an NFL starter and the Titans are 0-3 ahead of their Week 4 game against the Baltimore Ravens (2-1) on Oct. 4 (noon CT, CBS).
As pressure to win mounts, Titans quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney was asked after an Oct. 1 practice if Ward had shown signs of pressing on his interception.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it was pressing,” Tierney said. “With Cam, he’s competitive. I’d call it competitive.”
Ward's eagerness in that position — declining several options, instead making a dangerous throw on first-and-goal — makes sense as the 2025 No. 1 overall pick tries to prove he can become a franchise quarterback.
Ward didn’t communicate any regrets after the Giants game about throwing the ball, only that he wished he’d thrown a higher pass. Titans coach Robert Saleh and Tierney have characterized the play this week as a poor decision.
“(It was) a combination,” Tierney said. “You don’t ever want to just coach off the result. Like, ‘All right, yeah, if you’d thrown it higher and all that.’ I think you continue to educate in that moment of, do we want the ball thrown on first down there as opposed to maybe fourth down? All those things you talk about with a young quarterback to just continue the education process with that.”
Going into the Giants game, Ward was the only player in team history to have thrown 11 touchdowns with one or fewer interceptions in an 11-game span.
Tyler Palmateer covers the Tennessee Titans for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Is Cam Ward pressing? How Titans QB coach evaluated INT vs. Giants
