While the Tennessee Titans remain a losing team, they no longer appear to be an overmatched team.
They’ve been getting closer this season.
The bar is so low, that'd mean even more if it meant anything to the bottom line. But it doesn't. When you are 1-6, all that really matters is that you are 1-6. The rest comes off as splitting hairs in a quest to accept not being good enough.
For the Titans, attempting to feel better about losing has become a tradition of late. A franchise that, for several seasons, has lacked an identity on the field has developed an identity off the field of undying hope in the face of near-constant failure. The ever-present promise of a tomorrow that’s brighter than today.
It’s like Titans quarterback Cam Ward said about missing
a wide-open Daniel Bellinger on a deep ball: “We’ll hit that. Eventually.”
Sure. Eventually.
Anyway, Ward's incompletion wasn’t why the Titans lost 27-24 to the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 25 at Nissan Stadium. He completed a fourth-down shot on the next play for 26 yards and then another throw on third down to create a game-tying touchdown with 58 seconds remaining.
Ward didn’t play well for most of this game. He hasn’t played well for most of this season.
But he did make some throws in crunch time. It was a lot like how Ward’s offense pushed ahead of the Eagles with 1:56 remaining in Week 2, only to watch Philly’s offense drive 65 yards to score a game-winning TD with nine seconds left.
The Browns just needed a field goal, and they kicked it as time expired.
If you need me to say it: Yes, the officials clearly missed the Browns’ right tackle jumping early on a 36-yard pass play that should’ve been blown dead for a false start but instead set up Cleveland’s game-winning field goal. But that isn’t what cost the Titans this game, either.
Harold Fannin Jr. with the big catch and run to put the Browns into field goal range!
— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026
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You know what really cost the Titans this game?
Robert Saleh’s defense.
The Browns gained 491 offensive yards. That’s the most the Titans have allowed an opponent since the Kansas City Chiefs gained 499 yards during an overtime win in 2022. As bad as things have devolved for the Titans since that night at Arrowhead, no opposing offense has worked them for more yards than Deshaun Watson and the Browns.
Watson was rarely pressured and threw for 308 yards. Rookie KC Concepcion was unstoppable in the first half, going for 129 yards on eight catches. Running back Quinshon Judkins ran for 96 yards and 5.6 a pop. As a team, the Browns got 6.3 yards per rushing attempt.
The Browns’ final three possessions went for 62, 71 and 50 yards. The Titans were fortunate to have a field goal doink off the upright to conclude the first, but the final two drives resulted in a go-ahead touchdown and a go-ahead field goal, and it meant the game.
Same thing happened late to Saleh’s defense against the Eagles. And you know what? Even in last week’s victory, the Colts – against the run of play – marched 72 yards for a game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter.
That’s disappointing. Given Saleh’s reputation and the additions of this past offseason, this Titans defense was supposed to be a strength of the team in 2026. If it has been, that’s only because other phases have been so bad.
Special teams, though, is getting better in a hurry. Brian Daboll’s offense still has work to do. Ward isn't there yet, obviously. There were sloppy turnovers against the Browns, and there was a pivotal goal-line stand that was inexcusable for an O-line that’d been mashing the defense until that point.
But the Titans’ offense has scored on nine of its past 15 possessions and, for once, showed up ready to produce in the first half against the Browns.
As the offense slowly starts to wake up, you are forced to look over at the defense and see trends in the wrong direction. You saw benched, multi-millionaire cornerback Alontae Taylor standing on the sideline as Browns receivers – most notably rookie KC Concepcion – kept sprinting for big gains.
You saw the Browns running all over the Titans post-Jordan Elliott. And you still didn't see much from a ballyhooed Titans pass rush that, for the most part, has not been as promised. That pass rush was better against the Colts last week. But Indy still ran the ball successfully, and it still gained 399 total yards. That was more than any opponent had against Tennessee in 2026 – until the following week.
“We didn't do enough,” Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said after the Browns loss, “especially when it really mattered.”
If there’s a better line to encapsulate the past few years for these Titans, I'm not sure I've heard it.
They are getting closer, though. For whatever that’s worth.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Now it's Robert Saleh's defense that's letting down the Tennessee Titans | Estes
