The Tennessee Titans were defeated 30-24 by the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Week 12 game at Nissan Stadium. The 1-10 Titans own the worst record in the NFL and still possess the inside track on the No.
1 overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. We’ve conjured up five observations following what was actually an entertaining defeat.
Cam Ward is developing in real time
Cam Ward was outstanding on the opening possession, a 16-play scoring drive. He ran for 18 yards via two scrambles. A beautiful pass to Chimere Dike was dropped, but that did not discourage the rookie quarterback. A couple of Ward’s highlight plays were a 4th-and-2 conversion to Gunnar Helm, later avoiding a sack to complete an off-script pass to Chig Okonkwo.
Ward was stellar all afternoon. The Titans’ typical sloppiness eventually made life difficult on him, but he was resillient. Back-to-back penalties on the second drive made it 1st-and-25. The third possession started inside the 15 after one of the aforementioned special teams penalties. Dan Moore Jr. and Lloyd Cushenberry left hurt, and almost every other offensive lineman was whistled for a penalty (Latham, Udoh, Skoronski).
Ward ultimately finished 28-of-42 for 256 yards, a touchdown pass, 37 rushing yards and an additional touchdown, showing real progress.
Special teams
The Titans are usually pretty good on special teams, but John “Bones” Fassel’s unit made a trio of errors throughout the first half. Dike mishandled a kickoff that went out of bounds at the three-yard line. The following Titans’ possession began with a hold on Dike’s return. They also allowed a 20-yard punt return to Rashid Shaheed that started a Seahawks possession at the 26.
Of course, Dike made up for his first-half error during the second part with this historic 90-yard punt return for a TD. Dike deserves to be All-Pro while qualifying for the Pro Bowl as a returner.
Rookie progress
The Titans committed to playing young defenders on defense. Marcus Harris and Kevin Winston Jr. both continue to take advantage of their opportunities. Winston made a couple of quality tackles and had good reps in coverage, and shouldn’t be blamed for the silly defensive strategy that aligned him 1-v-1 with Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the opening play of the third quarter. Harris nearly intercepted a Sam Darnold ball that went incomplete to Kenneth Walker III. The Titans may have two future solutions there.
Xavier Restrepo
Titans fans were excited about Xavier Restrepo making his debut. Restrepo earned more snaps during the fourth quarter, and connected with Ward on an incredible off-script play. A follow-up catch was called back for a hold. He was previously targeted in the end zone, but failed to make a difficult contested catch. James Proche, who made an excellent chain-moving catch across the middle on 3rd-and-9, initially played ahead of him as the WR3 next to Dike and Van Jefferson. Mason Kinsey was also involved briefly during the first half.
Cam Ward is helpless
The Titans are a mess around Ward. Players fail to convert makeable catches (Dike and Helm had one apiece), Mike McCoy and Bo Hardegree are committed to Tony Pollard and Julius Chestnut in the run game despite their ineffectiveness. Penalties and missed assignments up front also continue to be a massive issue.
