The Tennessee Titans were defeated 34-26 by the New Orleans Saints in a tight-knit Week 17 contest. It was a back and forth affair that highlighted two rookie quarterbacks. It represented the final contest of the 2025 campaign at Nissan Stadium. We’ve conjured up five observations from Sunday’s action.
Another strong day for Cam Ward
Cam Ward finished 21-of-39 for 251 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. It was another strong performance by the rookie quarterback. He had confirmed his fourth straight multi-TD passing game
before halftime. Ward had a few misses and negative plays, such as a Chase Young strip-sack TD, but he was mostly sharp. On the topic of deep passing accuracy, he completed a 38-yarder to Chimere Dike, a 27-yarder to Van Jefferson, and drew a critical DPI penalty on a deep 3rd-and-15 bomb to Dike. Off-script magic was routinely on display.
Saints special teams… not so special
The Saints committed several special teams miscues throughout the first half. Punter Kai Kroeger shanked one for just 17 yards to his own 35-yard line. The Titans only gained three yards on the ensuing possession, but managed a field goal thanks to positive field position. Saints kicker Charlie Smyth then missed a makeable 43-yard kick. Ward and the offense overtook possession and Joey Slye converted again on the miscue.
Titans offensive line keeps rolling
The offensive line has significantly improved since Bill Callahan’s departure. Ward was sacked three times on Sunday, including the aforementioned Young strip-sack TD. One was a scramble sack. On several occasions, Ward had 3+ seconds to scan the field in a clean pocket. The Titans’ run game was a little inconsistent, but Tony Pollard still managed 85 rushing yards, surpassing 1,000 on the season.
A little bit of luck goes a long way
With the Titans leading 26-20 with about 11 minutes remaining, Saints QB Tyler Shough hit Dante Pettis on a WR screen. Pettis made several defenders miss en route to a would-be touchdown. Nickel defender Kemon Hall forced a fumble at the goal line and Kaiir Elam recovered in the end zone, leading to a Titans touchback.
