All eyes will be on No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward as he makes his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon. Coming off a 3-14 record in 2024, the Tennessee Titans are hoping Ward can reverse their fortunes, but they get a brutal challenge right off the bat.

After a tremendous college career at Washington State and Miami, which included a fourth-place finish in Heisman Trophy voting last year, Ward is now the face of the Titans. With this matchup against the Broncos, there will be no easing into life at the NFL level. Last season, Denver led the league with 63 sacks and surrendered just 18.3 points per game.

On the other side of the ball, Bo Nix is looking to build upon his own impressive rookie campaign. Nix burst onto the scene in Sean Payton’s offense as he completed 66.3% of his passes for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He will be joined in the backfield by a pair of new running backs in veteran J.K. Dobbins and rookie R.J. Harvey.

Coming into this matchup, the Broncos are clear favorites against the rebuilding Titans, but can Ward pull off a shocker in his debut? It shouldn’t take long to find out exactly how much moxie Ward has in this matchup against one of the NFL’s best defenses.

Where to watch Broncos vs. Titans live

Date: Sunday, Sept. 7 | Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Location: Empower Field at Mile High (Denver)
TV: Fox | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Follow along: CBS Sports App
Odds: Broncos -8.5 | O/U 42.5 (via FanDuel)

Broncos vs. Titans: Need to know

Cam Ward will be tested immediately. There’s baptism by fire, and then there’s this matchup against the Broncos’ defense. Considering Ward is making his NFL debut — and the general lack of elite weapons around him — expectations for the talented rookie will need to be tempered. Can Ward successfully manage the game without making too many egregious mistakes? Even that should be considered a win, no matter what the scoreboard says. Anything more than that would be gravy for the Titans. Besides, things should only get easier for Ward after this week.

Bo Nix is looking to level up. It was at least a mild surprise to see the Broncos call Nix’s name with the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he proved them right last year. Nix didn’t need long to get comfortable in Payton’s offense either, and he only got better as the season progressed. That led to Nix finishing third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. Moving forward, Nix will need to elevate his game if Denver is going to get back to being a true Super Bowl contender. That’s especially true with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert in the same division.

New faces in the Denver backfield. Broncos fans and fantasy football managers will be keeping a close eye on how the backfield reps are split. Denver used a second-round pick to select RJ Harvey out of UCF in this year’s draft, and it also signed veteran free agent J.K. Dobbins. The latter was listed as the starter on the team’s first unofficial depth chart, but Harvey can provide some energy and explosiveness. Can Harvey do enough to take over in the backfield, or will this be a committee for a while?

Broncos vs. Titans prediction, pick

It probably doesn’t come as much of a shock that the Broncos are 8.5-point favorites against a team that finished with the worst record in the NFL last season. Cam Ward gives the Titans and their fans an injection of hope, but they’re probably not ready to pull off the upset in Denver. It’s tough to find a matchup that favors Tennessee in this one, and a rookie quarterback making his first start in Mile High could be a recipe fo a lopsided result. 

Prediction: Broncos -8.5