DENVER ― Rookie quarterback Cam Ward‘s thesis statement about the Tennessee Titans‘ offense following the 20-12 season-opening loss Sept. 7 to the Denver Broncos is probably a fair one.

“We’re a young group,” Ward said. “We’ve got to keep playing.”

The Titans’ offense was bad. The kind of bad that could make Titans fans yearn for the Will Levis-led offense from a year ago. The team mustered only 133 net yards of offense. Last season’s team never played a game with fewer than 241.

Factoring in sacks, the Titans finished with 62 net passing yards, their fewest in a game since Malik Willis’ first two starts in 2022. The 2-for-14 conversion rate on third downs (14.3%) is their worst since a 1-for-9 showing against Baltimore in London in 2023. And the 2.4 yards per play were the team’s fewest since the debacle against Cleveland in 2023, when Myles Garrett was a one-man wrecking crew through the Titans’ turnstile offensive line.

All this adds up to what was pretty clearly the least productive offensive performance of coach Brian Callahan’s offense-focused tenure in Nashville. Which isn’t a good thing, but it’s also not unexpected.

Ward finished his debut 12-for-28 passing with 112 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He absorbed six sacks, losing 50 yards along the way. The defense and special teams repeatedly gave him good field position, starting the offense in plus territory five times. Only three of those drives resulted in points, and none resulted in touchdowns.

That’s what this Broncos defense is built to do. Since the schedule was released in May, it was clear and obvious that debuting against the NFL’s No. 3 scoring defense and No. 1 pass rush from 2024 would be an epic challenge for Ward.

The Broncos’ stars did what they’re expected to. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, edge defender Nik Bonitto set a career-high in pressures with nine and cornerback Patrick Surtain II didn’t allow a completion in coverage. Jonathon Cooper and Zach Allen had their sacks. Talanoa Hufanga led the team in tackles from the back end. The Broncos might have the best defense in the NFL, and the Titans were early victims of it.

What’s telling are the mistakes Ward didn’t make. The easiest comparison point is considering his performance against Levis’ in Week 1 in 2024. Ward was asked several questions after the loss about why he took so many sacks and wasn’t able to throw balls away under pressure. Levis famously tried doing just that in Chicago last September and his panicked efforts led to a game-losing pick-six.

Ward ate the ball when he needed to. He tossed away passes that didn’t work. He barely found his way out of the end zone to avoid a safety in the Titans’ disastrous sequence before halftime. He was a victim of a few drops, had a long would-be completion overturned by replay and had another would-be completion that might have been overturned by replay had Callahan thrown a challenge flag.

He admits he needs to get better at situational awareness, especially when it comes to knowing if a sack will knock the team out of field goal range. He says he wants to get better at throwing receivers open. He says everyone on the offense, himself included, needs to clean things up.

But it’s again worth noting that 11 offensive players made their Titans debuts. The offense featured five rookies and three second-year players. Ward threw 10 passes to teammates who were also making their NFL debuts. It’s not an excuse so much as it is a reality that this offense doesn’t have the experience to show much of anything yet, let alone against an opponent like the Broncos.

“We’ve just got to continue to grow together,” Ward said. “It’s the first game. We’re not really tripping too much.”

The Titans’ next test is a Los Angeles Rams team that held Houston’s high-flying offense to nine points via three sacks, seven quarterback hits, four pass breakups and two takeaways.

Guess it’s time to grow up quick.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at  nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.