NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Cam Ward has said all season that his only measure of progress is winning. At 1-11, he’s lived that exactly once.
I admire his steadiness. He’s got real throwing talent, and with a legitimate coach, a competent staff and a few real pieces around him, he’s got a shot to be a quality quarterback.
Cam Ward against the Jaguars/ Courtesy Tennessee Titans
The fact that he hasn’t wilted under the weight of this mess matters, more than most observers will ever credit. He hasn’t spiraled, hasn’t played the blame game and hasn’t dipped into the nonsense some struggling rookies fall back on.
Sunday was the first time he cracked. A little.
“You have to lose to win,” he said.
No, you don’t.
Jayden Daniels made the NFC Championship Game as a rookie. C.J. Stroud won a playoff game his first year. Bo Nix helped the Broncos win 10 in 2023. Brock Purdy went 5-0 after he was plugged in before leading the 49ers to the NFC title game.
All had better infrastructure. They didn’t need to believe in losing.
The Titans looked dead, flat and uninspired while mustering 3 points and getting smoked by 22 against the Jaguars.
“We’re into it every week,” Ward said. “It’s just the way football goes… the personal fouls, the penalties, the bad plays. That’s why we lost. And it’s unacceptable.”
So what’s the repercussion for a loop of unacceptable that keeps repeating?
“The consequence is you keep losing,” Nick Holz said. “Thirty-four days left, five games to show what kind of pro you are.”
It’s unacceptable, but it sure seems accepted. The Titans had a brief two-game stretch with three penalties. In the four games since: 7, 9, 10, 10. It’s the same cycle and no one knows how to stop it.
When does unacceptable become too much?
“It’s already too much, honestly,” Ward said. “It’s always been something — every game.”
They don’t know how to break out of it. And they need someone besides Ward to lead that charge. Your quarterback can lead culture only when the roster and coaching give him something to stand on.
Ward doesn’t have that scaffolding. He’s not a “win by himself” guy, not now. His mechanics are inconsistent, he forces too many throws and he’s running an offense led by a stiff interim coach who refuses to hear the locker room’s plea for more aggression (which isn’t always right).
Jeffery Simmons said it out loud: The next coach needs to be a real leader. The culture must reset. And he’s right. Brian Callahan couldn’t provide it. Mike McCoy, awkward and outdated, absolutely isn’t providing it. The Titans have had some odd personalities at the helm in Ken Whisenhunt and Mike Munchak. But McCoy is more so, plus the most out of step with a modern locker room.
He inherited a mess, but has done nothing to improve it. Players needed something tangible they could cling to. He quickly proven incapable of providing it.
At some point, something has to break the loop. A tone-setting play. An individual impact game. A leadership moment. A penalty-free week. Something.
If the best thing the Titans walk out of this with is that they didn’t fracture, that’s better than nothing. Staying together under McCoy isn’t easy. But it’s much more about professionalism, 
respect for Mike Borgonzi — who they need to win over — and personal reputation than it is about belief.
Peter Skoronski just wants to do the right thing.
“I don’t think anyone thinks going separate ways is productive,” he said. “The only way to win is to do it together… follow what the coaches tell us and do it the best we can. Mutiny isn’t the best option.”
He’s right.
But it sure has to be tempting.