Last season, the Houston Texans swept the Tennessee Titans in their two-game divisional series for the second time in the last three seasons. Cam Ward was the latest Tennessee quarterback to to bear the brunt of the losses, as Ward struggled to find his footing against Houston and its prolific defense.
This was most evidenced by their early week four match-up, as the Texans handed Ward his worst statistical outing of his entire rookie year in their 26-0 blowout of the Titans. His stat line at game's end was:
- 10/26, 38.5% completion (worst of the season)
- 108 yards (lowest of the season, week 18 vs. Jacksonville notwithstanding)
- 4.2 yard completion average (tied for third-worst of the season)
- Zero touchdowns, one interception
- 35.4 passer rating (worst of the season)
He managed to improve in their final contest in week 11, where Ward improved his completion percentage (24/37, 64.9% completion), passing yards (194), touchdown rate (one) and passer rating (87.0) in a 16-13 Tennessee loss. To be fair to Ward, he had to endure the firing of his head coach and offensive play caller in Brian Callahan, an offensive roster bereft of premium talent and a 31st-ranked offense. Really, it's no wonder why Ward and the Titans put up the 3-14 record that they did.
This time around, Ward will be surrounded by an improved offensive infrastructure, as new faces in both the coaching staff and skill position pool could prove vital for Ward's upward trajectory at the NFL level. This could prove more troublesome to the Texans in 2026 than originally thought.
Texans face an improved Cam Ward, new OC and new offensive weapons in Tennessee
This offseason, the Titans made the decision to hire former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator and New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll to head coach Robert Saleh's staff. His addition alone could help elevate Ward's game, as Titans analyst Brandon Ray (of Fansided's Titan Sized) articulated in a prognostication piece yesterday. He stated,
"Getting Brian Daboll as a play caller should have Ward shining big considering that his work with Josh Allen made him into the superstar quarterback that he is today."
Along with helping Bills quarterback Josh Allen unlock a lot of his potential, he also helped oversee an turnaround with the Giants that saw him help quarterback Daniel Jones to his most productive season of his career, which also included a surprise 31-24 NFC Wildcard win over the Minnesota Vikings in the 2022-2023 season. This season was instrumental in Jones getting a hefty contract extension in New York, and then eventually becoming the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts three season later.
Along with Daboll's help, Ward also has the benefit of multiple new receiving threats in former Giant Wan'Dale Robinson and fourth-overall selected Carnell Tate out of Ohio State.
With these developments in mind, Ward has a much better chance of developing his game and becoming more of a headache for Houston to deal with in 2026.
Don't get me wrong, I still see the Texans sweeping the Titans en route to an improved season of their own, but I don't predict Tennessee to finish as the fourth-worst team in football. Ward's improvements might help them to 6-8 wins, which would be a step in the right direction for a Titans squad that has lost double-digits games for the last four seasons in a row.
Houston needs to have the upmost respect for Ward in year two. Because, we still remember 2024, which was the last time a Titans quarterback shocked the Texans at a time where Tennessee "wasn't expected to do much".
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