Robert Saleh still hasn’t won a game as the Tennessee Titans’ head coach, and Cam Ward has heard every version of the question about his job this week. Sunday in Indianapolis is the next chance to change that, and the quarterback debate won’t settle itself without a better performance.
A win would be Saleh’s first with the franchise and the 500th in Titans history, according to The Associated Press. These six players will have the most to say about whether it happens.
Make players for the Titans
Cam Ward, quarterback
Ward is coming off his worst outing of the season, going 23 of 36 for 170 yards and taking four sacks in a 26-3 loss to Houston. Saleh defended him this week while admitting the obvious. “And was (Week 5) a step back? Yes, but it was a step back as an entire offense, not just Cam,” Saleh said, per the AP.
The opening is real. Indianapolis allows the third-most yards per play in the league. “I know we are not playing our best football, but every week we get a chance to change the narrative of us as a team,” Ward told the team website. Getting the ball out on time is step one.
Tony Pollard, running back
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No matchup favors Tennessee more than its run game against this Colts front. Indianapolis ranks 27th against the run, allowing 130.2 yards per game and 4.97 yards per carry, per the Titans website. Pollard has 273 yards on 68 carries and is the back built to grind that kind of defense down.
His role has been shifting, though. Tyjae Spears out-snapped Pollard last week, and Pollard’s name keeps surfacing in trade deadline conversations. A big day would help the Titans and his market at the same time.
Carnell Tate, wide receiver
The rookie leads all first-year players with 23 catches, and he showed his ceiling with nine catches for 145 yards in Baltimore. Then Houston held him to one catch for 6 yards. Tennessee can’t afford another week where its best young receiver disappears, especially with his full route tree still being unlocked.
Tate isn’t letting the Houston dud linger. “I am just focused on what I can control,” he said in the locker room Wednesday. Ward needs to find him early to get the offense in rhythm.
Break players for the Colts
Tyler Warren, tight end
Warren has become the most reliable target in Indianapolis, catching 30 of 36 targets for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He led the Colts with seven catches for 83 yards in Pittsburgh and added a 1-yard touchdown run, one of the bright spots in the loss.
His 73.1 grade sits 12th among tight ends on Warren’s PFF player page, and he’s graded well as a runner, too. With safety Kevin Winston Jr. ruled out, Tennessee’s coverage of the middle of the field gets thinner, and linebackers Anthony Hill Jr. and Cody Barton will have to carry more of the load against a tight end who rarely drops the ball.
DeForest Buckner, defensive tackle
Buckner leads the Colts with four sacks, including one in Pittsburgh that forced a three-and-out. His 74.5 pass-rush grade ranks 16th among interior defenders on Buckner’s PFF player page, with 16 pressures.
That’s a problem for an offense that has given up 10 sacks and saw Ward’s sack problem return last week. Interior pressure is the hardest kind for a young quarterback to escape, and Buckner wins inside.
Josh Downs, wide receiver
Downs leads Indianapolis with 249 receiving yards on 20 catches, and with Alec Pierce on injured reserve, he’s carrying more of the outside load. The Colts’ receiver depth issues make him even more central to the plan.
He hasn’t scored yet, and that’s the part that worries Tennessee. The Titans’ cornerbacks allowed 17 catches on 18 combined targets to three players last week, per PFF data cited in our snap count breakdown. Downs has drawn 34 targets this season, and Daniel Jones will keep feeding him until someone in a Titans uniform proves he can cover him.
If Pollard can run and Ward can hold up against Buckner, the Titans have a path. If Warren and Downs control the middle, fans back home in Nashville will be staring at the 2027 draft conversation a little longer. Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET on FOX.
More on the Tennessee Titans
- Here’s What Should Scare the Tennessee Titans About the Indianapolis Colts
- Tennessee Titans Face Last Best Chance for Struggling Offense to Build Momentum
- The Real Threat to Cam Ward’s Titans Job Won’t Arrive Until the 2027 NFL Draft
- The Titans’ Worst-in-the-NFL Offense Is a Brian Daboll Problem Before It’s a Cam Ward Problem
