Titans-Buccaneers Winners & Losers: Cam Ward’s top connection, an injury concern, and help needed after the preseason opener

The Tennessee Titans fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 29-7 in their first preseason game of the year. Of course, the only thing about the score that matters is for those who choose to bet on these games (you know who you are). So let’s dive into the winners and losers from Preseason Week 1:

Winner: Cam Ward’s Debut

We got 14 whole snaps from the new Titans starter, and they were mostly fun! After going 3-and-out on the opening drive, Ward and company marched 65 yards down the field on 11 plays for a touchdown. Ward was 5/8 for 67 yards, and his offensive line kept him clean both times he took the field. He didn’t set the world on fire, but it was exactly the kind of debut his coaches wanted to see from him. After a cold start, he bounced back and led a strong drive. Made a couple really nice throws, got away with one bad decision, and lived to fight another day. Click here for more on Cam’s first action of the year.

Winner: Ward-To-Ridley Connection

It’s gotten harder and harder to ignore the budding connection between Cam Ward and Calvin Ridley this year. And with so much about the rest of this receiving corps uncertain, it stands to reason Ridley will be getting a ton of target share all year long as long as he stays upright.

On Tennessee’s lone touchdown drive, Cam and Calvin were the engine of the offense. Cam’s first 3 completions and 50 yards were to Ridley, including a 27 yard strike. If the end of last year was any indicator of how this veteran receiver will pick up in Year 2 as a Titan, watch out. Click here for a lot more on what his statistical expectations could be in 2025.

Winner: James Williams

We came into the summer thinking the LB2 competition would be an entertaining one. But it turns out, James Williams had the role pretty much locked up before they even put the pads on for the first time. The 2nd year linebacker has been a constant alongside starter Cody Barton since the beginning of camp, and he got to run with the starters at the beginning of the game in Tampa as well. He’s this coaching staff’s guy. He actually started the night with a big tone-setting hit on the opening kickoff, showing off his utility on special teams as well. He flew around the whole time he was on the field, showing why he’s already the clear choice to take that starting job. His length and athleticism paired with a mental Year 2 leap might make for a pleasant surprise at a previously uncertain position this year.

Loser: The Backup QB Situation

This is actually only in the “loser” category if you’re interested in the Titans having a decent backup situation should Cam Ward (God forbid) go down this season. I am not in that camp, as I have explained all year since they drafted him. I explain why that is right here. But after Cam took a seat early on in this one, things under center took a serious turn for the worse.

The truth of the matter is that these backups both stink. I said in the spring that if you actually want a decent backup behind Cam, you’d need to cut everybody and look elsewhere. Everybody got a first-hand look at why that is on Saturday night, as Brandon Allen’s arm looked weak as he passed for a 50% completion percentage at 5 yards a pop and a pick, and the Tim Boyle put on one of the all-time disaster-classes to wrap things up. 4/13 for 24 yards, less than 2 YPC, and 2 interceptions? That comes out to a cool 0.6 rating. Not great!

Loser: The Backup Defense Situation

Speaking of bad backup situations, the Titans depth on defense is really, really rough. There is a ton of youth, and their development (or lack thereof so far) plays a big part in this. But besides the defensive line’s run stopping ability, which is actually quite good, these backups are pretty bad at just about everything else. The Bucs backups possessed the ball for nearly 35 minutes, hanging 29 points and 348 total yards on the Titans backups (outside of the opening drive). It just goes to show how much deeper a more developed squad along the teambuilding timeline is than Tennessee right now. Pray the Titans starters stay healthy.

Loser: Tyjae Spears

Our final loser is Tyjae Spears, who left the game early with an apparent foot or ankle injury of some kind. He limped to the sideline, took a cart into the locker room with trainers shortly after, and then was seen in a boot with crutches on his way out of the locker room per Paul Kuharsky.

This is a big deal for both Spears and the Titans, as this is essentially his make-or-break season. I wrote at length about why that is right here, but needless to say, without him the Titans run game is all on Tony Pollard just like it was last year for the most part.