Cam Ward’s direction as a franchise QB gets muddied in ugly Titans loss to Texans

The Tennessee Titans’ 16-13 loss to the Houston Texans seems to be a bit of a Rorschach test for Cam Ward viewers. Was he bad? Was he good? Was he bad but good by the standards of the circumstances? The opinions are flying hot and heavy.

Here’s what I think: he was mostly lackluster all day. It wasn’t a great day of quarterbacking from the rookie. As has been the case in a number of his games, he was a bit of a rollercoaster.

He completed 24 of 37 passes for (64.9%) 194 yds, one TD, zero INT, and one fumble. He also ran three times for 33 yards. He started out doing a good job of taking what was given to him underneath, but got away from it as the game went on. He took some tough sacks and missed a couple of throws he should have made. His deep ball in particular continues to leave something to be desired, which has been a known area for improvement dating back to college.

But he did some things well, too, such as identifying and taking downhill escape lanes from collapsing pockets. And then more than just stepping up and through, he was actually choosing to tuck the ball and run for the yards (first downs!) that were available to him instead of opting to rip a last-second pass downfield. That’s progress!

And he deserves credit for uncorking an absolute seed to Chig Okonkwo on his final drive of the game, a deep pass that did connect and not a moment too soon. He was clutch on that 95-yard touchdown drive, which is a big part of what you drafted him for.

So it was a mixed bag for the rookie. Overall, I gave him a C grade on the A to Z Sports postgame show. He had a below-average day with a couple of nice flashes.

However, here’s another part of my evaluation that’s important in the context of how people are beginning to discuss Ward this week: I don’t see this lackluster day at the office as anything that will negatively impact his future. It’s not a black mark in my book against the rookie, as we try to determine whether he’ll make it in this league or not. It doesn’t tell me a thing about whether the Titans will (or should) have some semblance of a QB competition in the near future.

It is what it is, if you ask me. And there are three important reasons why I see this game as existing in an evaluation vacuum for the most part.

Houston has the best defense in the NFL

Here’s the first of the three extenuating circumstances that frame this outing for Ward: the Texans’ defense is phenomenal. They’re the league’s No. 1 defense by both points allowed and yards gained, and you feel that every time you watch them. They’ve done a lot of the heavy lifting for Houston to get back to 5-5 and into the playoff hunt, like they have this past month.

It’s a nightmare unit for a rookie QB to face, especially twice a year on a terrible team of his own. If you’re looking for progress in that regard, fine! I’d put Cam’s second crack at the Texans over his first without hesitation. And when you contextualize the statistical performance from Sunday by comparing it to the QBs who’ve faced Houston’s defense this year, it might change the way that you look at it.

It’s fair to point out, by the way, that this keeps happening to Ward. The Titans have an absolute nightmare of a “last place schedule” this year, having to face the AFC and NFC West’s, the juggernaut Colts twice, and the ferocious Texans defense twice. Take a look at the gauntlet of defenses on this schedule.

So was it an overall “bad” day of quarterbacking? Yes, it was. But the Texans do that to guys most weeks.

Tennessee’s run game disappeared

It’s not just some old cliche that a young QB’s run game is one of the most important things for his success. If you don’t present a threat on the ground, opponents can tee off on you as a passer. It’s a bad idea to try to ask a rookie to operate an offense without a decent run game.

And in Week 11, the Titans’ run game was downright terrible. No, actually, it just didn’t exist. Play-caller Bo Hardegree practically abandoned the run at times in a game that was always within one score because it was as obvious to him as it was to everybody else how ineffective they were running the ball.

Here’s all you need to know about how it went: Ward, a quarterback somewhat infamous for not wanting to run, ran three times and led the team in rushing yards. Tony Pollard managed 22 yards on 10 carries, and Tyjae Spears just three yards on four carries. That’s pathetic.

These are numbers you tend to see when you’re getting throttled, and you don’t have the luxury of running and aren’t doing so effectively. But no, in this game, the Texans’ fantastic defense simply stonewalled the Titans’ running attack. Without any semblance of a threat on the ground, Ward was put into a heavier drop-back game script than you’d want or expect for him in a neck-and-neck competition.

Ward’s entire wide receiver room got hurt

The third and final reason I don’t put much stock into this performance is that, in case you didn’t notice, Ward’s entire receiving room crumbled during the game. Much of his time in the second half was spent in heavy personnel looks with Van Jefferson and Mason Kinsey lined up out wide. That’s not a recipe for success for any quarterback, let alone a rookie.

Calvin Ridley’s triumphant return from a month away nursing a hamstring ended on the first series of the offense’s day when he broke his fibula, knocking him out for the year. Then, Chimere Dike got knocked out with a chest contusion on a muffed punt, and Elic Ayomanor was in and out of the lineup with a hamstring.

What is Ward supposed to do with this, exactly? Now, there were some throws to be made with these guys out there that he didn’t connect on, which is why he doesn’t get a total pass by any means. But in general, I’m going to be hard-pressed to hold a poor performance against any QB that played the best defense in the league, without any receivers, and without a viable run game.

That’s why I wish Cam did some things better, and I wasn’t exactly blown away by any means, but I don’t think I learned much about him long-term from Week 11.