Titans and Cam Ward get robbed twice on NFL Sunday before even kicking off vs the 49ers

Two big outcomes for the Titans future in the early window of Week 15

Easton Freeze — Tennessee Titans Beat Writer
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The Tennessee Titans are out west in Week 15 to face the San Francisco 49ers, but two big outcomes in the early window had a sizable impact on their near future.

Nothing broke their way in terms of the draft order rooting guide, including the only team they needed to win that was a betting favorite. And their Week 16 matchup is suddenly in serious question with an injury that has the entire league waiting with bated breath.

Giants lose at home, and Patrick Mahomes suffers knee injury

Right before the Titans and Niners took the field, you could feel the entire league’s attention drawn to Kansas City. In the final minutes of the Chiefs’ fight for playoff survival against the divisional foe Chargers, Patrick Mahomes went down and stayed there.

Images of him rolling around, grimacing, and holding his knee spread like wildfire.

The Chiefs lost on an interception from backup QB Gardner Minshew, officially eliminating them from the playoffs for the first time in a decade. 2026 will be the first winter in five years in which the AFC Championship game will not feature the Kansas City Chiefs. But that jarring reality was overshadowed by Mahomes, limping with the help of two trainers down the tunnel and into the locker room.

This impacts the Titans in two main ways: first, on a personal level, it’s bound to be a bummer for Cam Ward. Ward studies Mahomes on a weekly basis, and their games have been compared more than once before. Mahomes is one of the only QBs Ward watches on a regular basis, and there’s no doubt he has immense respect for him. Now, their matchup in Week 16 is in serious doubt.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said after the game that Mahomes would be getting an MRI soon, but acknowledged it didn’t look very good. If it’s Minshew instead of Mahomes coming to Nashville for Week 16, there’s no telling how different the game might look. What would have certainly been a touchdown favorite visiting Chiefs team might not even get a field goal worth of respect from Vegas.

This impacts the Titans in a very real way, of course, as every chance to win down the stretch is controversial. If you’re interested in the (genuinely important) winning element of player development for all the important young players on this roster, this is a positive development. But if you’re a fan of draft pick watch already, this is a problem.

Speaking of the draft order, Tennessee didn’t get what it needed from the Giants in the early window of Week 15 despite a last-minute shot at the win. New York was a home favorite against the Marcus Mariota-led Commanders, but it trailed all afternoon. A late turnover gave it a chance to tie the game, but it couldn’t capitalize.

So the Giants fall to 2-12 and remain in the first overall slot. Their remaining games are vs. MIN, at LV, and vs. DAL. The Raiders lost huge in the early window to the Eagles as well, so the Titans won’t be any higher than third in the draft order for at least another week.

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