The Tennessee Titans are 0-4 after a 24-18 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, and it’s not going well in Nashville. Two turnovers and a turnover on downs turned into 17 Ravens points in the first half. That was enough to get the Titans beat.

Zoom out and it gets uglier. Tennessee is 6-32 over the last two seasons and four games, coming off back-to-back 3-14 campaigns. Titans quarterback Cam Ward is 3-18 as a starter. (Side note: I don’t love quarterback win-loss records as a stat. But that’s the big picture.)

We have all the normal coverage you’d expect from an 0-4 team, from winners and losers to coaching mistakes to every other negative angle. But enough of our audience has pushed back on us for “being all negative”. Ok. Fair enough. So let’s try something new.

Every Monday, the Silver Linings Report is here for anybody who wants to look at the bright side as the sun comes up. And this isn’t a sarcastic exercise. None of these things were good enough to win a game, but they’re legitimately good.

Cam Ward’s pocket awareness and the Titans pass protection

I’ll kick things off with two things that go in tandem. The Titans allowed only one sack, and it came on the late fourth-quarter touchdown drive, a couple of plays before Carnell Tate’s big fourth-down conversion.

Overall, Ward looked more confident maneuvering the pocket. He felt pressure correctly, escaped when it was actually coming, and avoided holding on to the ball too long. For the most part, this was his best showing this season of not bailing on clean pockets. He stood in there and threw down the field.

Ward faced pressure on about 34% of his dropbacks, his second-lowest pressure rate through four games. He finished 20 of 31 for 222 yards with a late touchdown pass, three throwaways, and an interception that bounced off running back Tony Pollard’s hands. Pollard admitted that one was on him.

The offensive line deserves its share of the credit. JC Latham is a stud, and he’s in the middle of a breakout third season that’s about to make him a bunch of money. Peter Skoronski is worth the money. Left tackle Dan Moore isn’t the best at his position, but nobody is complaining about Moore right now. Plenty of other things are going wrong.

And Tennessee did all of this with its third starting right guard.

Carnell Tate’s breakout game (with an asterisk)

Yes, rookie wide receiver Carnell Tate fumbled right before halftime, creating a 6-point swing. But this is the Silver Linings Report. What are you doing, Austin? Stay on task.

Tate had a career day with nine catches for 145 yards on 12 targets, including two 33-yard grabs. Two more of those targets went off his hands, and both were close to being nice plays.

We felt like this was coming. Tate was open a lot against the New York Giants and should have had his first touchdown in the third quarter of that game.

He also joins an elite club. Since 2020, the other 21-year-old receivers with 145 or more receiving yards in a game are the LSU trio of Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Malik Nabers. (Nabers is going to HATE hearing he’s in Carnell Tate’s company right now.)

Tate now sits at 268 yards on 21 catches through four games.

Tennessee’s fast start on offense

After five straight three-and-outs to open the Giants game, the Titans picked up six first downs in the first quarter against Baltimore. The interception was a fluky play, because I typically trust Pollard’s ball security. Tennessee answered it with a 70-yard touchdown drive.

As far as pushing the ball downfield and moving the chains, the Titans had the most productive first half I’ve seen from them. Only the turnovers ended it.

Look at the first-half drives:

– 15 yards on the opener 

– 70 yards for the touchdown 

– 10 yards, including a first down, before the first punt 

– 73 yards to inside the 2-yard line before the turnover on downs 

– 33 yards before a punt 

– A 33-yard Tate catch on the second play before his fumble

Zero three-and-outs. Only two punts.

Now, because this is the Silver Linings Report, I’m definitely not going to mention the three straight three-and-outs in the second half. Nope. Not going to do it.

The Titans finally played clean football, minus special teams

The last entry on the list is the penalty sheet. Tennessee drew just five flags for 32 yards, and zero of them gave the Ravens a first down.

That stands out, because the Titans have been handing opponents free first downs all season. Not this time. Instead, Baltimore did the gifting, committing 13 penalties for 131 yards and giving the Titans six first downs by penalty.

Sometimes stuff happens. But five penalties for 32 yards isn’t the kind of total that crushes you, and it’s a positive development for a team that badly needs a few.

Now, if they can only get rid of the penalties on kick and punt returns…

Again, all the normal coverage, the turnovers, the second-half offensive lulls, and being 0-4, is right here on A to Z Sports. The sun comes up again next Monday, and so does the Silver Linings Report.