NASHVILLE – The Titans face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
Here's a look at six things to watch in the contest:
Does Cam Eclipse Mariota?
Three games remain in quarterback Cam Ward's rookie season. I think anyone who has watched the games would have to admit he's improved during the course of the season. Ward has back-to-back games with two touchdown passes after having zero such games in the first 12 games of his career. He's coming off the first game of his career when he wasn't sacked once. In his 14 starts, Ward has thrown for 2,638 yards with 11 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a 76.5 rating. Sure, he's missed some throws, and needs to be more consistent, but he's clearly made strides. Ward needs 181 pass yards to break Marcus Mariota's Tennessee rookie record of 2,818 pass yards.
Running Game
The running game has helped Ward and the offense in recent weeks. Running back Tony Pollard has put together back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time since Weeks 8-10, when he was with Dallas. In the past two games, Pollard has 265 yards and three touchdowns. The only other players in Oilers/Titans team history to record a two-game span with both those marks are Derrick Henry, Chris Johnson, Earl Campbell and Billy Cannon. Pollard leads the Titans with 217 touches, 1,026 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns. The blocking has been better, and Pollard has taken advantage of it. The Titans need to keep it going on Sunday vs the Chiefs. Having a successful run game benefits Ward and the entire offense.
Facing Minshew
Personally, I was looking forward to watching Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It's always a treat to watch one of the game's best quarterbacks, even if he's on the other team. But Mahomes is done for the year after last week's knee injury, which means the Titans will face quarterback Gardner Minshew instead. The Titans organization is familiar with Minshew, having faced him a number of times over the years. Minshew went 2-7 as a starter with the Raiders in 2024, with 206.6 passing yards per game, along with nine touchdowns vs seven interceptions. His 69.1 completion percentage as a starter was sixth highest in the NFL in 2024. Minshew, who is 17-29 in his career as a starter, will become the third QB since at least 1950 to start a game for at least five teams in their first seven seasons (also JAX, PHI, INDY, LV). Minshew, by the way, is 4-2 in six games vs the Titans, with 1,199 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and only two interceptions.
Can O-Line Continue Improvement?
I touched on the offensive line earlier, but I'm bringing the improved play up once again as this unit prepares to face Chris Jones, George Karlaftis and the entire Chiefs defensive line. In the past two weeks, the run-game blocking has been solid, with some nice double-teams at the line of scrimmage, and that's opened up creases. Pass protection has also improved, with no sacks allowed last week. Left tackle Dan Moore is expected to be back in the mix on Sunday, as the Titans enter the game a little healthier here compared to last week. Versatile lineman Corey Levin remains on call, and could enter the mix at some point.
Chimere Dike
I oftentimes mention receiver/returner Chimere Dike in here because he's regularly been a spark for these Titans. Plus, his rookie season has been worth keeping a close eye on from start to finish. Dike leads the NFL with 2,084 all-purpose yards, and he leads the Titans with five touchdowns. Dike is on pace for 2,530 all-purpose yards, which would be the fifth-most in a season in the Super Bowl era.
Jeffery Simmons and Co.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is another guy worth watching every single week. Simmons has a career-high nine sacks, along with 14 tackles for a loss and 19 quarterback hits. He leads all defensive tackles in sacks and tackles for a loss. Simmons is aiming for his third straight game with seven-plus tackles, two tackles for a loss, and a sack. As a unit, the Titans have been more swarming of late, with lots of guys created havoc.
