TEAM NOTES
- After falling in Denver by a final score of 20-12, the Titans will play their home opener against the Los Angeles Rams at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 14.
- The season opener was the first game for the Titans under new general manager Mike Borgonzi.
- Nine of the Titans' 22 starters were new additions to the team in 2025, including five free agent signees: left tackle Dan Moore Jr., right guard Kevin Zeitler, inside linebacker Cody Barton, outside linebacker Dre'Mont Jones and safety Xavier Woods. Additionally, four 2025 draft picks started: quarterback Cam Ward, tight end Gunnar Helm, wide receiver Elic Ayomanor and outside linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo.
- With four 2025 draft picks starting, it marked the first time in the franchise's "Titans era," which began in 1999, that four rookies started a season opener.
- Seven of the nine members of the 2025 Titans draft class participated in the game. The last time seven or more drafted rookies played in a season opener for the Titans was at Tampa Bay on Sept. 13, 2015.
- The Titans and Browns were the only teams to have four rookies start through the Week 1 games of Sunday, Sept. 7.
- The Titans totaled four takeaways, marking their third game with four or more takeaways since the beginning of the 2020 season.
- The Titans won the turnover battle with four takeaways and two turnovers.
- The team's four takeaways led the NFL through the slate of games on Sunday, Sept. 7.
- The Titans recorded a takeaway in every quarter. It was the fifth time since the start of the 2024 season that a team forced at least one turnover in all four quarters.
- The Titans' offensive starters included five newcomers: left tackle Dan Moore Jr., right guard Kevin Zeitler, inside quarterback Cam Ward, tight end Gunnar Helm and wide receiver Elic Ayomanor. The other offensive starters were left guard Peter Skoronski, center Lloyd Cushenberry, right tackle JC Latham, wide receiver Calvin Ridley, tight end Chig Okonkwo and running back Tony Pollard.
- The Titans' defensive starters included four newcomers: linebacker Cody Barton, outside linebacker Dre'Mont Jones, rookie outside linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo and safety Xavier Woods. The other defensive starters were safety Amani Hooker, cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., linebacker Cedric Gray, nose tackle T'Vondre Sweat, defensive end Sebastian Joseph-Day and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
- The Titans recorded two defensive takeaways in the first half at Denver. It was their first time doing so since Dec. 15, 2024 against Cincinnati. It was the team's first season opener with two takeaways in the first half since Sept. 10, 2023 at New Orleans.
- The Titans won the field position battle with an average start position of their own 41-yard line, compared to the Broncos' average of their own 32.
- The Titans defense limited Denver to a 60.0 passer rating, the Broncos' lowest passer rating since Week 2 of 2024.
- The 176 gross passing yards allowed by the Titans defense on 40 attempts made for 4.4 passing yards per attempt allowed, which tied for second in the NFL through the games of Sunday, Sept. 7.
WR ELIC AYOMANOR
- Started at wide receiver in his NFL debut.
- Totaled 13 yards on a pair of receptions.
CB DARRELL BAKER JR.
- Finished with four tackles.
LB CODY BARTON
- Started at inside linebacker in his Titans debut.
- Tied for the team lead with nine tackles.
CB JARVIS BROWNLEE JR.
- Started at cornerback and tied for the team lead with nine tackles. His nine tackles also tied his career high.
- Added a team-high two tackles for loss and pass defensed.
C LLOYD CUSHENBERRY
- Started at center in his first appearance since Nov. 3, 2024.
- Served as a captain for the game.
WR CHIMERE DIKE
- Made his NFL debut.
- Totaled 144 yards with a 36.0-yard average on four kickoff returns.
- Added a 12-yard punt return.
- Gained nine yards on his first NFL rushing attempt in the second quarter.
- Recorded a 71-yard kickoff return in the second quarter to set up a Titans field goal. It was the Titans' longest kickoff return since Darius Jennings returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown on Sept. 9, 2018 at Miami.
- His 71-yard kickoff return was the longest by a Titans rookie since Marc Mariani's 73-yarder at Dallas on Oct. 10, 2010.
- His 144 kickoff return yards was the highest single-game total for a Titans player since Darrynton Evans (145) on Dec. 27, 2020 at Green Bay.
LB CEDRIC GRAY
- Made his first NFL start.
- Ranked third on the team with seven tackles and added a stop on special teams.
OLB JAYLEN HARRELL
- Led the team with a career-high three special teams tackles.
CB MARCUS HARRIS
- Made his NFL debut.
P JOHNNY HEKKER
- Made his Titans debut.
- Averaged 49.4 yards and 41.0 net yards on eight punts with two punts placed inside the 20.
- Notched his 17th career game with eight or more punts.
- His 49.4-yard gross average ranked fifth in his career in a game with eight or more punts.
- His 49.4-yard gross average ranked ninth in franchise history for a player in a game with eight or more punts.
TE GUNNAR HELM
- Started at tight end in his NFL debut.
- Caught a 16-yard pass from Cam Ward in the first quarter for his first NFL reception.
S AMANI HOOKER
- Started at safety and tallied five tackles and a pass defensed.
- Part of a defensive effort that produced four takeaways, which led the NFL through the afternoon contests of Sept. 7.
WR VAN JEFFERSON
- Made his Titans debut.
OLB DRE'MONT JONES
- Started in his Titans debut.
- Recorded two tackles.
DE SEBASTIAN JOSEPH-DAY
- Started at defensive end.
- Notched five tackles and recovered a fumble caused by a Jeffery Simmons strip sack in the second quarter. The turnover yielded three points for the Titans after a Joey Slye field goal on the ensuing possession. It was his second career fumble recovery.
WR TYLER LOCKETT
- Made his Titans debut.
LB DORIAN MAUSI
- Made his NFL debut and recovered a muffed punt in the fourth quarter.
CB ROGER McCREARY
- Recorded five tackles and an interception.
- Notched his first interception of the season on a Bo Nix pass on the last play of the first quarter. It was his first interception since Nov. 12, 2023 at Tampa Bay. It was the Titans first interception in a season opener since Amani Hooker on Sept. 10, 2023 at New Orleans, and also the team's first interception in the first quarter since Hooker at Indianapolis on Dec. 22, 2025.
T DAN MOORE JR.
- Started at left tackle in his Titans debut.
RB KALEL MULLINGS
- Made his NFL debut.
TE CHIG OKONKWO
- Started and totaled three receptions for 19 yards.
- Converted a third-and-13 with a 14-yard grab in the third quarter.
OLB OLUWAFEMI OLADEJO
- Started at outside linebacker in his NFL debut.
- Became the first Titans rookie to start at outside linebacker since Harold Landry III in 2018.
- Posted two tackles and notched a quarterback hit on Bo Nix in the third quarter.
RB TONY POLLARD
- Started and led the team with 60 rushing yards on 18 attempts. He added one catch for 29 yards.
- Helped convert a third-and-10 in the first quarter with a 29-yard reception.
- His 12 rushing attempts in the first half set a new career high (11, four times, last vs. Jacksonville, on Dec. 8, 2024).
WR CALVIN RIDLEY
- Registered a team-high four receptions for 27 yards.
DT JEFFERY SIMMONS
- Started at defensive tackle and finished the game with four tackles, a stop for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and four quarterback hits.
- Recorded a strip sack on Bo Nix in the second quarter, the fourth of his career. It was his first sack fumble since Oct. 27, 2024 at Detroit.
- Notched a quarterback hit on Bo Nix on a third down in the first quarter to help force a field goal attempt.
- Increased his career total to 32.5 sacks.
K JOEY SLYE
- Converted on all four field goal attempts in his Titans debut, including makes of 50, 39, 42 and 35 yards. It was Slye's sixth career game with four or more made field goals.
- His first attempt as a member of the Titans was a 50-yarder that he made in the first quarter.
- Joined Nick Folk (Sept. 10, 2023 at New Orleans) and Ryan Succop (Sept. 7, 2014 at Kansas City) as the team's only kickers with four or more field goals in a Week 1 game in the franchise's "Titans era" (since 1999).
CB L'JARIUS SNEED
- Started at cornerback and notched a pass defensed in his first action since Week 6 of the 2024 season.
NT T'VONDRE SWEAT
- Started at nose tackle and recorded two tackles.
QB CAM WARD
- Completed 12 of 28 passes for 112 yards in his NFL debut.
- Joined Marcus Mariota (2015) as the only rookie quarterbacks in franchise history to start a season opener.
- Became the 13th rookie starting quarterback in franchise history and the first since Will Levis in 2023.
- Became the 20th quarterback in the common draft era (since 1967) to be selected with the first pick in the NFL Draft and start in Week 1 of his rookie season.
- On his first NFL pass attempt in the first quarter, converted a third-and-10 with a short pass to Tony Pollard that went 29 yards. It led to a Titans field goal to cap their first drive.
OLB JIHAD WARD
- Recorded two tackles in his Titans debut.
S XAVIER WOODS
- Started in his Titans debut.
- Tallied an interception in the third quarter, the 14th interception of his career.
- Also added two tackles.
G KEVIN ZEITLER
- In his Titans debut, registered a start in Week 1 for the 14th consecutive year.
