NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- How did Cam Ward go from completing 38 percent of his passes for 72 yards through three quarters to 72.2 percent for 193 yards in the fourth?
Ward only had five attempts in the third quarter.
But as the Cardinals began to fall apart in the final period, Ward seemed to implement the message Brian Calahan delivered during intermission.
“I said, ‘Just all you got to do is put your eyes where they're supposed to be, make sure your footwork matches it, and just throw the ball,’” Callahan said. “It doesn't have to be anything more than that. And I thought he did a much better job of that over the course of the second half. You saw the ball come out of his hand when it was supposed to go to the places it was supposed to go.
“And it's still wasn't perfect, there's still things that were corrected in coaching but I think it clicked for him a
little bit the second half is probably the best way I can describe it and hopefully that leads to starting off the game with that sort of same mentality and being able to find those things and move the team down to the field a little more consistently than we have over the first month of the season. So, hopeful that the improvement is rapid.”
If Ward can give the Titans something close to his Arizona fourth-quarter effort in Las Vegas on Sunday, he and the offense could put the franchise in position for its first consecutive wins since Nov. 13 and Nov. 17 of 2022 when they beat Denver and won at Green Bay.
It’s a big ask considering that before his 13-of-18, 193-yard, one-interception fourth quarter against the Cardinals, his season completion percentage was 49.3.
Yes, drops have hurt him – there have been eight according Pro Football Reference. However, he has been inaccurate overall, often due to footwork that has thrown him off target, combined with poor decisions, and sometimes the two factors working in tandem.
“It’s a process every play and I think it’s just kind of a (case where you don’t want him to) get distracted by something else that’s out there,” Nick Holz said. “He does a good job for the most part, and then there’s a couple plays as a young guy you kind of start seeing something else, and you maybe move on to quick.”
Those distractions come in the form of rushers and pressure, but also can be in the secondary with a disguise-heavy defense. The Cardinals’ excellent safety, Budda Baker, hovered near the line of scrimmage, then ran back to be a Tampa Two player, or a cover-3 flat player, or a blitzer, Holz said.
A QB needs to be conscious of a versatile defender like that, and can pull at him as he tries to be focused on his reads.
“That’s why Arizona does it,” Holz said. “Most teams that are good with disguises, they kind of can get the quarterbacks’ eyes off a little bit.”
Ward made it all sound very simple after the game.
“It was really more of me just putting the ball in play,” he said. “(If) they give it to me now, if the corner’s back, I need to put the ball in play and let them make a play.”
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky -- who was with Brian Callahan in Detroit -- came out of the game raving about Ward, and not just the fourth quarter.
Cam Ward’s tape is incredible.
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 6, 2025
He’s better than we thought.
If the @Titans do right with and around him he will be a top 8 player at QB easily.
Then, later under this tweet, someone supplied clips of the plays he mentions.
For @Titans fans and since I’m not allowed to post video on here anymore
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 7, 2025
Go watch:
1q 814 & 2q 342
2q 1412/2q 215/2q102
2q 453
Some outstanding throws and 3-4 are drops. Wasn’t just 4th qtr
As I retweeted that, I said I loved getting a look at that. However, I wished that Orlovsky and other analysts who love Ward would break down some of the aspects that look horrible. I took PFR's eight drops, boosted it to 12 and still calculated a .590 completion percentage for him. NextGen Stats says his expected completion percentage is, in fact, .590. That's last among 37 listed QBs. (Note that every QB has drops.)
So what's going on? That's what we're looking for from guys like Orlovsky, who understand it on a higher level.
He tweeted back: "Would tell ya not a lot of baked in easy comps to boost %
"Not a ton of rpo or easy free comps.
"Trust me not perfect but so much good."
