Titans Offense Falls Flat Again Despite Defensive, Special Teams Points

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – What if the Titans got points from their defense and special teams in the same game?
 
Turns out that’s no recipe for success when the anemic offense does its thing. 
 
The Titans lost 27-20 to the Chargers at Nissan Stadium despite the bonus points, because the offense managed two field goals, got turned away on two plays from the 1-yard-line, game-planned direct snaps to their running backs that didn’t work and continued to cross midfield and not score – this time with five trips producing 6 points.

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston (1) makes a touchdown catch past Tennessee Titans cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (18) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Quentin Johnston callected a TD over Jalyn Armour-Davis/ ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

The Titans also wasted their best sack showing in over two years, while allowing Justin Herbert (nine carries for 57 yards and a TD) a better rushing day than Tony Pollard (10-56).

Tennessee’s big chance came in the third quarter, when it moved from its 28-yard-line to the Chargers’ 1. On a third-and-goal from the 1, Lloyd Cushenberry direct snapped to Pollard who couldn’t get in up the middle. On fourth-and-1 (God Bless Mike McCoy and Bo Hardegree for going, at least), Ward handed off to Pollard who got folded up by Elijah Molden and Denzel Perryman.

"You have to score from the 1-yard line,” Peter Skoronski said.

They still trailed 20-17, but figured to be all right as the Chargers hadn’t been super-efficient. But Los Angeles went 99 yards in 15 plays in a drive that took a bit over 9 minutes, boosted the lead to 27-17 and effectively put the game away with 12:58 left.

“I thought that was a pivotal moment for us,” Herbert said.

“Teams are going to be resilient,” Cedric Gray said. “Teams are going to fight back, and make plays. We just got to find a way to survive these lows, and get a surge of our own and make our own plays, so we can win the game.”

So thanks, Cody Barton, for your early pick-6, grabbing a Herbert pass for Keenan Allen and taking it 24 yards for a score. Thanks, Chimere Dike, for the franchise’s first punt return touchdown since 2012. But the offense, well, it only had those only has 6 points in it.

Cam Ward has played better lately, but brought little spark in this one with 12 completions in 21 attempts for 145 yards and no touchdowns. He didn't turn the ball over, at least.

 
 
 
 
 
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Some additional takeaways from how the whole thing unfolded.

The Wildcat

The Titans' offensive coaches saw something about the Chargers that made them feel the defense would be susceptible to direct snaps to running backs. But Pollard took two and and Spears took one and the Titans didn’t gain a yard, though one play was undone by a penalty that backed them up.

“That's all part of game planning,” Mike McCoy said. “I think, as the offensive staff, when you go look at a game plan, how you're going to attack a certain opponent, there's certain things you always put in. So, when the staff put the plan together, they had a lot of—they thought this was the best thing to do.”

That’s two mentions of the staff and one of they, with no talk of we. McCoy really left himself out of that decision-making on his first chance.

I asked him about that.
 
“I’m a part of everything, my name’s on everything here,” he said. “But when we put plans together and they go and install it to the offense, same thing on the defense, when they install it, I would say the same thing.”
 
You weren’t talking about installing it in the first answer; you were talking about game planning.

It’s not that hard to be clear. What does seems clear is an effort to distance yourself from something that backfired. It’s either that or an inability to articulate things that, once again, makes it hard to comprehend the selection of McCoy as the interim, given he’s got to communicate to 53 men on the roster and another 17 on the practice squad.

Cam Ward has carried the ball 18 times this season, twice a game. Not enough even for a non-running quarterback. If you – I use you to include the offensive head coach – are looking for a short-yardage wrinkle, I suggest an occasional sneak.

The Titans also ran a first-quarter flea flicker where Tyjae Spears seemed to return the ball very quickly to Ward, before anyone on defense would have bit hard on run, and Ward threw incomplete to Dike.

Offensive line play

Dan Moore had an awful series early in the fourth quarter, when Odafe Oweh hardly needed to do clinical work to get to Cam Ward on first-and-10 for a 4-yard loss and thid-and-8 for a 7-yard loss.

“Just got to lock in, bro,” Moore said. “I feel like whenever I get going into a game, there should be no reason why I have a lull like that. That drive was just bad on my part, those two snaps.”

Ward was sacked two other times, and the offensive line accounted for three of the team’s seven penalties – false starts on Moore and JC Latham and a hold on Peter Skoronski.

Sacks

The Chargers' offensive line is beat up and lost Joe Alt along the way as he was carted off with an ankle injury. The Titans did well against this group with brand new dad Jihad Ward recording 2.5 sacks and the surging Dre’Mont Jones 1.5 as the team amased six, most since its Oct. 29, 2023 game against Atlanta.

But Herbert offset some pressure with the running. (Jaylen Harrell, he's a big QB, but this is a bad look.)

Symbolic coverage

The Titans have some corners who can stay close. But who cares if they are in range if they show little ball sense at the big moment?

During the Chargers’ big drive, Herbert found Quentin Johnston for a 23-yard gain up the right sideline.

Darrell Baker was right there with him. But somehow Baker was facing the field rather than the boundary and receiver, with his back to Johnston, who managed to make the catch despite Baker’s proximity, because Baker’s proximity was really a non-factor in the play, given his body position.
 
Nd then even on the occasion where a corner might be in a good spot, he could be victimized by this: