Titans’ Ward reflects on fiery comments after win at Cardinals

Rookie quarterback Cam Ward raised eyebrows when he said shortly after the Tennessee Titans fell to 0-4 on the season that he felt the club was “a—.” 

For an article published on Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated revealed that Tennessee head coach Brian Callahan discussed the situation with Ward and told the first-year pro that “he should be cognizant of how his comments might affect other people, and that he could polish what he says a bit.” After the Titans earned a stunning come-from-behind 22-21 win at the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Ward spoke with Breer about the fiery soundbite. 

How Titans locker room reacted to Cam Ward’s comments

“I just think we needed that,” Ward explained. “We needed it known how we weren’t complementing each other on both sides of the ball. We weren’t playing our best. The biggest thing is that the guys in the locker room respected it. They know how I feel. We weren’t on our P’s and Q’s on offense. And we just have a bunch of individuals that take it to heart, but in the good way, as far as just holding each other accountable and being resilient.”

The harsh truth of the matter is that Ward and Co. probably should be 0-5 heading into Week 6. Arizona was on track to take at least a 27-6 lead early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s contest when Cardinals running back Emari Demercado needlessly let go of the football right before he crossed the goal line. 

Later in the quarter, a fumble after an interception gifted Tennessee’s Tyler Lockett a touchdown with 4:39 remaining in regulation. In the end, Joey Slye delivered a walk-off field goal as time expired to end the Titans’ losing streak. 

Why Brian Callahan never lost faith in Titans on Sunday

Last week, it seemed to be a matter of when and not if the Titans would show Callahan the door. After he improved his record to 4-18 as Tennessee’s head coach, Callahan told Breer he didn’t lose confidence in his players before Demercado committed one of the blunders of the season. 

“I saw the look in our eyes,” Callahan said. “We didn’t flinch — never flinched, kept pushing. That mentality has sunk in. It’s, ‘No panic, no press.’ We played together, trusting each other. We stole a little bit of the thunder with blind trust. You have to trust the guys to do their job next to you. I think I saw that today through the course of four quarters. They finally realized what it could look like if you do those things.”

On paper, the Titans should have an opportunity to win a second straight game when they play at the 1-4 Las Vegas Raiders this coming Sunday. As of Monday afternoon, ESPN BET had Tennessee as a 5.5-point underdog for that matchup.