Glimmer in the Gloom: Titans Need Cam Ward to Mirror Drake Maye’s Rise

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In a season of hopelessness, the Titans flashed for a second. They came out as what qualified as hot for them, finding some first downs and points, and played with a lead for just the second time all season.
 
Then they came apart in the second half and bowed out 31-13 to the Mike Vrabel-coached New England Patriots, falling to 1-6 and looking not unlike Brian Callahan’s Titans in their first game led by Mike McCoy, who empowered Denard Wilson to go “status quo” on defense and then watched the Patriots run for 4.9 yards a carry and Drake Maye carve them up.

New England Patriots linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson (44) recovers a fumble by Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
Cam Ward loses a fumble against the Patriots/ ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tennessee is a football disaster. Maybe there are a few wins still to come but any real hope is about what the next coach can do with Cam Ward. 

And for a feel of that, if you want any hope, perhaps we can look to Maye. Many evaluators and analysts preferred the third pick in 2024 out of North Carolina to the first pick in 2025 out of Miami. And their work through their first seven games on bad teams favors Maye.

Still, as I watched Maye, who’s gotten so much better in his second season, I wondered about the potential for Ward to follow a similar path: New coach in his sophomore NFL season, significant jump.

A year ago, Maye came here and led a bad Patriots team with a bad coach in Jerod Mayo and a questionable offensive coordinator in Alex Van Pelt.

In 2024 at Nissan Stadium, Maye’s Patriots team provided the Titans with one of their three wins when Mason Rudolph outplayed him. Maye threw two interceptions – including a game-ender to Amani Hooker in overtime -- and a TD en route to a 69.8 passer rating.

Overall, he did not finish nearly as badly as Ward is on course to wind up. But Maye’s rookie year ended with him 23rd in passer rating (88.1) with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He fumbled 12 times, losing seven. And the Patriots were 3-9 in his starts.

He came into the league with some questions about his decision-making. As a rookie he had a four-game interception streak and critiqued some of his throws as “dumb” – see the one Hooker grabbed -- and said in October of 2024 that, “The biggest thing is me playing on time, playing in rhythm, and trusting the guys around me,” a quote that sounds like some of Ward has offered during his own rookie year.

Sunday, in his seventh game under Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels, Maye was stellar, hitting on 21 of 23 throws with two touchdowns for a 135.9 rating, the second-best of his career to what he did four games ago against Carolina (155.6 in a 42-13 win).

He added eight runs for 62 yards, good for three first downs.

Like Maye in his second season, Ward will have a new coach and coordinator who are all but certain to better drill him on mechanical solutions that will improve his footwork, limit his drift and suppress his propensity to fall backward as he lets the ball go. Presumably, he will play in a system adjusted to fit his strengths better, with another upgrade to his receiving corps and the rest of the team around him.

“Drake Maye did a wonderful job today and his growth is outstanding,” Sebastian Joseph-Day said. “And I’m fully confident that Cam is going to follow in those footsteps.”

Ward has 10 games to get better this season – that starts with an end to dropping the ball without being touched, as he did for the second time in two weeks. This time it was with K’Lavon Chaisson bearing down on him when there were plenty of alternatives available, but Ward just let the ball slip out of his hand and saw Chaisson pick up the fumble – statistically unforced – and score from 4 yards out

“That's something that can't happen,” McCoy said.

With 3:46 left, a comeback was improbable, but Ward ensured it. He threw behind Chig Okonwko, who reached back and got hands on the ball. The deflection went to Marcus Jones and New England ran out the clock on a miserable second half for the home team.

Said Peter Skoronski: “I can speak from my own experience, I had plenty of struggles as a rookie and I have grown from that and gotten better. I think that can happen for any player, especially a quarterback. Obviously the pieces around him have to be in place. Obviously, the Patriots have done a good job of helping (Maye) out with that.

“Absolutely, I think Cam has those tools to be a really, really great guy. He’s just got to develop and grow and get better and all that stuff (we saw from Maye) is possible.”

Ward, who’s remained calm as steady as he’s struggled, said he’s not looking for a model or a path.

The numbers get better as the Titans chase, sure.

But there were some signs of encouragement.

“It's not really about following him, it's more of being myself,” Ward said. “I think he's a great player, he's going to continue to make plays in this league. When it's all said and done, I think me and him, we'll have a chance to have some elite battles.”

A good while after the game was over, when the locker room was open to the media, Quandre Diggs, Ward’s cousin, sat in a chair next to him. The two spoke quietly.

“They are different players, different people, different situations,” Diggs told me a bit later. “I hope so (-- that it goes a similar route to Maye). You can always hope for the best. That’s my family, so I always hope the best. 

“I think no matter what, he’s going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league. I stand on that.”