Calling Week One a must-win is excessive, but a home opener against another 3-14 team offers the Titans an immediate test of whether they've escaped the NFL's bottom tier.
By PAUL KUHARSKY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sunday’s opener for the Titans against the Jets has a high-pressure feel of something close to a must-win game.
That can be a silly thing to say about the first game. If the Titans lose, all will hardly be lost.
But New York was also 3-14 last year and earned the second pick in the draft while the Titans earned the fourth. They failed to intercept a pass all season, made major changes to Aaron Glenn’s staff after just one year and circled back to Geno Smith at quarterback, a guy the franchise gave up on four years after spending a second-round pick on him in 2013.
If the Titans are going to demonstrate they're moving out of the NFL's bottom tier, this is the sort of game they need to win.
Why This Opener Carries Extra Weight
In addition to Robert Saleh being Jets coach for three years-plus, John Franklin-Myers, Jermaine Johnson, Jacob Martin, Solomon Thomas and Tony Adams all played for the organization and will have a little extra juice for their former employer.
“New regime, new logo, so there are a lot of things to be excited about, new for this building,” Martin said. “Getting the season started off on the right for us huge for us so we can go where we want to go. For us, we’ve got to start fast. And just play our style of ball.”
The Titans haven’t won an opener since 2020 at Denver. Since then, they’ve opened with losses to Arizona, the Giants, New Orleans, Chicago and Denver, including in 2021 when they went on to earn the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
What Robert Saleh's Training Camp Was Designed For
One big reason they feel ready is the rigorous training camp Saleh put them through.
“Every practice we did was pretty much full pads,” Johnson said. “Two-and-a-half hours. I played all my college in the South (at Florida State), so coming back down here and being in the heat, that was good. I just like to say you get out what you put in, and we put a whole lot in some I am excited to see what we get out.”
He said it will be “pretty cool, pretty fun” to play against the Jets, but the reunion element is for before and after, not during, the game.
Some Titans will also see old teammates Jarvis Brownlee Jr., who could provide a fun-to-watch matchup against Wan’Dale Robinson in the slot, and T’Vondre Sweat, the massive nose tackle.
“You can make any game personal,” Martin said. “But I know a lot of this locker room who have been with the Jets organization that are extra excited playing this one, myself included, I would say that’s your old boss, man, c’mon.”
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