The numbers behind the booing
Tennessee lost 23-10 to the New York Jets at home in Week 1, and the box score explains why the crowd turned before the third quarter was over. The Titans were outgained 367-195, a deficit of 172 yards. They picked up 11 first downs. Their only touchdown arrived once the game had already slipped away.
Cam Ward went 19 of 32 for 140 yards and a score under pressure that never really lifted. That works out to 4.4 yards per attempt, a figure that says as much about the protection in front of him as about the quarterback. Robert Saleh’s first game in charge produced almost nothing that travels.
“We have to have guns blazing,” offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. said. “There has to be a sense of urgency to go out there and get this W. I felt like we got dominated a little bit last week, and we need to have a nasty taste in our mouth about changing that.”
Ward has heard the questions about his development and answered them without flinching. “I think I do a lot of things different that a lot of quarterbacks can’t do,” he said. “And there’s also stuff that I have to get better at, some things that I lack and that’s a process you take on each and every day.”
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Philadelphia won, and still has repairs
The Eagles beat Washington 24-22, stopping a two-point conversion with 1:05 left. Jalen Hurts threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Philadelphia outgained the Commanders 318-295 but managed only 10 first downs of its own and gave up three sacks, which is not the profile of a team that solved anything in Week 1.
New offensive coordinator Sean Mannion pointed to the calendar. “There’s always going to be a little bit of an unscouted look in Week 1, particularly with a new coordinator,” he said. “All in all, I felt like our coaches, our players, we put together something we felt good about on Sunday.”
Where Sunday turns
Left guard Landon Dickerson is on injured reserve, so second-year lineman Drew Kendall is likely to start and likely to see Jeffery Simmons across from him. Tennessee’s defensive tackle can dismantle a protection scheme on his own, and how Philadelphia handles that interior matchup may decide the afternoon.
The Eagles have their own absences to manage. Cooper DeJean (calf and abdomen) and Jalen Carter (wrist) both missed Wednesday’s practice, and Jonathan Greenard, out in Week 1 with a pectoral injury, was limited on his return. Tennessee got linebacker Cedric Gray back from concussion protocol and could have him available. Philadelphia leads the all-time series 8-5.
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