2025 Titans: Cam Ward Era Begins with 2014-Level Disaster?
If somehow this Tennessee Titans squad fails to win a game after their Bye week, this may go down as the worst year in franchise history. Many thought they were poised to make an impact with the addition of quarterback Cam Ward, but instead this team is two wins shy of their 3-14 season a year ago.
Tennessee has struggled in years prior, but this year could match 2014 as one of the worst of all time. That year, the Titans went 2-14 with a roster full of players that fans have tried to erase from their memory. Most NFL fans couldn't name one player on that team, and it's hard to blame them.
Titans' Dreadful 2014 Team
Back in 2014, the Titans had a trio of quarterbacks play seven games. With Will Levis on IR, they don't have the option to go back to him this season. The team is fully relying on Ward, their No. 1 overall pick, and for good reason. Sadly, he just has no weapons surrounding him.
11 years ago, Zach Mettenberger was the Titans' leading passer. He played just two seasons in the NFL, going 107/179 for 1,412 yards with eight touchdowns to seven interceptions. Keep in mind, those were his numbers as a rookie.
Charlie Whitehurst's lone year on the Titans was in 2014 when he went 105/185 for 1,326 yards with seven touchdowns to two interceptions. For anyone who watched the video linked above, the Titans went on to lose that game even after his stellar performance to put the team ahead, 28-3. Whitehurst was followed by 2011 first round pick Jake Locker who went 111/183 for 1,256 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
When it came to the run game, they avergaed 4.1 yards per carry. Shockingly, that's more than the Titans are averaging here in 2025 (4.0). The top running backs on the team were Bishop Sankey and Shonn Greene. Sankey only played in the league for two years and this was Greene's last year.
Their four top wide receivers were: Delanie Walker, Kendall Wright, Nate Washington, and Justin Hunter. Everyone but Hunter enjoyed a lengthy career with the Titans, whether that was a good thing or not.
Titans Look To Avoid Disaster
Looking back at some of those names, it's incredibly difficult to wonder why the 2025 Titans are struggling so much. Between Ward, Ridley, and Pollard, those three should be enough to avoid a two-win season. The Titans 2014 campaign was their worst since 1994 when they also finished 2-14.
At this point, they're looking to avoid 1982's 1-8 season. Anything prior to 1997 was the Houston Oilers era, so when it comes to simply Titans records, their 2014 season is one to avoid being in the same conversation as.
With Pierre-Luc Dubois injured, Spencer Carbery says finding the right combination in the Capitals’ middle six has ‘been a challenge’
The Washington Capitals have continued to struggle as they enter the second month of the regular season, thanks in large part to the absence of key centerman
Head coach Spencer Carbery has continued to tinker with the team’s forward corps while Dubois recovers, both to determine who takes on Dubois’ immediate duties and what those ripple effects mean further down the lineup. That experimentation continued Saturday when Carbery tested
Capitals’ middle six against Tampa
“We’re just trying to find the combination in our middle six,” he said. “With Dubois out now, it’s just been a challenge, whether it’s (Connor McMichael) in the middle, and Sourdif, (Hendrix Lapierre). So we’re trying to figure out what that’s going to look like moving forward, whether Mikey can handle the Dubois sort of role, and what our third line looks like: is it Lappy? Is it Sourdif? How do we get Sourdif more involved and more impactful in a game? So those are things that we talk about and look at and dissect and make decisions.”
McMichael has had a noticeably quiet season so far after a high-flying start to the 2024-25 campaign saw him score 27 points (15g, 12a) in his first 30 games. This fall, he’s recorded just four points (1g, 3a) in 14 games.
Carbery previously tried Sourdif in the 3C role last month, though he eventually moved him back to the wing.
“I liked him a lot (at center),” Carbery said then. “He’s a natural centerman. That’s what he grew up playing. That’s what he’s played his whole life. He’s been moved to the wing in Florida’s organization for parts of his time in the American League, he can play the wing, but we think there’s potentially a centerman there at the NHL level. And so I liked it a lot. I’m looking for any opportunity I can get him in the middle of the ice to see what that looks like.”
Sourdif’s line with Ryan Leonard and Hendrix Lapierre struggled on the scoresheet, giving up Tampa’s first goal of the night 6:07 into the first period, but Carbery was didn’t have major qualms with the trio’s play, though Sourdif (7:31) and Lapierre (8:30) were the only Caps skaters to play under 10 mins of ice time.
“I thought they were okay tonight,” he said. “I mean, the first goal is unfortunate, but Lappy and Leno just both get buried behind the net and just can’t recover and get back. It’s unfortunate, because I thought the rest of their game was okay. I didn’t think there were any real issues with it. It’s just the one goal that ends up hurting them.”
With Dubois expected to remain out of the lineup for an “extended period of time,” the Capitals will need to find a solution down the middle, whether inside the organization or outside of it.
