LAS VEGAS — The Tennessee Titans opened this season with four consecutive losses and were staring directly at a fifth last weekend before they rallied to beat the Arizona Cardinals as the mistakes piled up late in the game for the hosts.
Which puts the Titans in the unusual situation — at least where the franchise’s recent history is concerned — of trying to win back-to-back games.
If the Titans beat the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday while wrapping up a three-game road swing, that would be the first time they have posted consecutive victories since Nov. 17, 2022, when Tennessee beat the Green Bay Packers in a Thursday night matchup after topping the Denver Broncos five days earlier.
“Hey, it has been a long time, and this is our opportunity to do it,” said tight end Chig Okonkwo, who was a rookie at the time. “Like we say over here, winning cures everything. So the vibe is high. So now we can just keep this momentum going forward and take it to Vegas.”
The Raiders have their own concerns heading into this matchup of 1-4 teams.
They opened their season with an encouraging road win against the New England Patriots, with optimism abounding that the franchise might be able to finally turn the corner in veteran coach Pete Carroll’s first season with the Raiders. Las Vegas hasn’t won since.
Geno Smith has borne much of the blame for the slow start after throwing nine interceptions, the most for any NFL quarterback this season.
“Six of the interceptions this year were tipped in the air. Johnny-on-the-spot defensive guy,” Smith said. “Am I going to look at that and say, ‘Well, don’t throw it to the guy who we’re supposed to throw it to?’ I’m going to throw it to the guy I’m supposed to, and at times, things happen.
“People get caught up in results, and they want to look at statistics and try to place blame because that’s just how life goes when you’re in the position I’m in. But I’m a lot smarter than that, and I’m aware of the process. I know exactly what I’m doing out there.”
Maybe the Raiders will find the winning formula similar to what the Titans discovered against the Cardinals. Tennessee came back from down 21-6 in the fourth quarter to win 22-21, ending a 10-game losing streak that dated to last season and taking a bit of the heat — if only temporarily — off second-year head coach Brian Callahan.
“It looked like they were dead and gone,” Carroll said. “They just kept battling and hanging in there, and they really made a bunch of plays to make it happen. They earned every bit of it.”
Rookie quarterback Cam Ward finding Okonkwo and rookie Gunnar Helm helped Tennessee’s offense kick into gear during their comeback in Arizona. Ward, the No. 1 pick of this year’s NFL draft, targeted those two tight ends 10 times for a combined eight catches for 82 yards. Helm had one catch for 3 yards by halftime with Okonkwo shut out.
“I haven’t given them enough chances this year, which I did this past week, and they saw what they can do, especially after the run, getting us those (yards after the catch),” Ward said of the team’s tight ends. “So we’ve got a very talented group of tight ends, but we’ve just got to continue to feed them, continue to get them more involved, and it’s going to continue to help us.”
Okonkwo said he and Helm have been like a “safety blanket” with what they can do, especially after the catch.
“Me and Gunnar complement each other in the ways that we play, so I’m glad that they’re seeing that,” he said.
More good news for the offense could be coming up front. The Titans have tried to protect Ward without starting right tackle JC Latham during the past four games, but that challenge might no longer exist.
Latham, who didn’t miss an offensive snap as a rookie in 2024, aggravated a hip injury in the season-opening loss at Denver. The Titans have given up just two sacks in each of the past two games, but Latham was a full participant in practice Friday and is poised to return against the Raiders.
Ward still has been sacked 19 times — more than any quarterback in the league this year — and he said getting Latham back should help.
“Just from an athletic standpoint, he’s just different,” Ward said. “The way he moves, the way he takes care of his body, he’s a great leader on this team. He’s someone who’s a standpoint for this offensive line, so we get a chance to get him back, he’s going be able to help us for sure.”
As for Las Vegas, Michael Mayer is back in the lineup after missing two games with concussion symptoms, and the Raiders need him. Fellow tight end Brock Bowers is still contending with a knee injury that has dogged him nearly all season, and he will be out for a second straight game.
Mayer said he’s ready to be the No. 1 tight end if called upon.
“I’m definitely going into the game thinking that for sure,” Mayer said. “I’m going to prep for it, study for it. The decision’s ultimately not mine, but I’m going to be ready for it.”
Meanwhile, Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty is beginning to show why Las Vegas drafted the former Boise State star sixth overall. After two productive games in a row, he has rushed for 349 yards this season, averaging 4.3 per carry.
Jeanty also is being used in the passing game, and on the Raiders’ first offensive play during last weekend’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, he ran a wheel route for a 29-yard completion.
“It’s a big test for us,” Callahan said. “They’ve started to run the ball better and better. I think every week that’s gone on, you see him getting more comfortable with the NFL speed and style and how you have to run in this league.”