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Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward.
There are few things, if any, that should be more unappealing in professional sports right now than taking the field against the Denver Broncos defense — particularly if you’re an opposing quarterback.
Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback and 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward found out as much in his first NFL game as the Broncos terrorized him from start to finish in a 20-12 Denver win in Week 1.
Ward is the first rookie quarterback to start a season opener against the Broncos since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and was sacked 6 times with 12 QB pressures.
The Broncos led the NFL with 63.0 sacks in 2024 and brought back a pair of NFL All-Pros on the defensive front with defensive end Zach Allen and edge rusher Nik Bonitto, as well as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
“In his historic debut, Ward completed 12-of-28 passes for 112 yards with no touchdowns while taking six sacks, as all 12 of Tennessee’s points came from kicker Joey Slye,” Bleacher Report’s Taylyn Hadley wrote on September 7.
Broncos Pass Rushers Land Big Money Deals
The Broncos owners have opened up the coffers for their defensive stars the last few years to make sure their top talent stays put.
Surtain signed a 4-year, $96.1 million contract extension before last season that made him the highest paid cornerback in NFL history at the time. Edge rusher Jonathon Cooper signed a 4-year, $60 million contract extension late last season.
Allen signed a 4-year, $102 million contract extension on August 2. Bonitto signed a 4-year, $106 million contract extension on September 4.
Perhaps even more impressive for the Broncos than the 6 sacks was that they were from 6 different players; Bonitto, Allen, Cooper, Justin Strnad, Jonah Elliss and Ja’Quan McMillan.
Ward’s Unusual Journey To No. 1 Overall Pick
While Ward’s rough day ended with a loss, he showed signs of why he was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft — including delivering several clutch throws late that were simply dropped by Tennessee’s receivers.
Ward was the first No. 1 overall pick for the franchise since University of Texas running back Earl Campbell in 1978, when they were till the Houston Oilers.
Ward, 6-foot-2 and 219 pounds, played for 3 different colleges over 5 seasons from 2020 to 2024.
Lightly recruited out of high school in West Columbia, Texas, Ward played for FCS Incarnate Word for his first 2 seasons, winning the Jerry Rice Award as the nation’s top FCS freshman in 2020 then winning Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2021 when he threw for 4,648 yards, 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 games.
When Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris left to become the offensive coordinator at Washington State, Ward followed and started for the Cougars in 2022 and 2023, throwing for 6,966 yards, 48 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2 seasons.
Ward left Washington State for an NIL deal at Miami worth an estimated $2.1 million for his final season in 2024, where he threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 13 games.
According to BetMGM, the Titans had a projected over/under win total of just 5.5 wins for 2025 — the next-to-lowest number in the NFL ahead of just the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns at 5.5 wins.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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