**EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J**. – The Titans lost 12-7 to the Giants here on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Here's a look at six things that stood out from the contest:
Titans quarterback Cam Ward wanted his last throw back. With the game hanging in the balance, Ward had a chance to be a hero after guiding the team down the field in the closing minutes. But on a first-and-goal play from the seven-yard line, Ward threw an interception in the end zone. It ended the team's hope for a last-second win, and instead left Ward, and the team, disappointed yet again. "I don't think it was reckless," Ward said of the final pass. "It just wasn't a good ball at the end of the day." Ward finished the day 23-of-36 for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Ward had thrown 208 consecutive passes (a new franchise record) without throwing an interception until his final pass on Sunday. "(I told Cam) the same thing I told the team. We did a lot of good things. And for Cam, just keep your head up, keep going."
The Titans put together a 13-play, 76-yard drive that ended with a touchdown toss from Ward to Wan'Dale Robinson with 5:35 left to cut the lead to 12-7, and the team was on the verge of scoring again after a 13-play, 64-yard drive gave the team a first-and-goal at the seven. It begs the question: Where was this offensive success all game, when the Titans dug themselves into a 12-0 hole while looking inept on offense in the first half, shut out through nearly 55 minutes? The Titans didn't get it done at the end, but what happened – or didn't happen – most of the game ultimately came back to beat them. At the half, the Titans had just one first down, and 54 yards of offense. "It wasn't good enough," Saleh said. "It definitely needs to start off better."
The Titans defense put forth a winning effort, holding the Giants to just four field goals on the day. No, it wasn't perfect, and the performance probably deserves an asterisk because it was against Giants back-up quarterback Jameis Winston. But still, the Giants managed just 238 yards on offense – 118 passing yards, and 138 yards on the ground. I'm being a little nitpicky here, but I thought the run defense could have been better. The Giants were able to play keep-away during large stretches in large part because the Titans offense struggled, but also because the Giants had too much success on the ground. Cam Skattebo had to fight for every inch of his 60 rushing yards (on 20 carries), but Najee Harris had more success (9-52).
Playmakers on offense were tough to find early for the Titans, but Robinson and rookie Carnell Tate showed up in the fourth quarter as the team began moving the football. Robinson finished with seven catches for 57 yards on Sunday, while Tate had six catches for 58 yards. But on this day, the Titans just didn't make enough plays throughout the game. Ayomanor had one catch for 11 yards, but had an OPI. Calvin Ridley was targeted once, and didn't have a catch. Dike had one catch for three yards. The Titans need more production across the board, throughout the game.
Titans returner Chimere Dike fumbled the opening kickoff, a big no-no – the Titans defense bailed him out after that mistake. The Titans made life tougher on themselves, however, because of too many penalties. While the Giants had more on the day (10 for 88), the Titans had seven penalties for 63 yards, including a pair of offensive pass interference penalties (Daniel Bellinger, Elic Ayomanor) that were drive killers. This team needs to quit making things harder with its own mistakes.
Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is the team's best player, and he's been through good times and bad times with the franchise. Simmons has been patient during this rebuilding process. But when talking to reporters in the locker room on Sunday, it was easy to see the pain and anguish in his face after yet another tough loss. "Oh man," Simmons said after his 10-tackle, one-sack performance, which also included a pair of tackles for a loss. "It's one of those things where you are tired of hearing, "Growing pains," tired of hearing, "We fell short." You get tired of the same things. The game of football is about winning – somebody has to win the game. … We need to do more. We have to stop talking, we have to say less, do more. We have to (find a way). I am tired of saying the same thing. We can continue to say the tide is going to turn, but we have to do it. We continue to go out there and not do enough to win football games. Someone has to win, and someone has to lose, and we're 0 and 3 right now. That means we are not doing enough to win football games."