Scouting the Titans: Daboll's Offense, Five Former Giants and an 0-2 Start
Brian Daboll's offense holds the ball less than any other offense in the NFL. The defense intercepted Jalen Hurts twice last week and lost on a touchdown pass with nine seconds left.
The Tennessee Titans arrive at MetLife Stadium on Sunday at 0-2, with a coaching staff and roster that include five coaches and five players who were with the Giants last season. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, fired as Giants head coach on Nov. 10, calls plays for an offense that ranks last in the NFL in time of possession at 22:25 per game and first downs at 12.5, and 29th in total yards at 243.0 through two weeks, according to Giants Wire's John Fennelly.
Tennessee lost its opener 23-10 to the Jets on Sept. 13 and then lost 24-20 to the Eagles on Sept. 20, after a 33-yard Joey Slye field goal put the Titans ahead 20-17 with 1:56 to play and Jalen Hurts answered with a 65-yard drive and a 3-yard touchdown pass to Darius Cooper with nine seconds left, according to the team's game recap by Jim Wyatt. Both games were at Nissan Stadium. The Titans went 3-14 in 2025, fired coach Brian Callahan on Oct. 13 at 1-5 and finished 2-9 under interim coach Mike McCoy.
Coaching staff
Robert Saleh was hired as head coach on Jan. 22. He went 20-36 in three-plus seasons with the Jets before he was fired on Oct. 8, 2024, and spent 2025 as the 49ers' defensive coordinator. His first game with Tennessee was the 23-10 loss to the Jets.
Daboll was hired as offensive coordinator on Jan. 27. He went 20-40-1 in the regular season over four seasons with the Giants, won the Associated Press Coach of the Year award in 2022 and was fired with the team at 2-8. His first game as Giants coach was a 21-20 win at Tennessee on Sept. 11, 2022, which is also the last time the teams played.
Gus Bradley is the defensive coordinator and John Fassel is assistant head coach and special teams coordinator, according to the staff announcement the team posted on Feb. 20. Four more assistants were on the Giants' staff last season: quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney (Giants 2022-25), offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo (2024-25), defensive backs/safeties coach Marquand Manuel (2025) and offensive assistant and game-management coach Cade Knox (2022-25). Dennard Wilson, the Titans' defensive coordinator in 2024 and 2025, is now the Giants' defensive coordinator.
Quarterback
Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in 2025 out of Miami, started all 17 games as a rookie and completed 323 of 540 passes for 3,169 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions, with an 80.2 passer rating, according to NFL.com. He was sacked 55 times.
Through two games this season Ward is 32 of 52 for 323 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, and he has run for two touchdowns, both from the 1-yard line against Philadelphia, according to the CBS Sports box scores. He was sacked three times by the Jets and twice by the Eagles. He completed 19 of 32 for 140 yards in Week 1 and 13 of 20 for 183 yards in Week 2.
"We had a better showing running the ball. We had a better pass game. … I still didn't do as much as I really wanted to today, but that's also something I continue to get better at," Ward said after the Eagles game, according to the team's website.
Mitchell Trubisky, who played for Daboll in Buffalo, was announced as a signing on March 12 and is the backup, according to the team's depth chart.
Receivers and tight ends
Wan'Dale Robinson agreed to a four-year, $78 million contract with $38 million guaranteed on March 9, the first day of the negotiating window, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported. The Titans announced the signing March 12. He caught 92 passes for 1,014 yards in his last season with the Giants. He has six catches for 47 yards on seven targets this season, according to the CBS Sports box scores.
"It will be good, good to see a couple old faces and match up with the guys I got to practice against the last four years," Robinson said Wednesday, according to the team's website. On Jaxson Dart: "I texted him. That's my guy — I gave nothing but love and respect for him and hope he ends up well."
Carnell Tate, the No. 4 overall pick in April out of Ohio State, has seven catches for 65 yards and led Titans receivers with 40 snaps last week. Calvin Ridley was not targeted in Week 1 and caught two passes for 35 yards on 33 snaps in Week 2, according to CBS Sports. Elic Ayomanor, a second-year receiver, has three catches for 80 yards, including a 41-yard catch against the Eagles on which he hurdled safety Marcus Epps, and the Titans' only receiving touchdown, an 11-yarder in Week 1. Chimere Dike, a first-team All-Pro punt returner as a rookie, is the return man at both spots.
Gunnar Helm starts at tight end. Daniel Bellinger, whose signing from the Giants was announced March 12, is the backup and missed Thursday's practice with an illness before returning Friday.
Backfield
Tony Pollard has 21 carries for 99 yards. Tyjae Spears has 10 carries for 53 yards, including a 27-yard run on the go-ahead drive against Philadelphia. Both were on the injury report with ankle injuries this week: Pollard did not practice Wednesday and was limited Thursday and Friday, and Spears did not practice until Friday, when he was limited. Spears is questionable.
Rookie fifth-round pick Nicholas Singleton made his debut against the Eagles with four carries for 10 yards. "He's probably 50-50 on the read (on his runs), but to be expected from a young buck," Saleh said Friday, according to the team's website. Michael Carter and Julius Chestnut are the other backs on the roster.
Tennessee ran 14 times for 68 yards against the Jets and 29 times for 122 yards against the Eagles.
Offensive line
The line is Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle, Peter Skoronski at left guard, Austin Schlottmann at center, Fernando Carmona Jr. at right guard and JC Latham at right tackle, according to the depth chart. Schlottmann started four games for the Giants last season. Carmona, a fifth-round rookie from Arkansas, won the right guard job over Cordell Volson, who, Wyatt wrote, was leading for the spot going into camp. James Hudson III, who was with the Giants in 2025, is the backup left tackle.
The line allowed three sacks in Week 1 and two in Week 2. Moore carries the team's largest 2026 cap hit at $26.35 million, according to Spotrac. Bricillo, who coached the Giants' line for two seasons, coaches the group.
Defense
The Titans announced the rebuilt front on March 12. They traded nose tackle T'Vondre Sweat to the Jets for edge rusher Jermaine Johnson in a player-for-player deal agreed to in February, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. Johnson made the Pro Bowl under Saleh in 2023 with 7.5 sacks and missed all but two games in 2024. They signed John Franklin-Myers from Denver for three years and $63 million, Pelissero and Rapoport reported; he had 7.5 sacks and 15 quarterback hits for the Broncos in 2025, according to the team. Solomon Thomas came from Dallas in a swap of seventh-round picks. Jacob Martin, who had 26.5 career sacks when the Titans signed him in March, starts opposite Johnson.
Jeffery Simmons, a first-team All-Pro in 2025, is the defensive tackle. He has one sack this season, as do Martin and Franklin-Myers, all against Philadelphia. The Titans did not record a sack against the Jets.
Simmons said Wednesday that Jameis Winston will get teammates to rally around him. "He's a great leader, a true competitor, and when he's on, he's on," Simmons said, according to the team's website. "So, it's up to us … We have to go into this game with the right mindset to stop the run first, but we also have to be able to affect the quarterback."
Rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., the No. 60 pick, has 26 tackles, the second-most by any player in his first two career games since 2000, the AP's Stephen Whyno reported. Cedric Gray returned last week after clearing concussion protocol and had four tackles.
In the secondary, Alontae Taylor signed from New Orleans for three years and $60 million, according to Rapoport, and Cor'Dale Flott signed from the Giants. SNY's Connor Hughes reported on X that Flott "was set to return to the Giants. It was as done of a deal as you can get without pen-to-paper," and that the Titans presented "their entire plan for how Robert Saleh planned to use him." Flott was limited all week with a quad injury and is questionable. Amani Hooker returned an interception 92 yards to the Philadelphia 10 last week, and nickel corner Marcus Harris intercepted Hurts at the Tennessee 17 with about six minutes left. Kevin Winston Jr. is the other safety. Saleh reviewed the Hooker return and the Harris interception with host Taylor Zarzour on The OTP, the team's YouTube show, on Monday.
Philadelphia converted 11 of 18 third downs. Tennessee has allowed 120.5 rushing yards per game, 22nd in the league, according to Athlon.
Roster and cap
The Titans have $64.53 million in cap space, the most in the NFL, with $25.18 million in dead money, according to Spotrac, which also put the team's March free-agent spending at about $270 million. After Moore, the largest 2026 cap hits are Simmons ($25.63 million), Ridley ($15.2 million), Franklin-Myers ($14.96 million), Taylor ($14 million), Johnson ($13.41 million), Hooker ($11.96 million), Robinson ($11.27 million), Ward ($11.1 million) and Flott ($10.74 million).
The first two games
| Week 1 vs. Jets | Week 2 vs. Eagles | |
|---|---|---|
| Result | L 23-10 | L 24-20 |
| Total yards | 195 | 291 |
| Rushing | 14-68 | 29-122 |
| Ward | 19/32, 140, 1 TD | 13/20, 183, 0 TD |
| Sacks allowed | 3 | 2 |
| Third downs | 4/12 | 6/13 |
| Time of possession | 21:14 | 23:35 |
| Yards allowed | 367 | 341 |
| Opp. third downs | 2/12 | 11/18 |
| Takeaways | 0 | 2 |
The Jets ran 39 times for 152 yards and held the ball for 38:46. Geno Smith completed 19 of 24 passes for 215 yards. The loss was Tennessee's sixth straight in a season opener, according to Wyatt.
"There's no moral victories," Saleh said after the Eagles game, according to the team's website. "Like I told our team, we're going to be sick when we watch this tape, because we should be 1-1 right now. But we're not, and that's credit to Philly."
"We're 0 and 2. I am frustrated as hell right now," Simmons said.
Outlook
The Giants lead the series 7-6, according to Giants Wire, which also reports that the Giants have not beaten the Titans or Oilers at home since a 24-20 win in Week 17 of the 1991 season and that John Harbaugh is 5-5 against Tennessee.
Winston makes his first start for the Giants after Dart's season-ending knee injury, and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said Thursday the offense will be built around Winston's arm rather than Dart's legs, GiantsGator has reported. The Giants are 1-1 after a 28-20 win over Dallas and a 28-6 loss at the Rams in which they gained 182 yards and converted 3 of 14 third downs. Big Blue View's Ed Valentine and Bleav in Titans' Chris Belcher previewed the game Friday on Valentine's Views.
Outside linebacker Brian Burns, who did not practice all week with an ankle injury, cornerback Deonte Banks and safety Tyler Nubin are questionable, GiantsGator has reported. Rain from a nor'easter is expected at MetLife, as GiantsGator reported Saturday.
Injury report
Tennessee lists two players as questionable: Flott (quad) and Spears (ankle). No Titans player is out or doubtful. Pollard (ankle), Bellinger (illness), Thomas (knee), Harris (shoulder), cornerback Micah Robinson (groin), Carmona (shoulder) and linebacker James Williams Sr. (elbow) were on the report and practiced Friday without a designation, according to the team's report updated Friday.
The Titans practiced with wet footballs Friday. "We do wet ball. Unfortunately, it's very sunny and nice, no wind here. But no, we'll dunk the balls in water and practice with a wet ball today," Saleh said, according to Wyatt. The team travels Saturday. Defensive lineman Jordan Elliott, who was Winston's teammate in Cleveland, plays his 100th career game.
Betting line
The Giants opened as 3-point favorites with a total of 45.5, according to VegasInsider. On Saturday morning the Giants were minus-2.5 at DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars, with totals of 37.5 at DraftKings and Caesars and 38.5 at FanDuel and BetMGM. The Giants are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games and the Titans are 5-5, according to SI. Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET on CBS.