Rebuilds aren't fun, and Tennessee Titans fans should know because it feels like they have been in a rebuild or heading for one ever since that primetime win against the Green Bay Packers nearly four years ago.
However, Titans fans have been stuck watching a lot of lifeless football during that stretch. There were months when it seemed like no one on the roster even wanted to be on the field, and the opponents were just running out the clock to get to their next game.
It looked a lot like what happened to the Indianapolis Colts when they played the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend. In that beatdown, the Colts players who hadn't been traded yet looked like they had given up and didn't put up any fight as the team lost 42-7 in a game where Trevor Lawrence only threw 14 passes.
That isn't what fans saw from the Titans on Sunday when they put up 36 points in regulation, on the road against one of the best teams in the NFL.
Titans rebuild looks so much better than whatever the Colts are doing
What fans saw from the Titans was a team that traded away Jeffery Simmons, but one that was still focused on getting better and trying to win football games. Cam Ward's development was on full display, but he certainly wasn't the only one committed to doing everything he could to win.
Young players like Gunnar Helm, Anthony Hill, and Chimere Dike had some of the best days of their early careers. Foundational pieces like J.C. Latham and Peter Skoronski were key parts of another big game on the ground. Even proven veterans like Amani Hooker and Jacob Martin had the best days of their long careers in that game, and that all happened on a week when everyone was pronouncing the 2026 Titans dead.
The Titans didn't win, and people in that building have to be frustrated that they keep getting so close only to lose hard-fought games. However, Titans fans should be encouraged because this team cares about winning, and that isn't something that all 32 teams can say. It certainly isn't something that has always been clear over the last four years with this franchise.
Titans HC Robert Saleh is encouraging growth in a rebuilding year
The Titans' 1-7 record is bad, but things are different and better under Robert Saleh right now. The best way to illustrate that change is that over the 2024-2025 seasons, the Titans only lost four of their 28 losses by six points or fewer (14%). In 2026 alone, the Titans have lost four of their seven losses by six points or fewer (57%), and that doesn't include their overtime loss to the Bengals last week. This team isn't laying down for anyone, and they are so close to breaking through and winning some games.
Everyone from the front office and the coaching staff to backup players who have to come in to the game seems to believe that this thing is going in the right direction. No one is phoning it in, and they seem to be fighting to keep their spot on the roster for when this all turns around.
That should give this fan base something to believe in.
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