The Cam Ward era is off to a rocky start for the Tennessee Titans, but the team found a way to capture the unlikeliest of victories on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. While it wasn't pretty and it isn't something they can replicate, there are some things that we can take away from Sunday's legendary victory.
Offensive line improvements
Even without J.C. Latham, the Titans offensive line has been slowly improving as the year goes on. Against their weakest competition of the season, they did exactly what fans wanted them to do, and they opened up some rushing lanes while protecting their young quarterback.
The line did well as a whole, but Peter Skoronski and Kevin Zeitler were standouts in this game. If this is the week that the Titans get Latham back, it could pay huge dividends for this offense as they try to build on this positive momentum.
Calvin Ridley is back
Ridley's redemption started last week when he seemed to move differently and catch the ball better in a blowout loss. While most people forgot that, Ridley and Ward didn't forget, and once Ward settled down, he started to pepper his playmaker with targets. The veteran wideout rewarded that effort with three of his five longest plays of the season (47 yards, 38 yards, and 25 yards).
It appears Titans fans will finally get to start seeing the Ward-to-Ridley combination the team teased all training camp and during the preseason.
Tight end tandem
Titans fans want to choose between Gunnar Helm and Chig Okonkwo, when the fact is that they are both effective receiving tight ends who are (at best) functional blockers. Their value comes down to the passing game, where they have proven to be the team's two safest pass-catchers. Okonkwo gives you more after the catch while Helm has been slightly more sure-handed, but both should be a bigger part of the offense going forward after making big plays in Sunday's win.
Jeffery Simmons is incredible
Simmons is on an All-Pro path this season. He leads all defensive tackles in sacks, pressures, tackles for loss, and solo tackles, which means that no matter what you try to do on offense, there is no interior defender an offense hates seeing more than Simmons.
It is still early, so this will fluctuate, but he is currently tracking to record 12 sacks, 31 QB hits, 20 TFLs, and 54 solo tackles. That gives you an idea of how dominant Simmons has been this year, and it is a stark reminder of how much this fan base undervalues one of the best defensive players in the NFL.