Two teams that combined for 7 wins in 2025 meet again, except this time there's a new voice in each building trying to make sure it doesn't happen twice.
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SUN SEP 27 · 1:00 PM ET
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Titans
Giants
This one's less about last year's tape and more about who's changed since. Cam Ward is entering year 2 after a mercurial rookie season behind a Titans offense that finished 30th in scoring, and he spent the offseason dropping 10 pounds to get sharper in the pocket. Across the field, Jaxson Dart is trying to do the same thing for a Giants team that fired Brian Daboll in-season and handed the keys to John Harbaugh, who's spent the spring raving about Dart's competitiveness and how quickly he's picked up the new offense.
Availability is the swing factor for New York. Malik Nabers is still working back from a second surgery on the ACL he tore in Week 4 last year, and Harbaugh's own read this offseason was that the receiver is 70-80% through his rehab — encouraging, but not a guarantee for late September. Rookie linebacker Abdul Carter dealt with an ankle sprain that knocked him out of minicamp practices, and Cam Skattebo is still building back from the ankle injury that ended his season. Tennessee, by contrast, is mostly just adding pieces: Calvin Ridley is already back taking 7-on-7 reps, and Jeffery Simmons just signed a 3-year, $105.8 million extension after an 11-sack, first-team All-Pro season anchoring the interior.
Both franchises are selling the same pitch to their fan bases — trust the process, the roster's better than the record. The Titans used premium draft capital on defensive end Keldric Faulk and receiver Carnell Tate, while the Giants leaned into building around Dart with new coordinators and a Harbaugh-run culture reset. Neither team enters this one with much to hang its hat on beyond hope, which is honestly where most of the league sits in July.
Tennessee's backfield is worth watching regardless of the final score. Tony Pollard started all 17 games last season and heads into the year as the clear lead back, but Tyjae Spears has reportedly strengthened his grip on the No. 2 job throughout the offseason program, and fifth-round pick Nicholas Singleton adds another body to a suddenly crowded room. If Ward's still finding his footing, leaning on that run game is the obvious answer.
Tennessee Titans
New York Giants
New York closed out 2025 by beating the Raiders and Cowboys back-to-back under interim charge, a stretch that at least gave the front office something to point to when Harbaugh was making his pitch to Dart and the locker room. Whether that carries into a fresh system under a new staff is the actual question this game and this season are built to answer.
