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A new coach, a changed roster, and the same result: Titans stumble in opening their season

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Cite

Walker, T. M. (2026, September 14). A new coach, a changed roster, and the same result: Titans stumble in opening their season. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/a-new-coach-a-changed-roster-and-the-same-result-titans-stumble-in-opening-their-season/article_c41efff8-2fa1-5622-b02a-0b3a359a900d.html

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Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-14 · by Teresa M. Walker

Quick Summary

In their first game under new coach Robert Saleh, the Tennessee Titans suffered a 23-10 loss to the New York Jets in a poor performance that marked their sixth consecutive opening-game defeat since 2020. Despite significant roster changes this offseason, issues persisted across all phases of play, including special teams where Joey Slye’s kickoff went out of bounds and Chimere Dike lost a fumble on a return. Saleh acknowledged the team's shortcomings and took responsibility for his coaching decisions but highlighted rookie linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.’s strong debut performance with 16 tackles and two passes defended.
Written by AI on 2026-09-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In their season opener, the Tennessee Titans suffered a 23-10 loss to the New York Jets, continuing their streak of losing six straight season openers since 2020. New coach Robert Saleh expressed disappointment in every aspect of the game and acknowledged significant room for improvement. Despite overhauling half of the roster this offseason, none of the changes showed positive results, including issues on special teams where Joey Slye's kickoff went out of bounds early in the game. The Jets dominated with a 19-play drive that consumed nearly 12 minutes by running the ball on 10 consecutive plays to start it off. Saleh admitted his mistakes and said he would be more aggressive calling the defense in the second half to create big plays, but these adjustments did not turn around the game's outcome.

Written for “NFL Season Starts” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 NFL Season Starts
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 10443 article(s) · 27 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 27 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Teresa M. Walker
21 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Watson said one play they failed to connect on could have been a touchdown as he tried to take advantage of the Tennessee defense.
🔮 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee safety Amani Hooker couldn’t remember the most recent time the Titans strung together back-to-back wins, and his guess off.
🔮 That could be a lot of pressure on someone who just turned 19 with one year of college at Duke.
🔮 This time, the Texans forced two turnovers and Will Anderson Jr. had three of Houston’s four sacks.
🔮 “I feel like this team has a lot more potential, a lot more that they could do in that whole game,” Chambliss said.
🔮 Coach Robert Saleh believes the Tennessee Titans will be good, really good.
🔮 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee quarterback Cam Ward said Wednesday that performing on the field will cut out all the social media criticism being thrown at his family in the wake of an 0-3 start.
🔮 Ward ranks 25th among qualifying quarterbacks with 504 yards passing, is tied with Baker Mayfield and Caleb Williams with two touchdown passes and ranks 21st with a 80.9 passer rating.
🔮 Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Brandon, a freshman, could have helped himself getting rid of the ball faster and the offensive line could have been better.
🔮 The linebacker’s day for the record books also will be remembered for his vulgar celebration after one sack.
Also by Teresa M. Walker
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 21 articles by Teresa M. Walker →

Topics

Jets NASHVILLE NFL Tenn. Titans

Subjects

Saleh PERSON · 9× Titans ORG · 7× NFL ORG · 6× Jets ORG · 3× Chimere Dike PERSON · 2× Gray PERSON · 2× Philadelphia ORG · 2× Ward PERSON · 2× NASHVILLE GPE · 1× Tenn. GPE · 1×

Narrative

With the Jets running the ball on 10 consecutive plays to start a 19-play drive that used up nearly 12 minutes off the clock in the first half, the head coach tried to be more aggressive calling the defense in the second half looking to create more big plays.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-14
🔮 His latest NFL coach said Ward just needs time and will be growing this season and next.

Claims (28 extracted, 0 hedged)

New Tennessee coach Robert Saleh watched the tape of the Titans in their first game with a new coaching staff and had a sharp critique. asserted
Saleh → watch → critique
That was obvious to anyone watching the Titans lose a sixth straight season opener since 2020 with Saleh the third different coach in that span. asserted
Saleh → watch → span
They never led and wound up dominated by the New York Jets in a 23-10 loss to a team that also went 3-14 last season. asserted
that → lead → team
“We also have to acknowledge we have a long way to go,” Saleh said of a franchise that flipped more than half of the roster this offseason along with the new coaching staff. asserted
that → have → staff
Yet none of the areas that were changed showed signs of improvement with even special teams having issues. asserted
teams → change → issues
Joey Slye’s opening kickoff went out of bounds for a bad omen. asserted
kickoff → go → omen
All-Pro returner Chimere Dike lost a fumble on a kickoff return after being cleared of a concussion with a blocker pushed into him on a punt return. asserted
blocker → lose → return
Saleh took accountability for his own mistakes. asserted
Saleh → take → mistakes
With the Jets running the ball on 10 consecutive plays to start a 19-play drive that used up nearly 12 minutes off the clock in the first half, the head coach tried to be more aggressive calling the defense in the second half looking to create more big plays. asserted
coach → run → plays
“It is truly collective; coaches, players, and trying to find a way to get this thing a little bit better,” Saleh said. asserted
Saleh → try → way
What’s working The Titans were flagged four times for 25 yards in the rare category they did better than the Jets. asserted
they → work → Jets
One flag for too many men on the field erased a Jets’ rushing touchdown, though they scored on the next play. asserted
they → erase → play
Saleh used a timeout to avoid another penalty for 12 men on the field with the defense at its goal line. asserted
Saleh → use → line
What needs help asserted
needs → need → help
The 60th pick overall started and led the Titans with 16 total tackles and two passes defended making him the NFL’s first rookie to post those stats in a game since at least 2000. asserted
him → start → 2000
He also was the first NFL player with those stats in a game since Chicago safety Jaquan Brisker had 17 tackles and two passes defensed Dec. 10, 2023. asserted
Brisker → have → tackles
Cam Ward did not turn the ball over to start his second NFL season. asserted
Ward → turn → season
He also threw for only 140 yards — the fewest for any starting quarterback going into Monday night’s games. asserted
He → throw → games
Saleh noted that Ward has had seven different coordinators in seven different seasons and his coaches are trying to give him stability. asserted
coaches → note → stability
His latest NFL coach said Ward just needs time and will be growing this season and next. asserted
Ward → say → time
“This young man is at the floor, again, of what it takes to be an NFL quarterback, but he has all the tools, the mental makeup to get to where he needs to go,” Saleh said. asserted
Saleh → take → tools
Injuries LB Cedric Gray missed the opener in the concussion protocol after a UTV accident. asserted
Gray → miss → accident
Saleh said Gray should be available against Philadelphia. asserted
Gray → say → Philadelphia
Gray led the Titans with 160 tackles last season, which ranked fifth in the NFL. asserted
which → lead → NFL
All-Pro returner Chimere Dike was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return during the game. asserted
Dike → evaluate → game
Key number 31 — The number of NFL teams who have won at least one season opener since the start of the 2021 season with the Titans the only team in the league shut out in that span. asserted
who → win → span
Next steps The Titans host Philadelphia on Sunday to wrap up two games to open a season at home for the first time since 2010. asserted
Titans → host → 2010
Then they face a two-game road swing at the New York Giants, then the Baltimore Ravens. asserted
they → face → Giants
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