In Sunday’s 38-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft once again aired out his feelings in a public fashion.
With the Titans trailing 17-7 in the third quarter, Tennessee opted to punt from Indianapolis’ 42-yard line after being stonewalled on a third-and-3 run by Tony Pollard. That call didn’t sit well with Ward, who appeared to mouth an expletive and question the decision by interim coach Mike McCoy in an interaction that quickly became a viral clip on social media.
Johnny Hekker’s punt only went 22 yards, and Colts running back Jonathan Taylor raced for an 80-yard touchdown on Indianapolis’ next play.
‘I think I’m a competitor,’ Ward said in a postgame news conference when asked about the interaction. ‘Our whole offense is like that. Our whole defense is like that. … I just think the biggest thing is we want to be an aggressive team. Especially with the record we have right now, we have to be an aggressive team at the end of the season to get where we want to be.’
Ward stood by his reaction but said it was a product of an aggressive mindset, adding that the problem was ultimately one of execution.
‘I just think it’s a missed opportunity for us as a team to get a first down and keep the drive moving. We weren’t down that much at that time,’ Ward said. ‘So, we’re going to always support whatever decision is made, but at the end of the day, we shouldn’t put ourselves in that position. We should get the first down on third down.’
McCoy, who was in just his second game as interim coach after Tennessee fired Brian Callahan, said he believed that the thinking that drove the decision was sound despite the outcome.
‘It was something we talked about,’ McCoy said of weighing whether to go for it on fourth down. ‘You know, hindsight, you look back and the last thing I thought they were going to do was have the big touchdown run after that. So yeah, I got it. You look back and say, ‘I should have gone for that.’ But initially when I said to punt it, you pin them deep, and the defense had done nice through the second quarter.’
Ward completed 22 of 38 passes for 259 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Save for a 22-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 5, the Titans have dropped every game since their season opener by at least 10 points.