Titans’ penalty woes and sacks plague rookie QB Cam Ward in home opener loss

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have allowed 11 sacks through two games and been flagged 23 times for 193 yards.

In other words, they continue being their own worst enemy with an 0-2 start.

Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall draft pick, is paying the physical price of those mistakes. He was sacked five times and stripped of the ball on one Sunday as the Titans lost their home opener 33-19 to the Los Angeles Rams.

“We just got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” Ward said. “My turnover, penalties cost us throughout the game both sides of the ball. We’ve just got to lock in.”

The Titans piled up four penalties in the seven plays after the opening kickoff and finished with 10 for 62 yards — not counting two that were declined. That’s after being flagged 13 times for 131 yards in their season-opening loss in Denver.

“It’s not complicated in my opinion,” left guard Peter Skoronski said. “We can’t have them, especially pre-snap with the false starts. We can’t do it. We’ve got to be disciplined. There’s not tricks or anything to not having them. We’ve just got to be disciplined and don’t do that. It’s pretty simple.”

Coach Brian Callahan spent the offseason trying to get his Titans to stop hurting themselves with the penalties they can control. Through two games, they remain a problem he said they have to get fixed.

“Just things that are frustrating, very frustrating to be in that spot,” Callahan said. “It’s obviously something that we had a problem with last year. It was a problem before. It’s still a problem, and we’re trying like hell to get it fixed. So far, we haven’t been successful doing that.”

The Titans had a couple of false starts by right tackle John Ojukwu, starting in place of JC Latham. Veteran right guard Kevin Zeitler was flagged for being an ineligible receiver downfield on the second offensive play, wiping out a first down catch by Chimere Dike.

A defensive offside. A holding penalty on a kickoff return.

The costliest penalty came on a late flag for a blindside block by linebacker Cedric Gray, which wiped out a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown by Dike.

“I guess they said that I led with my shoulder,” Gray said. “I thought I led with my hands, but I just have to eat it, have to be a little bit smarter in that situation next time.”

The sacks are more dangerous to a franchise trying to rebuild with a rookie quarterback. The Titans gave up six sacks to the NFL’s top pass rushing team in the opener, and they nearly matched that Sunday. It didn’t help that right tackle JC Latham was out with a strained hip.

Ward showed signs of growth, scrambling away from a pass rusher, throwing back to the left to fellow rookie Elic Ayomanor for their first NFL touchdown in the second quarter. Ward also took what he could get under pressure, scrambling up the middle to give Joey Slye a better distance to kick.

The rookie’s one fumble turned into a touchdown when the Titans trailed only 20-16 early in the fourth quarter.

Ayomanor, who said the ball for his TD would go to Ward, said the quarterback’s consistent personality helps the rookie and the rest of the Titans.

“Everybody’s going to make a bad play,” Ayomanor said. “But the thing that’s very unique about Cam is he makes a bad play and that’s it, he has a very short-term memory.”

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