Tennessee RBs averaged 4.6 yards per carry in Sunday's narrow home loss to Philadelphia. Tony Pollard led with 64 yards on 14 carries (4.6 per rush). Tyjae Spears followed with 41 yards on 7 attempts (5.9). Rookie Nicholas Singleton added 10 yards on four third-quarter rushes. Singleton's action came entirely on one drive, while Spears was out with an apparent left-leg issue. But Spears later returned.
A reporter asked Titans OC Brian Daboll on Thursday about his backfield plan, and Daboll invoked all the phrases that fantasy managers hate to hear if they're hoping to start a team's RB.
The Titans started RB Tony Pollard in their preseason opener, as expected. But he didn't work as the clear backfield leader. Tyjae Spears mixed in on the team's first possession, matched Pollard at 4 carries, ran seven pass routes to Pollard's five, and drew the only target between them before both guys left the game.
Tennessee returns Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears to an offense that ranked just 30th in rushing yards and 28th in total RB PPR points last season. The Titans added RB Nicholas Singleton out of Penn State in Round 5. So how should we expect that trio to fit together in the first season under HC Robert Saleh and OC Brian Daboll?
The Tennessee Titans selected Penn State RB Nicholas Singleton in Round 5 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Singleton brings rare straight-line speed for his size and a slashing style. He’s also one of the top pass-catching backs. Penn State never unleashed him as a true workhorse, but he did play alongside four-star recruit Kaytron Allen. The duo split carries near-evenly across 2022-23 before Allen led 15.3 to 10.9 over the past two seasons. That’s concerning for Singleton’s usage projection. Among the 20 RBs invited to the NFL Combine, Singleton ranked 18th in 2025 rushing market share (25.8%), and in yards after contact per attempt (2.69). He ranked 19th in 2025 missed tackles forced per attempt (0.15) and fifth in receiving yards per route run (1.52). He is currently 22 years old.
Titans RB Tony Pollard racked up 161 yards and 2 TDs on a season-high 25 carries in Sunday's narrow victory over the Browns. The game marked the first time since Week 5 that Pollard found the end zone or rushed more than 11 times. His production relied heavily on TD runs of 65 and 32 yards, which accounted for 60.3% of his rushing yardage for the game. Pollard averaged just 2.8 yards across his other 23 attempts, which falls much more in line with the Cleveland rushing matchup for the year.
For the third time in Tennessee's last 5 games, Tyjae Spears out-snapped Tony Pollard in the Titans' 16-13 Week 11 loss to the Texans. Spears played 32 snaps to Pollard's 29, but neither back had much success against Houston's top-ranked defense. Tennessee only ran for 58 yards in the game, and QB Cam Ward was the team's leading rusher with 33 of those yards. Pollard and Spears combined to rush 14 times for 25 yards -- an average of just 1.78 yards per carry.
Titans RB Tyjae Spears ran for a team-high 59 yards and Tennessee's lone ground score in Sunday's loss to the Colts. He added 3 receptions for 23 yards among three targets, also beating RB Tony Pollard in each of those categories. Spears accounted for a lot of those yards on just two plays: a 41-yard run in the second quarter and a 17-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter. But he also beat Pollard in total snaps and pass routes for the game, and trailed Pollard by only two carries.
The Titans fired HC Brian Callahan. He finishes his tenure with a 4-19 record. This year’s Titans are sitting at 1-5 with a league-worst -78 point differential. Tennessee's offense ranks:
Callahan isn’t completely to blame, of course. The offensive line has struggled, the pass-catching corps is underwhelming, and QB Cam Ward has played like a rookie. We’ll see who the Titans tab as interim HC, but OC Nick Holz and QBs coach Bo Hardegree figure to be in charge of the offense. Hardegree has called plays the last three weeks, leading the team to 32 total points. The offense can’t get much worse post-Callahan, but we’re not counting on it getting significantly better any time soon.
Titans RB Tyjae Spears returned from IR to run as the No. 2 RB in Sunday's win over the Cardinals. He drew about a third as much playing time as starter Tony Pollard, getting 17 snaps to Pollard's 49. Spears ran 10 pass routes vs. 29 for Pollard, according to Pro Football Focus. Spears didn't see a target but did carry four times for 14 yards (3.5 per rush). Pollard continued to dominate backfield work, posting a 14-67-1 rushing line plus 3 receptions for 11 yards.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor delivered his second 3-TD game of the season in Sunday's beatdown of the Raiders. Taylor tallied a 17-66-3 rushing line to go with 3 receptions for 20 yards. DJ Giddens followed with 22 yards on five carries. Ameer Abdullah also made his Colts debut, running for 6 yards and a TD on two carries.
Titans RB Tyjae Spears (ankle) was limited in practice all week and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Cardinals. HC Brian Callahan said Friday that Spears had a “good week of practice,” but his ankle was still heavily wrapped. Don’t expect a big workload for Spears if he makes his debut on Sunday. He’s not a Week 5 fantasy option, but his return would ding RB Tony Pollard.
The Titans are expected to open RB Tyjae Spears' 21-day practice window this week, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Spears landed on IR entering the season because of a high ankle sprain suffered back on Aug. 9. The window means he could practice for as much as three weeks before the team has to decide whether to activate him.
There was some optimism ahead of Tennessee's Week 4 game in Houston as the Titans felt like they had a good shot at securing their first win against the 0-3 Texans. But another anemic performance by Tennessee's 31st-ranked offense resulted in a 26-0 defeat to drop the Titans to 0-4.
Tennessee mustered only 175 yards of offense and failed to run a single play in the red zone despite trailing the game by only six points in the fourth quarter.
Titans HC Brian Callahan is handing off play-calling duties to QBs coach Bo Hardegree. It's an interesting decision to go with Hardegree rather than OC Nick Holz. The Titans offense has been a mess through three games, ranking 28th in points, 31st in total yards, and dead last in yards per play. The offensive line has struggled with injuries to OT J.C. Latham and G Kevin Zeitler, while WR Calvin Ridley has been far too quiet. Hardegree's only play-calling experience came in nine games for the 2023 Raiders as interim OC. That team averaged 22.9 points per game under Hardegree -- up from 15.8 over the first eight games. We'll see what Hardegree does for the Titans going forward, but it's tough to imagine the offense getting any worse. The unit should at least benefit from an easier schedule after Week 4. Tennessee has opened with a gauntlet of defenses: Broncos, Rams, Colts, Texans.
Week 2 found Titans RB Tony Pollard garnering an even larger work share than he got in the opener. Pollard handled all 20 of the team's RB rushing attempts in the loss to the Rams, tallying 92 yards. Pollard went catchless on just one target but also ran 33 routes vs. five for No. 2 RB Julius Chestnut. That route total ranked Pollard second on the team behind only Calvin Ridley, according to Pro Football Focus.
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