Titans @ Cardinals
Final Score: Titans 22, Cardinals 21
Writer: Brett Ford (@FadeThatMan)
In what was the wildest game of the weekend, the Arizona Cardinals defied the odds to clutch defeat from the jaws of victory as they found a way to lose to the visiting Titans, 22-21, at home to grant Cam Ward his first career NFL win. The Cardinals looked dominant through the first half as they climbed out to a 21-6 halftime lead. But from there, the bounces all went the way of the Titans. It started when running back Emari Demercado decided to finger roll the ball just before the goal line on what would have been an 83-yard touchdown. It continued when the Arizona defense intercepted a pass, dropped a fumble, kicked it into their own end zone, and then allowed the Titans to recover it for a touchdown. And it ended when Joey Slye hit a game-winning field goal as time expired. It was a wild fever dream of a football game for Cardinals fans, a poetic first win for Titans fans, and a thrilling comedy of errors for neutral football fans. Let’s dig in.
Three Up
- Calvin Ridley – Well, it’s about time! Ridley looked like an alpha wide receiver, pulling in deep balls, including a clutch play to set up the game-winning field goal
- Marvin Harrison Jr. – The top-flight wide receiver took another step forward with a second consecutive strong performance.
- Michael Carter – Clearly took the lead back role in the Cardinals’ backfield after Demercado’s mental lapse – but let’s be real, he had it before that.
Three down
- Emari Demercado – How do goal line fumbles keep happening? How?!
- Elic Ayomanor – With a bad drop and only four targets, Ayomanor had a let-down game after a couple of nice stat lines in a row.
- Trey McBride – A very pedestrian game for the top tight end in the league.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
Cam Ward: 21/39, 265 Yards, INT | 5 carries, -6 yards
Ward was clutch. I’ll give him that. But there were so many moments in this game where he was just inaccurate, missing wide receivers by subtle margins. For example, he would throw the ball on the defender’s side of the receiver as opposed to the back shoulder, leading his receiver into a hit as opposed to protecting them with the throw. They weren’t bad misses, necessarily, just less-than-perfect balls that ended up as drops or deflections. Ward’s interception came in the red zone on a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage that was tracked down by a defensive back. His best throw of the game was easily the connection to Ridley in crunch time to set up the game-winning field goal. See the featured Tweet in Ridley’s section; it was a thing of beauty when the Titans needed it most.
Running Back
Tony Pollard: 14 Carries, 67 yards, TD, Fumble (LOST) | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 11 Yards
Pollard dominated the touches out of the backfield for the Titans, as he was on the field for 49 out of 67 offensive snaps, nearly double the amount of Spears and Chestnut combined. Pollard converted a one-yard touchdown but also lost a fumble on a relatively weak punchout, giving the Cardinals excellent field position early in the game. Pollard may end up losing time and production to Spears as he gets healthier, but for now, the backfield belongs squarely to him.
Tyjae Spears: 4 Carries, 14 Yards | 1 Target
Julius Chestnut: 1 Carry, 3 Yards | 1 Target
Spears was eased back into his first NFL action, seeing just four touches on 17 snaps. For now, the backfield still belongs to Pollard, but it’s a long season.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Calvin Ridley: 10 Targets, 5 Receptions, 131 Yards
For the first time this season, Ridley looked and performed like an alpha wide receiver. His best route and catch of the game came as the Titans were trying to drive for the win in the final two minutes. He beat his corner to the outside and caught a perfect pass over his shoulder for a massive gain to set up the game-winning field goal. He doubled the rest of the team in targets despite coming into this game with multiple injury questions. He’s a boom or bust option so far this season, but if he can continue to show a connection with Ward, his production could continue to increase.
CAM WARD TO CALVIN RIDLEY@Titans ARE ON THE VERGE pic.twitter.com/HdCwJTMQ5Z
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 5, 2025
Elic Ayomanor: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards
Ayomanor saw a season-low four targets and pulled in just two of them for 18 yards. He dropped a laser beam from Ward early on and never got many opportunities after that. With the Titans facing the Raiders next week, he’ll have an opportunity to rebound against Las Vegas’ poor defense.
Chig Okonkwo: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 48 Yards
Gunnar Helm: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 34 Yards
Helm has begun to overtake Okonkwo in the tight end room and was featured on 60% of the Titans’ single tight end formations, according to Nathan Jahnke at PFF.com. Both tight ends were targeted heavily, pulling in four receptions each. Helm could be a sneaky streamer if he takes over completely as the top tight end, but for now, with the situation looking and feeling murky, neither are top fantasy options.
Chimere Dike: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 17 Yards
Dike was more involved this week than in the past, tying a career-high with five targets and two receptions. An explosive athlete, he’s also returning kicks for the Titans, but hasn’t seen many designed looks to get him the ball in space. If he begins to see those kinds of schemed targets, he may be a sneaky streamer in deeper leagues later in the year.
Tyler Lockett: 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards, FR TD
Lockett was in the right place at the right time to finish with a contender for the luckiest touchdown of the season, recovering a fumbled interception that was kicked 10 yards back into the end zone for a score. It was WILD.
Two turnovers in one play results in Tyler Lockett scoring a touchdown for the #Titans #NFL
— BenJarmin Munguia (@JustJarmin) October 5, 2025
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Kyler Murray: 23/31, 220 yards | 4 carries, 25 yards, TD
Kyler played well in the first half while the Cardinals were playing to win, but then looked worse as the game wore on, as the Cardinals shifted to a ‘don’t lose’ mentality. His rushing prowess continues to give him a nice floor, and it was on display as he found the end zone, but his quarterbacking is still leaving something to be desired. He left the game briefly with what appeared to be a mild foot injury (and maybe a concussion check?) but returned quickly after sitting out one drive and didn’t appear to be affected by the ailment the rest of the way as the Cardinals leaned heavily on the run in the second half.
Running Back
Trey Benson: DNP
Michael Carter: 18 carries, 51 yards, TD | 5 targets, 5 receptions, 22 yards
The clear lead back on Sunday, Carter was on the field for 39 snaps out of 68 offensive plays, more than double that of the next highest-used running back. He dominated the running back touches and scored the opening touchdown of the game from the one-yard line, earning three out of four goal line snaps. He is the clear back to claim for the injury-riddled Cardinals, especially if he continues to catch passes out of the backfield.
Zonovan “Bam” Knight: 4 carries, 25 yards, TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 13 yards
He was on the field for just 11 snaps, but he got five opportunities in his limited time. The touchdown was icing on the cake as the Cardinals seem to like the backup’s explosiveness.
Emari Demercado: 3 carries, 81 yards, Fumble (LOST)
Oh no, Emari. We just saw this happen with Adonai Mitchell in Indianapolis. How do we allow it to happen again? For what it’s worth, Demercado broke away for 71 yards on a decisive move and looked like a strong runner, but the bonehead decision to finger roll on the ball on the goal line cost him not only a touchdown, but also the game and possibly more touches in this and coming weeks.
Add Cardinals RB Emari Demercado to the list of players who should be asked, “What is wrong w/just holding onto the ball ALL the way into the end zone & then dropping it the second you step on a logo or lettering in the end zone?” #EarlyBallDrop #TENvsAZ
pic.twitter.com/3ZJQ3GKwW6— Charles T (@ChuckyT3) October 5, 2025
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 98 yards
MHJ flashed more brilliance as the Cardinals seemed to make it a priority to get him involved early on. Murray uncorked a deep ball down the right sideline to Harrison, Jr. that was called a touchdown on the field, but was placed on the one-yard line after review, where Carter vultured the touchdown from the elite wide receiver.
Trey McBride: 7 targets, 5 receptions, 41 yards
I know when we say “only” seven targets as McBride managers, it feels like entitlement. But having spent a first or second round pick on McBride, fantasy managers are entitled to higher expectations from the all-pro tight end. It was easily McBride’s lowest-output game of the season as the Cardinals jumped out to a large early lead and played clock management for what felt like the rest of the way. The game script didn’t help, but it’s no excuse for the Cardinals not to get the ball to one of their best playmakers.
Michael Wilson: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards
Zay Jones: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 8 yards
Greg Dortch: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 12 yards
The game script didn’t lend itself to the passing game as the Cardinals led until the final snap of the game. The ancillary receiving pieces didn’t do much at all in this one and aren’t fantasy relevant except in the deepest of deep leagues.