Craving a winner, Titans fans look to Cam Ward's debut
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The last time the Titans made the Super Bowl, Rotier's was the best burger in town, Lower Broadway was a quirky honky-tonk district and Nissan Stadium was a shining new facility on the East Bank of the Cumberland River.
Catch up quick: Music City has endured a 25-year Super Bowl drought, Rotier's is closed, Lower Broad is a global tourist destination and a new $2.2 billion Nissan Stadium is under construction.
Why it matters: The Titans are pinning their turnaround hopes on first overall draft choice Cam Ward, an immensely talented rookie quarterback who was born two years after the team lost its heartbreaker to the Rams in the Super Bowl.
Driving the news: The Titans begin their season on Sunday against the Broncos.
- Vegas odds indicate this will not be the year the Titans break their streak of no Super Bowls. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, only three teams have worse odds to win the Super Bowl than the Titans.
- Realistically, success this season will not be defined by a deep playoff run. Instead, it will be determined by whether Ward proves to be any good at the game's most important position.
Zoom in: The Broncos offer a daunting first test.
- They boast one of the best defenses in the NFL and their own promising quarterback in Bo Nix.
- While Titans coach Brian Callahan remains unproven, the Broncos coach Sean Payton is a former Super Bowl champion.
- FanDuel favors the Broncos to win by 8.5 points, which is tied for the largest Week 1 spread. Even in a loss, the first game could still be viewed as a Titans success if Ward simply plays well.
The bottom line: For a city that's changed dramatically over the years, the one consistent in Nashville has been the Titans failing to return to their Steve McNair-era glory.
- Titans fans hope Ward succeeds where his once-promising predecessors Vince Young, Jake Locker, Marcus Mariota and Will Levis failed.
Watch: The game kicks off Sunday in Denver at 3:05pm Central. It will air on Fox.