- A standout performance from Cam Ward: The rookie earned a career-high 78.7 PFF overall grade, offering a clear glimpse of his long-term potential. The Seattle Seahawks defense has been a problem for quarterbacks all season, yet Ward posted the second-highest PFF overall grade they’ve allowed in 2025.
- Standing tall under pressure: Ward posted career highs in both his PFF overall grade when pressured and PFF rushing grade.
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Cam Ward and the Tennessee Titans suffered another loss in Week 12, but Titans fans should come away from that game with real optimism. Ward delivered the best performance of his young career, finally flashing the talent that made him the first overall pick — and he did it against one of the NFL’s toughest defenses.
The rookie earned a career-high 78.7 PFF overall grade, offering a clear glimpse of his long-term potential. The Seattle Seahawks defense has been a problem for quarterbacks all season, yet Ward posted the second-highest PFF overall grade they’ve allowed in 2025. His raw grade may not jump off the page at first glance, but the context of the matchup makes it even more impressive.
Cam Ward and the Titans haven’t pushed the ball downfield much this season. Ward has the sixth-lowest rate of throws with a targeted depth of 20-plus yards — a sharp contrast to his final college season, when he finished with the fourth-most 20-yard completions in the FBS.
Attacking vertically is where he’s at his best, and he finally showed that again in Week 12.
Love this throw from Cam Ward. Rips the seam the second the linebacker stops dropping. Perfect ball placement pic.twitter.com/5Z9eWyjKX4
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) November 24, 2025
The throw above put every part of Cam Ward’s skill set on display — quick processing, high-end velocity and pinpoint placement. With the Seahawks linebackers walked-up into the A-gaps, Ward knows he’ll need to make a fast, decisive read.
Seattle drops one linebacker out and settles into a two-high zone behind it. Tennessee runs a dagger concept, and Ward is simply keying that underneath linebacker. If he carries with the deep route, Ward hits the dig. If he stops dropping, Ward fires the seam.
The Titans quarterback reads it perfectly and delivers the seam ball with ideal placement, protecting his receiver from the incoming safety.
The ease with which he generates this kind of downfield velocity is one of the defining traits of Ward’s game. He doesn’t need to step into these throws because his arm talent is so effortless, allowing him to threaten both the dig and the seam from the same platform.
Ward’s processing against Seattle was also the quickest it has looked all year. He consistently knew where the ball needed to go, and when his receivers came open, he didn’t hesitate. He earned a 75.5 PFF passing grade on throws delivered in under 2.5 seconds, his best mark of the season.
No hesitation from Ward to hit the wheel. Quickest he's looked all season with his decision making pic.twitter.com/smPQDREZez
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) November 24, 2025
The throw above was relatively “simple,” but the speed with which Ward gets to it is what stands out. Tennessee is running a post-wheel-flat concept designed to put multiple defenders in conflict.
Seattle rotates from a two-high shell into a single-high Cover 3, and Ward diagnoses it immediately. Without even needing to glance at the wheel, he knows it’s coming open. Once the safety rotates down, all he has to do is confirm that the outside corner stays on the post, and he can take the wheel. The flat route holds the underneath defender, so Ward doesn’t waste time checking him. That quick processing lets him fire the wheel the moment his back foot hits the top of his drop.
When his receivers weren’t open, Ward showed off his ability to create outside of structure. That has been a trouble spot for him this season — he has struggled whenever he’s forced off his normal dropback rhythm. But in Week 12, his playmaking jumped significantly, with his 47.9 PFF overall grade in those situations spiking to 76.9.
I thought Cam Ward did a great job of using his legs to make plays out of structure including one ridiculous cross-body throw as he's getting hit pic.twitter.com/03Ubxj0gui
— Nick Akridge (@PFF_NickAkridge) November 24, 2025
Ward has been under constant pressure all season, and Week 12 was no different. He was pressured on 45.1% of his dropbacks, yet instead of letting that derail the offense, he turned it into a strength.
He was decisive when taking off to run and also hit several throws out of structure, including a cross-body completion while being hit. Ward posted career highs in both his PFF overall grade when pressured and PFF rushing grade.
There were still a few sacks and pressures he could have avoided, but overall, this was a clear step forward in finding the balance between creating and knowing when to live for the next play.
This season was always going to be a difficult one for Titans fans, but the focus has been on Cam Ward’s development. He’s had his rookie moments, but Week 12 finally delivered the glimpse of upside Tennessee has been waiting for. The rest of the season is about building on this performance and showing he’s the franchise quarterback the Titans drafted him to become.
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