NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — New Tennessee coach Robert Saleh watched the tape of the Titans in their first game with a new coaching staff and had a sharp critique.
Saleh's takes Monday:
“It was not good in any facet and in any phase of the football game."
"It has to be better.”
That was obvious to anyone watching the Titans lose a sixth straight season opener since 2020 with Saleh the third different coach in that span. They never led and wound up dominated by the New York Jets in a 23-10 loss to a team that also went 3-14 last season.
"We also have to acknowledge we have a long way to go,” Saleh said of a franchise that flipped more than half of the roster this offseason along with the new coaching staff.
Yet none of the areas that were changed showed signs of improvement with even special teams having issues. Joey Slye's opening kickoff went out of bounds for a bad omen. All-Pro returner Chimere Dike lost a fumble on a kickoff return after being cleared of a concussion with a blocker pushed into him on a punt return.
Saleh took accountability for his own mistakes. With the Jets running the ball on 10 consecutive plays to start a 19-play drive that used up nearly 12 minutes off the clock in the first half, the head coach tried to be more aggressive calling the defense in the second half looking to create more big plays.
“It is truly collective; coaches, players, and trying to find a way to get this thing a little bit better,” Saleh said.
The Titans were flagged four times for 25 yards in the rare category they did better than the Jets. One flag for too many men on the field erased a Jets' rushing touchdown, though they scored on the next play. Saleh used a timeout to avoid another penalty for 12 men on the field with the defense at its goal line.
Everything across the board.
Rookie LB Anthony Hill Jr. The 60th pick overall started and led the Titans with 16 total tackles and two passes defended making him the NFL's first rookie to post those stats in a game since at least 2000. He also was the first NFL player with those stats in a game since Chicago safety Jaquan Brisker had 17 tackles and two passes defensed Dec. 10, 2023.
Cam Ward did not turn the ball over to start his second NFL season. He also threw for only 140 yards — the fewest for any starting quarterback going into Monday night's games. Saleh noted that Ward has had seven different coordinators in seven different seasons and his coaches are trying to give him stability.
His latest NFL coach said Ward just needs time and will be growing this season and next.
“This young man is at the floor, again, of what it takes to be an NFL quarterback, but he has all the tools, the mental makeup to get to where he needs to go," Saleh said.
LB Cedric Gray missed the opener in the concussion protocol after a UTV accident. Saleh said Gray should be available against Philadelphia. Gray led the Titans with 160 tackles last season, which ranked fifth in the NFL. All-Pro returner Chimere Dike was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return during the game.
31 — The number of NFL teams who have won at least one season opener since the start of the 2021 season with the Titans the only team in the league shut out in that span.
The Titans host Philadelphia on Sunday to wrap up two games to open a season at home for the first time since 2010. Then they face a two-game road swing at the New York Giants, then the Baltimore Ravens.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) runs for a first down during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh works on the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) passes over Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
MARFA, Texas (AP) — Landowners, ranchers and business owners in the Big Bend region of Texas along with a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the region's landscape and heritage are suing to stop the Trump administration's plans to build a wall and other border infrastructure through the remote section of the state.
The lawsuit, filed by Conserve Big Bend and six landowners and with the support of dozens more people along the border, comes as the administration is ramping up a $46 billion effort to line the roughly 2,000-mile southern border with a collection of 30-foot (9-meter) steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers, and technology intended to keep out smugglers and migrants.
In Texas, the effort has run up against numerous lawsuits and bipartisan opposition from sheriffs, elected officials, tour guides, environmental groups and landowners.
Officials backing the wall “were woefully unprepared for the hornet’s nest they stirred up because they had no idea how much we love this place,” said David Keller, an archaeologist and historian who specializes in the Big Bend and lives in the region.
“For us, the Big Bend is not an empty place on the map,” he said at a press conference announcing the suit. “It is our home.”
As part of its wall-building efforts, the administration has waived numerous regulations and statutes designed to protect the environment, archaeology or wildlife, on the basis that there's an urgent need to protect the border in what Homeland Security has called areas of “high illegal entry.”
But in the lawsuit announced Monday, the plaintiffs argue that when it comes to the Big Bend region, that's not an accurate description. They've cited historical statistics issued by Customs and Border Protection showing how few people cross the border in Big Bend compared with other areas along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Big Bend has about 500 miles of border __ roughly one quarter of the total length of the border with Mexico from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. But the region only accounted for about 1% of arrests, according to the lawsuit’s stats.
Laura Allen, whose family's ranch would have border wall cut right through it under the plans, noted that illegal border arrests have plunged even further since Trump returned to office.
“Thank you, President Trump. You’ve secured the border,” Allen, a two-time Trump voter and former county judge, said at the press conference. "But now let it go. It’s time.”
The plaintiffs are arguing that the Department of Homeland Security is misusing powers from Congress that allow the secretary broad authority to waive regulations in order to build border walls or other infrastructure in areas where there are large numbers of people trying to cross into the country illegally.
“That determination is legally and factually unsound and unsupported,” the plaintiffs wrote.
The lawsuit filed Monday is the latest in efforts to slow or stop the administration's plans in Texas and elsewhere.
The biggest outcry has come over Customs and Border Protection's plans for the Big Bend National Park, which sits in a far southwestern corner of Texas where the Rio Grande separates the U.S. from Mexico.
The park's remote and rugged location, its steep limestone canyon walls and crystal clear starry night views attract visitors from around the world. The government has said in court hearings that no final plans have been decided for what will be built in the park but plans made public so far have included building a new road, installing detection technology and barriers to stop vehicles from crossing the border.
When bulldozers were spotted clearing land in the park in August, people across the state were outraged. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott temporarily paused construction-related activity in the park but many activists and local residents would like to see even more changes to the administration's plans in the broader Big Bend region.
Native American groups have argued that the construction could inhibit their ability to practice their faith and is damaging important religious sites while environmentalists worry the wall will cause flooding or keep animals from migrating.
Landowners who've lived and worked along the Rio Grande for years have questioned how they'll feed livestock or water their crops if they can't access the river.
AP reporter Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this story.
Landowners and other supporters hold signs against the Trump administration's plans to build a border wall and other infrastructure in Texas' remote Big Bend region, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Marfa, Texas. (AP Photo/Rebecca Santana)
Landowners and other supporters hold signs against the Trump administration's plans to build a border wall and other infrastructure in Texas' remote Big Bend region, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in Marfa, Texas. (AP Photo/Rebecca Santana)
