Titans Tasked With Two of NFL's Must-Watch Preseason Games

While most eyes in the NFL world have their focus towards the regular season and high-stakes matchups for the 2025 campaign ahead, preseason comes before the storm. For the Tennessee Titans, their preliminary slate of games could have a pair of intriguing contests worth circling on the calendar.

Yahoo! Sports' Frank Schwab recently stacked up the NFL's top ten preseason games ahead of next season's true action, where the Titans had not one, but two notable dates to take notice of.

One of the Titans' top preseason matchups falls on August 15th for their second of three contests, traveling to face the Atlanta Falcons, not only for a first look at number-one pick Cam Ward, but also for a peek at what could be in store from Michael Penix Jr.

"The Falcons didn't use Michael Penix Jr. much in the preseason last year, and we'll have to see how many snaps he gets this preseason," Schwab wrote. "Penix doesn't have a ton of NFL reps, so it might be smart to get him some extra playing time. For the Titans, every chance they get to have No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward face live action in August is probably beneficial."

Along with their battle vs. the Titans, Schwab also notes Tennessee's final preseason game on August 22nd vs. the Minnesota Vikings, one that's even set to be played on national TV.

"This is one of the preseason games on the national television schedule, and it's obvious why CBS chose it," Schwab said. "It's the third preseason game, so we'll already have a look at Titans quarterback Cam Ward, the first overall pick of the NFL Draft. But all of his reps will be important."

"We'll also be watching second-year Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy is almost as much of a mystery as Ward because his rookie season was wiped out due to a knee injury. We only saw McCarthy throw 17 passes in one preseason game last year. Assuming the Titans and Vikings want to get Ward and McCarthy as much playing time as possible before the regular season, we should get a good look at both quarterbacks in this one."

Preseason does have its clear limitations, and compared to a true regular season contest, it's a vastly different environment and intensity. But for a team like the Titans, fresh off their offseason pickup of Ward, and a couple of their competitors who have a young quarterback that fans are eager to see, it adds an extra dose of hype to these showings that wouldn't regularly be in play.

So, while the Titans' Week One debut vs. the Denver Broncos will have it's rightful allure, there's certainly some underrated value to be had in their first three times out.