The Titans lost to the Broncos in Denver on Sunday afternoon, but they may have given themselves a better chance of winning the game if they had a firmer grasp of the rules governing what constitutes a catch.
Rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor went up to try for a pass from Cam Ward with the Titans trailing the Broncos 13-12 in the third quarter and was ruled to have come down out of bounds while making the grab. Replays showed that Ayomanor’s elbow appeared to land in the field of play before any part of his body hit out of bounds, which led to a question for head coach Brian Callahan about why he didn’t challenge the ruling by officials.
“Yeah, you gotta get a foot inbounds too,” Callahan said. “We didn’t have a clean look at whether his foot was down as well. An elbow doesn’t equal two feet so his foot would’ve had to come down as well. The call from upstairs was that it wasn’t worth challenging.”
The problem with Callahan’s answer is that the NFL rulebook doesn’t back up his claim. Per the rules, a pass is complete if a player secures the ball and “touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands.”
An elbow would qualify as another part of the body. That doesn’t mean that the Titans would have won a challenge or won the game, but the explanation from the coach was based only on what the league’s rules say and it was incorrect.
Callahan was not asked a followup to clarify his answer on Sunday. He’ll likely field one on Monday because it appears that he and his staff had a major lapse in the heat of the moment.
The Broncos were sloppy in their season opener against the Titans, but a strong defensive performance powered Denver to a 20-12 victory to open the season.
Denver committed four turnovers, but Tennessee was able to score just six points off of them — pointing to the strength of Denver’s defense.
The game was close for most of the contest, with Denver initially taking a 13-12 lead on Wil Lutz’s 33-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
With the score still there, Tennessee squandered a great opportunity to take a fourth-quarter lead off of Denver’s fourth giveaway. After Marvin Mims muffed a punt return, the Titans took over at the Denver 24-yard line.
But Ward was sacked on second-and-8 for a 16-yard loss. Then after a timeout, Ward was sacked on third-and-24 for an 11-yard loss, making the line of scrimmage the Denver 49.
The Titans had to punt.
It took four plays for running back J.K. Dobbins to score a 19-yard touchdown off of it to give the Broncos a 20-12 lead.
While Denver had several chances to close the game out, the club instead kept Tennessee in it. Bo Nix failed to convert a QB sneak on fourth-and-short at midfield. But a run for no gain followed by a pair of incomplete Ward passes left the Titans having to punt.
Then the Broncos elected to go for it on fourth-and-8 with 1:04 left on the clock in an effort to end the game. But Bo Nix’s deep throw to Marvin Mims was well off target and incomplete, once again cracking the door open.
But Ward threw three incomplete passes and was sacked for the sixth time on fourth down to effectively end the game.
Ward finished his debut 12-of-28 passing for 112 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He was not helped by his receivers, who dropped several passes — including on the final drive.
The Titans finished the day with seven first downs, 133 total yards, and 2-of-14 on third down. The team averaged just 2.4 yards per play.
Nix didn’t have his best showing either, ending the game 25-of-40 for 176 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions, and a lost fumble. Dobbins had 16 carries for 63 yards while rookie RJ Harvey had six carries for 70 yards — including a 50-yard run that helped set up Dobbins’ touchdown.
At 1-0, the Broncos will be on the road next weekend to face the Colts.
At 0-1, Ward will make his home debut next week against the Rams.
There wasn’t much to the weather delay for the Titans and Broncos.
The game has resumed with the start of the third quarter in Denver after fans were briefly told to seek shelter in the concourse due to lightning in the area.
The Broncos took a 10-9 lead into halftime.
But that lead could be short lived, as Bo Nix’s second interception of the game happened early on in Denver’s first drive of the half, setting Tennessee up in scoring position.
There wasn’t much scoring between the Broncos and Titans for most of the first half. But late in the second quarter, Tennessee’s offensive play-calling gave Denver an opportunity, and now the Broncos have a 10-9 lead at halftime.
The Titans got the ball on their own 7-yard line with 47 seconds left in the half with the Broncos having a pair of timeouts. But instead of conservatively running the ball to run down the clock, Tennessee head coach Brian Callahan called three passes. Making his debut, quarterback Cam Ward was incomplete on first and second down before being sacked for a near safety on third down.
Denver called its second timeout with 39 seconds on the clock to give itself the opportunity to get the ball back.
They took full advantage of that opportunity, as Bo Nix connected with Courtland Sutton for a 22-yard touchdown to give the team a 10-6 lead.
But a 71-yard kickoff return by rookie Chimere Dike set the Titans up for a 42-yard field goal, cutting Denver’s lead to just one at halftime.
Nix ended the first half 13-of-22 for 106 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Ward is 7-of-12 for 64 yards.
Before the late-half scoring barrage, the two teams traded field goals on their respective opening possessions. But one of Bo Nix’s two turnovers allowed Tennessee to take the lead.
Nix’s first giveaway was an interception, with his pass to the left side intended for Courtland Sutton intercepted by cornerback Roger McCreary. But Tony Pollard’s fumble in Denver territory kept the Titans from scoring.
Later in the second quarter, Nix was strip-sacked by defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons with Sebastian Joseph-Day recovering the loose ball for an extra possession. The Titans were able to cash in on that with a 33-yard field goal.
The start to the second half will not come as scheduled, as the game has entered into a lightning delay. Fans have been told to seek shelter in the concourse area.
After missing much of last season, L’Jarius Sneed is officially back for the Titans.
Sneed is active for the season opener against the Broncos after he was questionable with a knee injury. The cornerback was limited for all three practices this week.
Running back Kalel Mullings (ankle) is also active for Tennessee after he was listed as questionable.
For Tennessee, cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis, safety Kevin Winston, cornerback Samuel Womack, offensive lineman Jackson Slater, offensive lineman Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, defensive lineman Shy Tuttle, and defensive lineman CJ Ravenell are inactive.
There were no surprise inactives for Denver, as quarterback Sam Ehlinger, running back Jaleel McLaughlin, outside linebacker Que Robinson, defensive end Sai’vion Jones, offensive tackle Frank Crum, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, and tight end Nate Adkins are out. Ehlinger is the emergency third QB.
