Calvin Ridley’s huge gaffe leads to stunning Titans loss vs. division rival Jaguars
NASHVILLE – It was mistake after mistake for the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon as the offense fell flat in a 10-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. But perhaps the most pivotal gaffe of all was the lack of awareness demonstrated by wide receiver Calvin Ridley late in the fourth quarter. On a critical third […]
NASHVILLE – It was mistake after mistake for the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon as the offense fell flat in a 10-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
But perhaps the most pivotal gaffe of all was the lack of awareness demonstrated by wide receiver Calvin Ridley late in the fourth quarter.
On a critical third down in the red zone with less than two minutes remaining, Will Levis found Ridley on a shallow crossing route. But instead of turning up field and picking up the first down inside the 10-yard line, Ridley made no effort to get to the sticks and went out of bounds short of the line to gain.
It set up Tennessee with a critical fourth down. When Levis' next pass was incomplete off the hands of Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, the Titans turned the ball over on downs and essentially lost the game.
"It got extended a bit because there was a guy in the window. But we got the ball to him with space and then felt like we had a chance to convert that. And from where I was standing, I thought we had it," said head coach Brian Callahan about that play after the game. "He sort of ended up on the boundary. I would have liked to have seen that turn up. I thought we had a shot for a first down there."
Callahan added that he had not spoken to Ridley about the play or why he hadn't made an effort towards the first down. But later on in the locker room, Ridley took accountability for his mistake and chalked it up to lack of spatial awareness.
Ridley told the media that he thought the defender that was covering him was still running with him. "I just lost track of him. I thought someone was on me," Ridley said. "No doubt should have done way better with it."
This loss is a really difficult one to stomach. Not because the Titans are on a playoff trajectory or needed this win by any means, but the offense had looked so promising in recent weeks and seemed to really be getting in rhythm. To make this many mistakes against the worst defense in football and fall flat on your face brings up some serious concerns about the state of the organization.
Classic Titans mistake puts the future of quarterback Will Levis in jeopardy
Brutal blow for the Titans and Will Levis.
