Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel described the team's penalty issues as "beating themselves" following the Titans' 27-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.

That assessment is hard to dispute.

Tennessee racked up 124 penalty yards on 10 total flags during Thursday night's game, compared to just three penalties for 35 yards for the Cowboys. That massive discrepancy was the difference in the game.

Not only were the Titans committing penalties, to Vrabel's point, they were committing dumb penalties in big situations. That includes lining up offsides, defensive holding away from the ball on 3rd and long, and a 51-yard pass interference penalty on a broken third down play that set up Dallas to score a touchdown.

That's the kind of stuff that makes it hard to win. "It is too hard to beat the Cowboys or any good football teams when you beat yourself," Vrabel said postgame. Being victimized by a poorly officiated game did not help either.

This has been a very poorly officiated game. #TNF

— Sam Phalen (@Sam_Phalen) December 30, 2022

After a questionable roughing the passer penalty on Titans linebacker Monty Rice extended an eventual Dallas scoring drive, a similar play occurred in which quarterback Josh Dobbs was hit and landed on when sacked. But no call was made.

After a number of liberal pass interference calls downfield against the Titans, when Tennessee was driving to make it a one score game in the fourth quarter, no flags were thrown on a deep ball to Treylon Burks with his arm being grabbed and held.

"I think Treylon (Burks) got held, I think his left arm got grabbed," said Vrabel about the missed call. "The same guy who called the 50-yard pass interference penalty didn't see it the same way on our sidelines. I don't know what to tell you."

When asked about the differing calls on similar roughing the passer plays, Vrabel acknowledged that those are usually "judgement calls" for officials, but said he thinks it was "bad judgement."

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None of this helped the Titans' cause. A few of these calls and missed calls came in crucial points in the game, but it should not take away from the sloppiness of the Titans' play. Grabbing onto a wide receiver 50 yards downfield, lining up offsides, and getting false starts on 4th down are self-inflicted wounds that are insurmountable for this team.

Josh Dobbs inspired a lot of hope in what the Titans' could be capable of next week with him under center and many of their starters back in place. The Titans will stand no chance at beating Jacksonville if they cannot clean up their act, though.

124 penalty yards cannot happen. Too many freebees for your opponent, and good teams will always take advantage.

Image via George Walker IV / Tennessean.com-USA TODAY NETWORK