Titans head coach Brian Callahan immediately puts himself in line of fire with terrible decision-making during Cam Ward’s debut vs Broncos
DENVER — The Tennessee Titans (0-1) were hoping to turn their season around for last year’s finish as the worst team in pro football. Coach Brian Callahan’s terrible decision-making at the end of the first half in his Year 2 debut, a 20-12 loss at the Denver Broncos, raised legitimate questions. Can this coach be […]
DENVER — The Tennessee Titans (0-1) were hoping to turn their season around for last year’s finish as the worst team in pro football. Coach Brian Callahan’s terrible decision-making at the end of the first half in his Year 2 debut, a 20-12 loss at the Denver Broncos, raised legitimate questions.
Can this coach be a plus on the sidelines. On Sunday, he was a detriment.
Callahan confounds with end-of-half play-calling sequence
Tennessee was on pace to take a 6-3 lead into the visiting locker room at halftime.
Instead, with the ball at their own 7-yard line, two timeouts and :47 left on the game clock, Callahan called three consecutive pass plays that resulted in two incompletions and a sack. Nine seconds elapsed before the Titans had to punt it back to Denver with the Broncos also having two timeouts. Tennessee corner Jarvis Brownlee, Jr.’s defensive pass interference penalty on 1st-and-10 set up Denver quarterback Bo Nix for a 22-yard touchdown pass.
It was the definition of coaching malpractice.
Titans had seven possessions in their opponent’s territory and came away with four field goals. Two of those drives started in plus territory and resulted in zero points. Tennessee was never supposed to be the better team as -8.5 point betting underdogs. What they were supposed to show improvement on was offensive efficiency, decision-making and discipline.
Callahan’s team finished without a touchdown, committed 13 penalties for 131 yards, and managed only 133 net yards of offense. The Titans averaged 2.41 yards per play.
Featured Image: USA TODAY Sports.
