Titans’ gamble fails
Tennessee and quarterback Marcus Mariota nearly pulled off their third unlikely late-game comeback win of the season on Sunday. The odds just caught up to them.
Against the Los Angeles Chargers at Wembley Stadium in London, England, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel showed he has great faith in Mariota.
After the fourth-year QB hit tight end Luke Stocker on a fourth-and-goal oneyard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left in the game, to narrow the Chargers’ lead to 20-19, Vrabel decided to go for two, rather than kick a one-pointer and force overtime.
After a Los Angeles defensive-holding penalty moved the ball to the one-yard line, Mariota missed receiver Taywan Taylor on a pass tipped up and over by Chargers safety Adrian Phillips.
Los Angeles recovered Tennessee’s ensuing onside kick attempt and won 20-19.
Mariota in September twice had engineered late-game drives to win.
“I’m not going to second-guess the call,” Vrabel said. “It just didn’t work out ... I have full confidence in (my players) to make the plays, and that’s why I make the decisions that I’ve made.”
For his part, Mariota said he “loved the call. I love that (Vrabel) has confidence in us to go make that. We just didn’t execute.”
Both teams now head into their bye week, one feeling more lucky than the other.