Lewan Acknowledges Penalties are 'Killing' Titans

Three violations Sunday against Kansas City made the Pro Bowl left tackle this season's team leader

Christopher Hanewinckel/USA Today Sports

NASHVILLE – Taylor Lewan swears he wants to put the red light on the yellow flags.

The Pro Bowl left tackle took over the team lead in penalties during Sunday’s 35-32 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, when he was called for three violations, including two on consecutive snaps early in the third quarter.

“I am completely screwing the team with the amount of penalties I’ve had in these last six games,” he said. “It’s crazy. It’s horrible. I cannot get penalties. I’m sorry. There’s no need to ask about it because I know I am an absolute liability when it comes to penalties.”

Lewan missed the first four games of the season for violation of the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Since then he has been penalized nine times for five different fouls.

He entered the game with the Chiefs one behind cornerback Malcolm Butler for the team lead but climbed to the top spot when he was called for unnecessary roughness and holding on the opening possession of the second half. The first of those turned a third-and-3 into a third-and-13 from the Tennessee 10. The second negated a 20-yard catch-and-run that would have given the Titans a first down and got the offense rolling out of halftime.

His final miscue came just before the two-minute warning, when he was called for a false start, which made third-and-5 at the Tennessee 44 a third-and-10 from the 39. That one, he said, was due to miscommunication regarding the snap count.

At the time, the Titans trailed by five and needed to score a touchdown. Two plays later they failed to convert on fourth down and the situation looked dire.

The offense eventually got the ball back one more time and produced a four-play drive (with no penalties) that ended with Adam Humphries' game-winning touchdown reception with 23 seconds remaining.

It was the fourth time in his six contests this season Lewan has been called for multiple violations but the first time in more than two years he was called for at least three in a single game.

The 11 overall pick in 2014 has led the team in penalties each of the past four years. So, it’s not a new issue. However, his career-high is 14 and at this pace he will finish with 18 if he plays the remainder of the games. Already, he has been called for as many penalties as all of last season, when he played 15 out of 16 games.

“My penalties are (freaking) awful,” he said. “I am 100 percent an issue with that. They’re not intentional. I do not mean to do it. My intentions are good. I’m just trying to finish. And it’s killing the team. I know that.”