Firkser Plays Star in First Playoff Game

Backup tight end had a big impact, if not big numbers in Titans' victory at New England

Greg M. Cooper/USA Today Sports

Chances are that Anthony Firkser could do the math and tell you exactly what the chances were that he would be one of the heroes of the Tennessee Titans’ 20-13 wild card victory at New England on Saturday.

Anyone else simply would figure those chances to be somewhere between slim and none.

Yet there he was, the backup tight end who holds an applied mathematics degree from Harvard running into the end zone to score the game’s first touchdown and getting his hands on another ball that helped his team run time off the clock late in the contest.

It might not sound like much, but on a night when quarterback Ryan Tannehill managed just eight completions on 15 attempts, Firkser’s two catches for 23 yards figured prominently in the result. He tied for the team lead in receptions and finished as the leader in receiving yards, and he did so in his first career playoff appearance and a mere 30 miles or so from where, two-plus years ago, he walked across a stage to collect one of the world’s most prestigious diplomas.

The only other player with multiple receptions was another backup tight end, MyCole Pruitt who caught two passes for four yards.

“Firk came up big a couple times for us,” Tannehill said.

Firkser gave the Titans their first lead with a 12-yard touchdown reception with 5:39 to play in the first quarter (pictured). He beat safety Terrence Brooks one-on-one when the Patriots blitzed on third-and-10 and capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive on Tennessee’s opening possession.

New England had gotten the ball first and settled for a field goal. The Titans, who had the best red zone offense during the regular season, did not. Firkser’s catch made it 7-3.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Firkser is the sixth player from an Ivy League school all-time -- the 1st from Harvard -- to score a touchdown in an NFL playoff game.

Tennessee started the second half with a 14-13 lead and that was still the score with 2:54 to play, when the offense faced a third-and-8 from its own 15 and New England had just used its second timeout. Tannehill hit Firkser on an out route that gained 11 yards that earned a fresh set of downs. When the Titans finally gave the ball back to the Patriots, there just 15 seconds to play.

“It was a great call by (offensive coordinator Arthur Smith),” Tannehill said. “… I was able to hit him. It was a big play for us. … That [was a] huge play there on third down.”