Final Penalty 'A Crushing Moment'

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty kept Ryan Tannehill and the rest of the offense helplessly on the sideline as time ran out on Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA Today Network

NASHVILLE – Ryan Tannehill thought his moment was at hand.

There was 1:53 to play and the Tennessee Titans trailed by just a touchdown after their defense held the Cincinnati Bengals to a 31-yard field goal.

As the Titans quarterback, Tannehill has directed 13 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime. So, this was nothing new.

One problem. Officials flagged Tennessee for unsportsmanlike conduct for a hit to the head or neck area of the Bengals’ snapper, who is considered a defenseless player in that situation. That gave the Bengals a fresh set of downs, and the Titans, who had used their final timeout just prior to the field goal, were helpless to stop the clock.

All Tannehill and the rest could do was watch the time run out on a 20-16 defeat at Nissan Stadium. Both teams are now 7-4, but Cincinnati now has a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage, if that should come into play.

“It was a crushing moment,” Tannehill said. “I was talking through two-minute adjustments on the sideline with my receivers. I had a lot of confidence that we were going to go down there and get a touchdown and either kick (a PAT) to tie it or go for two to win it, depending on what [Coach Mike] Vrabel wanted to do.

“… What happened, happened. It was definitely a crushing feeling.”

It also was out of character with what took place throughout most of the rest of the contest.

Cincinnati was flagged nine times for 80 yards on the day. That was the most yards marked off against a Titans opponent this season and one shy of the most violations by the other team.

The Bengals had particular problems on special teams. Twice they were flagged for holding and once for unnecessary roughness on punt returns. As a result, three of their first six offensive possessions started 90 yards or more away from the end zone.

“It felt like we had some killer penalties that really set us back,” Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said. “We had some really bad field position but we hung in there. For it to be 10-10 at the half, it felt like the way the game had gone that we were in a really good space there.”

The Bengals took the lead with a field goal and a touchdown on back-to-back possessions and – following a Titans’ field goal – got the ball back at their own 25 with 6:07 to play.

Nine plays and 69 yards later, the Titans thought they still had a chance. They were not about to wave a white flag. It was a yellow one, though, that kept the offense on the sideline and unable to try to live up to the moment.

Cincinnati took the points off the board and then took the remaining time off the clock.

“We were trying to block the kick,” Vrabel said. “That is all it was. I don't know. We'll have to take a closer look at it and see what it was. It was quick replay. I don’t know if we hit him in the head or not. They felt like we did. It is not like we lost the game on that play.

Officially, the call went against defensive tackle Kevin Strong. It is possible, though, that nose tackle Teair Tart was the guilty party. Or maybe it was both.

“It looked like two guys hit the snapper,” safety Kevin Byard said. “I don’t know what else we should expect. They threw the flag. … That’s something that we talk about on the field. We can’t hit the snapper or nothing like that. Frustrating way to end the game.

“Obviously, you want to give the offense a chance to go out there and score a touchdown and try to take it to overtime. That’s not the way it played out.”