Dobbs Disputes Fumble, Decisive Touchdown

The Tennessee Titans quarterback says physics suggests he was throwing a pass when he was hit in the fourth quarter, the result of which would have been an incompletion.

Douglas DeFelice / USA Today Sports

The biggest play in the Tennessee Titans’ season-ending loss to Jacksonville was a controversial one.

The Titans appeared to have a reasonably good chance to pull off an upset late in the fourth quarter, leading the Jaguars 16-13 and facing a third-and-6 at their own 35-yard line. Tennessee had already produced two first downs on the drive, one on a terrific run-after-catch second effort by Jonathan Ward, another on Josh Dobbs’ quarterback sneak.

But as Dobbs dropped back to pass, Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins blitzed untouched around the left side of the Titans’ offensive line, hit Dobbs’ arm and caused a fumble. Josh Allen picked up the ball at the 37-yard line – several yards ahead of where Dobbs had been hit – and sprinted into the end zone, giving Jacksonville the decisive points in a 20-16 victory.

But was Dobbs’ arm moving forward before the ball came loose? If so, it would have been an incomplete pass – and the Titans would simply have punted on the next play.

Dobbs, who graduated from the University of Tennessee with a 4.0 grade-point average in Aerospace Engineering in 2017, relied on his academic background to explain why he thought it should have been ruled an incompletion – not a fumble.

“I felt like my arm was moving forward,” Dobbs told media in Jacksonville. “When you throw the ball and the ball was going forward, after the guy hits you, it feels like – I’m a physics guy – pretty simple that it was going forward.

“But as I said, I haven’t seen the (replay). So I don’t know when he hit me in the act of throwing. When you’re on the road, they do a great job of not showing replays of big plays, so I’ll check it out on film. But yeah, it was definitely a tough one.”

Rayshawn Jenkins comes up with another clutch play for the @Jaguars!

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Coach Mike Vrabel hadn’t seen a replay of the play immediately after the contest either, but he didn’t challenge the call because there was no need to.

“(The league) looks at it,” Vrabel said. “All scoring plays are reviewed. There was only one game going on. There was probably a couple set of eyes that looked at it.”

It was a tough second half for Dobbs, who put together a strong opening half, completing 12 of 15 passes for 114 yards, good for a passer rating of 120.6. His totals included the second touchdown pass of his career, a 21-yard toss to tight end Chig Okonkwo.

In addition to the fourth-quarter fumble, however, Dobbs threw a third-quarter interception that led to a Jacksonville field goal. He completed eight-of-14 passes over the final 30 minutes, totaling 65 yards.

“None of us really were good enough at the end of the day,” Vrabel said. “Josh did some good things but you know, it wasn’t about one guy.”

It is tough to be too critical of Dobbs, of course, as he was signed off the Detroit Lions’ practice squad on Dec. 21. Eight days later, after a crash course in learning the Titans’ offense, Dobbs – a six-year NFL veteran – started his first NFL game, leap-frogging rookie Malik Willis in the process. He played pretty well under the circumstances in a 27-13 loss to Dallas, completing 20 of 39 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

So, in two starts for the Titans, Dobbs finished 40-68 for 411 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He fumbled four times, losing two.

What did he learn over the past few weeks?

“Obviously I’ve learned more ball,” Dobbs said. “(But) I wouldn’t say I learned anything about myself because I expect myself to be ready for difficult situations.

“To be placed in this situation, and to have to come in and play well, I really take pride in that. With my mental disposition, how I work, how I prepare, I’m thankful for the opportunity. Because I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. So hopefully there’s going to be more like it. I’ll definitely look forward to it.”

There are many questions to be answered about the Titans’ quarterback position looking ahead to next year.

Will the Titans stick with Ryan Tannehill, who has a cap hit of $36.6 million in 2023, or will they move on? Will the Titans continue to try to develop Willis – a third-round pick last April – or have they seen enough? Will the team take another quarterback in the upcoming draft?

Dobbs doesn’t know whether he will be part of the equation, but he’d love a chance to compete.

“No doubt,” Dobbs said. “I love Tennessee. Shoot, I spent a lot of time in Tennessee.

“I enjoyed the offense. I felt comfortable in the offense. I know those decisions aren’t made by me, so we’ll see how it shakes out this offseason. But if the opportunity is presented, I would love to be back.”