Tannehill Toughs Out Another Injury

The Tennessee Titans quarterback missed one series, scored the game-tying touchdown after his third ankle injury in two months.

An ankle injury already forced Ryan Tannehill to miss two starts this season.

The Tennessee Titans quarterback was not about to let another one force him to finish Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers on the sideline.

Tannehill led two scoring drives, one shortly after he was hurt and another when time was running short, on a heavily taped right ankle that was injured on the opening series of the game. His sneak from the 1-yard-line tied the game with 48 seconds to play.

His courage and pain tolerance ultimately was not enough, though. The Chargers answered his touchdown with a field goal 44 seconds later, and Tennessee fell 17-14 at SoFi Stadium.

“I’ve told you about Ryan’s toughness and what I think about that,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “… I’m never going to question his toughness or his willingness to go in there and try to help the team.”

Tannehill was injured on the Titans’ fourth offensive snap when he scrambled for a 1-yard gain on third-and-13. Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack tackled him and came down on the ankle, which bent violently as Tannehill went to the ground.

After some attention from the Titans’ medical staff on the field, Tannehill walked slowly to the sideline and into the medical tent. A short time later, he was taken to the locker room on the back of a cart.

His return was listed as questionable, but he ultimately missed one series. He led a six-play, 63-yard touchdown drive on the first possession after he returned.

By the end of the game, he had completed 15 of 22 passes for 167 yards and ran three times for one yard. The rushing touchdown was his second of the season.

Los Angeles also sacked him four times, however, which made it the third straight game an opposing defense got at least that many against him.

“He can’t get hit as many times as he does, or how gets hit,” Vrabel said. “Nothing good happens in this league … when your quarterback gets hit.”

Rookie Malik Willis replaced Tannehill for the one series that he was in the locker room. That drive gained 21 yards and included two first downs. The third-round draft pick from Liberty University completed three of four passes for 20 yards and ran once for eight yards.

Tannehill first injured his right ankle on Oct. 23. He missed one play in that contest but returned and led the Titans to a 19-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, their fifth straight victory. That was his 49th consecutive start – a franchise record – after having replaced Marcus Mariota seven games into the 2019 season.

Including the playoffs, Tannehill had started 54 straight contests.

The game against the Chargers was his sixth straight since he returned to action. Two weeks ago, he injured his left ankle against the Philadelphia Eagles but played through that one.

Willis replaced Tannehill in Weeks 8 and 9 at Houston and Kansas City, respectively. The first was a victory over the Houston Texans, during which he attempted just 10 passes. The second was an overtime loss at Kansas City, a game Tennessee led late in the fourth quarter.

The Titans (7-7) and Texans (1-12-1) will meet Saturday at Nissan Stadium, which means Tannehill will have one fewer day than normal to receive treatment and make sure he can get back on the field. If he can’t go, Willis will get a chance to win his second game as a starter versus the same team against which he got his first.