The Tennessee Titans thought they had a much-needed break when Jeffery Simmons hit Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s elbow, causing a fumble that was picked up by Roger McCreary for what seemed like a defensive touchdown late in the first half.
However, after reviewing the play, it was ruled that Herbert’s pass had been completed, and the touchdown was overturned. Instead of gaining momentum, the Titans ended up losing 27-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Tennessee wide receiver Calvin Ridley expressed frustration about the reversal. “That right there, I’ve never seen,” Ridley said. “That looks like a fumble to me, to pretty much everybody. They can’t take that back. It changes the game. It really messes the flow of the game up, I think.”
The Titans (2-7) were about to go into halftime leading 14-13, but the play was reviewed, and it was determined that Herbert had kept control of the ball while throwing it forward. This led to McCreary’s 20-yard fumble return being ruled invalid.
NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth explained, “Once we went into review, all we need is the hand moving forward with control of the ball, and so we ended up overturning it to an incomplete pass.”
Titans first-year head coach Brian Callahan was visibly upset when he was informed of the reversal. He later shared his thoughts without criticizing the call directly: “I thought it was going to stand on the field. They initially told me that it was going to stand, and they took another look at it as I walked away.
And then as I came back, they told me it was going to be overturned. And that was all the explanation I got. I’ll let you guys decide what you think the call should have been, but I don’t want to lose any money.”
Even Herbert admitted he wasn’t sure it would be ruled a pass. “I felt like I did a pretty good job of holding onto it,” he said. “But those are moments where it’s not really in your control. I’m grateful for the decision of overturning it.”
Both teams agreed that the overturned call had a significant impact on the game. If the Titans had scored on that play, they would have started the second half with the ball and a chance to take the lead.
The Titans’ strong run game, which averaged 6.3 yards per carry, could have been a key factor in building that lead. Instead, playing from behind allowed the Chargers (6-3) to stick to their own run game and take fewer risks.
Callahan reflected on the reversal and the lack of momentum for his team. “Yeah, it was a huge momentum-turning play, which I feel like we’ve had a lot of those this year that haven’t gone our way,” he said.
“And, you know, that’s sort of what happens when you’re not playing well enough is all plays that you make feel so critical. And when they get taken away, they hurt, and that was a big momentum swing for us.”
Herbert also recognized the significance of the overturned call. “To be able to go to halftime with the lead and to avoid a play like that is big time,” he said.
When the Titans did get the ball to start the second half, they drove to the Chargers’ 8-yard line, but quarterback Will Levis missed a pass to tight end Josh Whyle in the end zone.
Nick Folk kicked a 27-yard field goal to cut the Chargers’ lead to 13-10, but Tennessee couldn’t maintain the momentum. The Chargers responded with a 56-yard kickoff return that set up another touchdown, putting the Titans behind 20-10.
Levis took two sacks on the next drive, which ended in a punt. The Chargers then used a dominant 95-yard drive to seal the game with a 27-10 lead.
McCreary noted that the Titans struggled to finish strong. “We come out strong, and we just can never finish,” McCreary said. “A couple of things, I feel like that affect the whole team.
And we just have to feed off each other. One side is down, the other side got to pick it back up, and I feel like that’s what we’re not doing good at.”
Despite some solid play from the offense, the Titans were unable to recover. Levis, who was making his return after missing three games due to a shoulder injury, passed for 175 yards and two touchdowns to Ridley, but was sacked seven times. “I thought Will was good at times,” Callahan said.
“I thought a couple of times, it felt like he was trying to find a bigger play in later parts of the game. And once he started getting the ball out and just trying to play faster, I thought that was good. I thought he did some good things today, and there are definitely some things that are encouraging and things to teach off of.”
