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Tennessee Titans: Mike Vrabel made the right call

By Martin McConnell

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 21: Mike Vrabel of Tennessee Titans looks on during the NFL International Series match between Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers at Wembley Stadium on October 21, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 21: Mike Vrabel of Tennessee Titans looks on during the NFL International Series match between Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers at Wembley Stadium on October 21, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images) /
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In the fourth quarter of their Week 7 matchup, the Tennessee Titans surged to a late touchdown. Mike Vrabel went for the win, and even though his team couldn’t get the job done, it was the right call.

The NFL is full of close games. More often than not, a single play can be the difference between winning and losing, or being the division champion and missing out on the playoffs. The Tennessee Titans found themselves in one of these signature close contests on Sunday in London.

With a fourth-quarter surge in a game that really shouldn’t have been as close as it was, the Titans pulled within a point of the Los Angeles Chargers. Tasked with choosing between a nearly-guaranteed overtime period, or an outright regulation win, head coach Mike Vrabel chose the latter.

On the two-point conversion, Marcus Mariota‘s pass was incomplete. However, due to a penalty on the Chargers defense, the Titans were allowed to try again. Again, Vrabel chose to go for it, and again, his team was unsuccessful. And yet, I am here to argue that Vrabel’s decision to go for it was the right call.

One can easily argue that Vrabel’s play-calling was what killed the Titans in this one. Rather than going straight up the middle and pushing the pile with Derrick Henry or even Dion Lewis, the Titans chose two pass plays.

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Mariota hasn’t been a tremendous quarterback all season, and with the Titans’ offensive line in the state that it is, passing wasn’t the best option. And yet, the fact stands: going for the win was the right call.

The Chargers had dominated on offense for the entire game, and even with the momentum on the Titans’ side, a coin flip could’ve swung it right back to Los Angeles. Because of the NFL’s overtime rules, the Titans may have not even had a chance to win the game if the Chargers scored. But instead of putting the game in the hands of luck, they put it in the hands of their quarterback.

Whether or not the play call was right, the Titans had the right idea. The Chargers were the better team, and their offense was killing the Titans. Therefore, the name of the game for Tennessee should have been to keep the ball away from Philip Rivers, and they accomplished that.

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At the end of the game, the Titans wanted to win the game, rather than let Rivers terrorize them again. Mike Vrabel made the right call, and would probably make the same call again if he had the chance.

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