2. The Botched Snap
Right after that play, Harrison Butker lined up to kick a field goal that would have put the Chiefs up by eight with around 1:25 left to play. Butker, who missed an extra point earlier, had made four field goals throughout Sunday, just as he had done last week.
But long-snapper James Winchester snapped the ball before the holder, punter Dustin Colquitt, was ready. Colquitt recovered the ball, and then panicked.
3. A Punter’s Panicking
Colquitt panicked after the botched snap. He immediately recovered the football, stood, and heaved the ball as far as he could toward the sideline. As it wasn’t a designed fake field goal, the Chiefs didn’t have anyone in the area. As such, the refs flagged Colquitt for intentional grounding, which gave the Titans a free 10 yards before starting their final drive.
Colquitt’s decision there is confusing. Obviously, he didn’t want the Titans to recover the fumble and take it back for a touchdown. But he had already recovered the football, and there were no Titans around. Had he just gone to the ground, he would’ve burned a couple of more seconds off the clock and the Titans wouldn’t have gained as many free yards.
Instead, he stood, tried throwing the ball to Memphis, and cost the Chiefs some precious yardage.
4. The Gassed Defense
The Titans then took over at their own 39 with no timeouts left and 1:21 on the clock. It took them four plays to go 61 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill scrambled for 18 yards before throwing an incomplete pass. On the next play, Tannehill hit Anthony Firkser for 20 yards, and then hit wide receiver Adam Humphries in stride for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
The Chiefs defense, which had pressured Tannehill most of the day, looked asleep on this last drive. And on the touchdown pass, the man charged with covering Humphries tripped, it appears. That never helps.
5. The Two-Point Conversion
The Titans lined up for a two-point conversion after the touchdown, at which point Reid called a timeout (it would’ve been better utilized before the touchdown). Back on the field, Tannehill took the snap and ran toward the end zone where he encountered Chiefs rookie safety Juan Thornhill, who had a bad day.
Earlier, Thornhill whiffed tackling Titans running back Derrick Henry, who then scored on a 68-yard run. Then, on this play, Thornhill crashed into Tannehill before the goal line, but the quarterback absolutely trucked the young safety. Both fell into the end zone, and the two-point conversion was good.