The Tennessee Titans had a rough first half against the Baltimore Ravens in London on Sunday, and it was made even worse by a brutal special teams mistake.
Baltimore had 4th-and-3 at the Tennessee 46-yard line with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. With his team leading 15-3, Ravens coach John Harbaugh chose to punt the ball away rather than allowing Justin Tucker to attempt a 63-yard field goal. The decision paid off.
Titans punt returner Kyle Philips called for a fair catch at around the 8-yard line, but he muffed the punt.
MUFFED PUNT!@Ravens get the ball back with 1 second left in the half
📺: #BALvsTEN on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/B4mQvLNVjg pic.twitter.com/fMa01b1P7e— NFL (@NFL) October 15, 2023
Baltimore recovered with 1 second left and Tucker converted a chip-shot field goal to extend the lead to 18-3 heading into the half.
That was a huge mental and physical mistake from Philips. Given the situation, he stood nothing to gain from trying to field the punt. Had Philips gotten out of the way, the worst outcome for the Titans would have been taking over inside their own 1-yard line. The best outcome would have been a touchback. Either way, Tennessee would have taken a knee and gone to the locker room.
Philips probably will not make that mistake again.
