If you want to look at why the Tennessee Titans lost to the Indianapolis Colts 34-17 on Thursday night, look no further than their special teams, and especially their punting game.
The Titans had three straight terrible special teams plays in a row during the third quarter and early fourth quarter of their loss.
Tennessee led 17-13 at halftime and stuffed the Colts at the goal line on the opening possession of the second half. Tennessee’s offense did nothing, so they ended up trying to punt from their 10. Punter Trevor Daniel then had a 17-yard punt. 17 yards. That’s it.
The amazing field position led to a Colts touchdown, giving Indy their first lead of the game.
As if that weren’t enough, it got worse on the Titans’ next possession.
Tennessee’s following punt was blocked and returned for a touchdown to make it 27-17.
And just when you thought Tennessee’s special teams problems couldn’t get worse, Stephen Gostkowski missed a 44-yard field goal. The Titans ended up losing 34-17 and getting shut out 21-0 in the second half.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said after the game that he wasn’t thinking about making a change with his special teams coach. However, he still plans to keep the players accountable.
Mike Vrabel says he has a lot of confidence in Craig Aukerman and what they do. He hasn't thought about a coaching change at special teams. He did say they will start holding guys accountable for what they do. #Titans
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) November 13, 2020
This isn’t the first time that special teams have cost the Titans this season, and it probably won’t be the last.
Photo: Chipermc/Wikimedia via cc by-sa 4.0
