The Tennessee Titans may have been robbed of a defensive touchdown during their game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The Saints had a 3rd-and-10 in the red zone midway through the second quarter. Quarterback Derek Carr had his arm hit by Titans defensive end Arden Key as the quarterback was throwing a pass. The ball ended up about 15 yards down the field and bounced into the hands of safety Kevin Byard, who probably would have taken it the other way for a touchdown.
The play was blown dead and ruled an incomplete pass, however. Replays appeared to show that Carr lost possession of the ball before his arm started to go forward. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel challenged, but the call on the field was upheld. You can see the play below:
https://twitter.com/TSV__1/status/1700936258397343935
Even CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore said he thought Key knocked the ball loose before Carr’s arm began going forward. Steratore, like most others, thought the big issue for the Titans would be that the play was blown dead, thus negating Byard’s return. Instead, the call of an incomplete pass stood.
Had the whistle not been blown, the fumble call probably would have stood as well. That was a bad break for Tennessee.
