Titans coach Brian Callahan admits he misunderstood the NFL catch rule during Tennessee's 20-12 loss to Denver
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton checks his play sheet in the second half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025, in Denver. The Titans' second-year coach acknowledged Monday that he didn't know the NFL catch rule Sunday when he didn't throw his red challenge flag inOn first-and-20 with the Titans trailing by a point late in the third quarter, Elic Ayomanor raced down the Tennessee sideline, leaped over cornerback Riley Moss and hauled in a 21-yard pass from Cam Ward.
before any other part of his body hit the white line out of bounds. When the officials ruled an incompletion, however, Callahan didn't challenge the call and the Titans went on to punt after two more misfires.in which the Titans, who went 3-14 in Callahan's first season, were held to 133 yards of offense to go with 131 yards in penalties that were walked off against them. Pressed after the game why he didn't challenge the call, Callahan explained, "You’ve got to get a foot in bounds, too, which we didn’t have a clean look at whether his foot was down, as well. An elbow doesn’t equal two feet, so his foot would have had to come down, as well. We didn’t have a clean look, so the call from upstairs was that it wasn’t worth challenging.”One elbow does equal two feet — the NFL rulebook is clear that a catch is good if a player “touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands.”“My interpretation of the rule was wrong,” Callahan said after having had more time to ponder his decision. “I’ll own it. We should have challenged the play and that’s pretty much all I can say about it.”Asked if those advising him about the play also were unaware of the NFL's rules for what constitutes a catch, Callahan demurred, saying he won't discuss the process and, besides, the decision falls on him as head coach.Facing fourth-and-8 from the Titans' 36 with 1:05 remaining and Denver clinging to its eight-point lead, it appeared Broncos coach Sean Payton had a choice between sending out his rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw to try to pin Tennessee deep or kicker Wil Lutz to attempt a 54-yard field goal. After timeouts by both teams, Payton kept his offense on the field, however, and dialed up a pass play. Bo Nix was unable to hit Marvin Mims Jr. at the 5-yard line and the Titans took over. Three incompletions and a strip sack later, the Broncos had the win, after which Payton disputed any notion that going for it was a head-scratcher. He said he knew the Titans would be in a cover-zero look with pure man-to-man coverage and no deep safeties, so it wasn't the roll-the-dice choice it might have appeared. Payton also said he had faith in Lutz making it from that distance, “but the way we're playing defensively, you have to look at the quickest way for them to take the ball 64 yards would be a scoop and score” following a blocked field goal try. “And I didn't want that to happen,” Payton said. “So, we had a lot of time to think about it. I felt real good about the call.”“I felt like we had a good play," Nix said. “We were going to max protect it. We knew they were going to be in zero. They just brought the house. They brought everybody, and it’s hard. You don’t have enough guys to block them. You hopefully have enough time to buy some time. Probably just a few inches higher, Marvin goes out there and catches it.” Courtland Sutton “was probably open, as well," Nix said. “It’s just tough for them to cover crossers like that in a zero situation. Sometimes you hit them; sometimes you don’t. That one, coach was aggressive. Next time we’ll hit it.”
NFL Football Article 125391668
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Broncos vs. Titans: Live updates and highlights from the NFL Week 1 gameJoe Nguyen is a digital strategist for The Denver Post. Previously he was the online prep sports editor. Prior to that, he covered Adams County and Aurora in the YourHub section. He has previously covered Colorado’s Asian-American communities as editor for Asian Avenue magazine and AsiaXpress.com.
Read more »
Titans vs Broncos Predictions, Picks & Best Bets for Today's NFL Week 1 GameOur expert NFL predictions expect Bo Nix and the Broncos to spoil rookie quarterback Cam Ward's regular-season NFL debut on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
Read more »
Tennessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos FREE LIVE STREAM (9/7/25): Watch NFL Week 1 onlineThe Tennessee Titans, led by rookie quarterback Cam Ward, face the Denver Broncos, led by second-year quarterback Bo Nix, on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 (9/7/25) at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.
Read more »
Where to watch Broncos vs. Titans NFL Week 1: Time, TV channel, free live streamThe Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans clash Sunday afternoon at Mile High Stadium to kick off the late viewing window from Week 1 of the NFL season.
Read more »
PHOTOS: Denver Broncos top Tennessee Titans 20-12 in Week 1 of NFL footballThe Denver Broncos hosted the Tennessee Titans during week 1 of NFL football at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. Denver won 20-12.
Read more »
Titans' Callahan acknowledges he didn't know NFL catch ruleTitans coach Brian Callahan admits he misunderstood the NFL catch rule during Tennessee's 20-12 loss to Denver. On Monday, Callahan acknowledged he should have challenged a call when rookie Elic Ayomanor appeared to catch a 21-yard pass but was ruled out of bounds.
Read more »