Robert Saleh on Titans Costly Late-Game Miscommunications vs. Bengals

The Tennessee Titans brought the fight to the Cincinnati Bengals for four quarters plus overtime, but it wasn't enough to escape with a win. 

The Titans fell 43-36 in overtime on Sunday. 

There were some really bad mishaps that occurred late in the game. The Titans held a 36-29 lead with under five minutes to go. The Bengals tied the game on a seven-play scoring drive. 

There wasn't much time left, but the Titans still had an opportunity to potentially get in field-goal range for the game-winner. With 1:17 left, the Titans had their chance. 

Tennessee got the ball at its own 35-yard line. Cam Ward then threw a missile to Elic Ayomanor for 13 yards and a first down. Ayomanor caught the pass, but Ward's timing was off, and the throw was very much behind him. 

The Titans were then right by midfield and just needed one of two more big plays to get into field goal range and maybe ice the game. 

Ward started the new set of downs with an incomplete pass that was intended for Gunnar Helm. Then, he ran for seven yards on 2nd down to make it 3rd-and-3. When the Titans needed a crucial first-down conversion, Ward took a sack from Dexter Lawrence. 

After looking comfortable for most of the game, Ward looked panicked and less decisive than he had throughout the game. 

Tennessee ended up punting the ball away, and Cincinnati eventually won in overtime. It was definitely a missed opportunity by the Titans. 

Head coach Robert Saleh offered his thoughts on what went wrong at Monday's Zoom call. 

"You know, when you're in those last-winning moments, played such a good game all the way across the board through three quarters, and call it 13 minutes and you're in crunch time and you've got to make a play to either extend the drive or get us into a winning situation," Saleh said. "Everything matters, from communication to the snap to the huddle call, to getting aligned as quickly as possible to winning your 1-on-1s and doing it efficiently. But there was a couple of things that we could have done a lot better in the waning moments on offense and defense, and special teams, for that matter."  

Those instances in the fourth quarter weren't the only times that the Titans had issues in big moments. Even in overtime, the Titans had their issues. 

On the final drive, the Titans needed a touchdown to keep the game going. Ward and the offense weren't able to move the chains and turned the ball over on downs to end the game. 

It started with a rush for a loss of one yard, then there were problems with the snap on 2nd down, and the ball went through Ward's fingers. Because of that, the Titans were in a less-than-favorable position on 3rd down. 

Ward eventually got the ball to Chimere Dike to make 4th down manageable, but you would still have liked to get more yards on the other two downs. 

Then, Ward's pass for Ayomanor on 4th down went incomplete and the game was over. These kinds of things can cost you a win, much like the Titans saw on Sunday. 

The crowd is always going to be hostile in these moments on the road. The Titans need to find a way to overcome that and make the plays they need to.