Titans OC Explains Lack of Passing Plays on Goal Line vs. Ravens

The Tennessee Titans had another close loss this season. 

This time, it was to the Baltimore Ravens, 24-18. The Titans made things close late, but the game was out of reach for quite some time. 

Until the Titans scored with under two minutes to go and converted a two-point try, the score was 24-10 for most of the fourth quarter. 

It wasn't like the Titans didn't have their chances in the Ravens' red zone. The Titans got down inside the red zone multiple times and were even in goal-to-go situations. 

For some reason, the Titans thought it was a good idea to call only running plays in the seven plays they had inside the Ravens' 10-yard line. 

The Titans ran the football four times in a row. On the last play, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll called a Wildcat play to Tony Pollard, but the Ravens' defense stuffed it. 

Tennessee was down 14-7 at that point, and momentum shifted to Baltimore. The Ravens drove 98 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-7 in the second quarter. 

When the Titans had other chances in that area later in the game, they still called only running plays. This was a puzzling decision, and Robert Saleh offered an explanation.

However, as we know, Saleh doesn't call the plays on offense. Saleh is the defensive play caller. 

On Thursday, we heard from Daboll about what went into the Wildcat play call. He said it had nothing to do with the motivation to run or throw the ball, but was based on how well the offensive line was playing. 

"Yeah. Again, we got down there and felt good about the plays that we've practiced and had nothing to do with, you know, throwing it, running it," Daboll said. "Felt the offensive line was getting good push at that point in the game. You know, decided to go with those four plays. Obviously, didn't get the result we wanted. You always go back and look at it and, you know, those are plane rides home; you say, 'Oh, maybe I should have done this.' But felt good about, you know, what we had and didn't get it in." 

There was speculation that the decision stemmed from the poor throw Cam Ward made to end the game against the New York Giants, which led to an interception. Ward had room to run and make things easier on the offense, but decided to try to thread a pass to Elic Ayomanor in the end zone. 

It wasn't Ward's best ball, and it was intercepted by Jevon Holland, securing a 12-7 loss for the Titans. The Titans still seemed to trust Ward throughout the game, as he had 31 passing attempts. 

Ward finished the game with 222 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. It's clear the Titans still trusted Ward to make plays. 

It's safe to say that Carnell Tate earned more trust after his performance against the Ravens. He finally had his breakout game after being on the verge of breaking out against the Giants. 

He led the team with 145 receiving yards. He has yet to catch an NFL touchdown, but the Titans went to him early and often throughout the game. 

The good news is that the Titans face the Houston Texans next, who have one of the worst pass defenses in the league through four games so far. 

We'll see how many plays the Titans draw up for Tate on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.