Titans coach Brian Callahan didn't challenge call on a catch and his explanation doesn't help

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DENVER (AP) — Brian Callahan stands corrected — unlike the call he failed to challenge.

The Titans’ second-year coach said Monday that he did know the NFL catch rule and misspoke about why he didn’t throw his red challenge flag in Tennessee’s 20-12 loss at Denver on Sunday after his rookie wide receiver made an acrobatic catch but was ruled to have come down out of bounds.

On 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.

Ayomanor appeared to get his right elbow down inbounds 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.

It proved to be a big blunder in a one-score road loss 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 Sunday why he didn't challenge the call, Callahan said: "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.”

Wrong on all accounts.

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.”

And it certainly was worth a challenge, something Callahan said Monday.

“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.”

That didn't stop follow-up questions. Callahan said he was worried at the end of the game about what went wrong when asked about not challenging that call Sunday.

“I misspoke,” Callahan said Monday. “I’m well aware of the rule. I understand how it works, and the way that I articulated afterwards was incorrect and I understand the rules of this game pretty well.”

Asked if those advising him about the play 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.

If it's any consolation, Callahan's wasn't the only curious call in Denver on Sunday.

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.”

So did Nix.

“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 (cover) 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.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

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