The Tennessee Titans capped off their 2020 NFL season with a tough home loss to the Baltimore Ravens during Wild Card weekend.
The Titans got off to a 10-0 start but then gave up 17 unanswered points to put themselves at a seven-point deficit late in the game.
After hitting a field goal to cut the lead to four points, the Titans were faced with a crucial fourth down. On the Ravens' 40-yard line, 4th-and-2, with just ten10minutes to go in the football game, the Titans decided to punt the ball rather than going for the points or kicking a field goal.
Leaving points on the board hurts, but it hurts even more when you have one of the most cowardly punt calls in NFL history.
According to the Punt Surrender Index, the punt by the Titans ranked in the 100th percentile for most cowardly punts of 2020, and in the 99.9th percentile for most cowardly punts since 1990. Not a good look for a coach trying to win in the playoffs.
Even Pro Football Reference chimed in on Twitter.
This is the first time in our database (complete back to 1994) that a team in the playoffs punted on 4th and 2 from this field position, down by one score in the 4th Quarter https://t.co/DNdUZL4fzw https://t.co/LLUp1yMUgt
— Pro Football Reference (@pfref) January 10, 2021
What makes this call even more puzzling is the fact that the Titans have the premier power back in the entire NFL. A two-yard gain shouldn't be that hard when you have Derrick Henry running the ball.
Mike Vrabel took a page out of Pete Carroll's postseason notebook and decided not to use their power backs in close yardage situations.
The decision ultimately cost the Titans a chance to either reduce the lead or take the lead in the fourth quarter. It's surprising that this type of blunder comes from Mike Vrabel, a young coach revered for his early success as a head coach.
With analytics playing a bigger role in fourth-down decision-making, it is rare that these punting situations continue to appear. The fact that it did in the playoffs is astonishing in itself.
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