By John Glennon
One of the last things any of us would have imagined at the end of the Titans' season was Mike Vrabel kicking himself for not showing enough aggression.
Words like cautious, conservative and safe aren't ones normally used to describe the man.
And to be honest, Vrabel wasn't really second-guessing himself regarding one of Sunday's biggest moments, his decision to punt on fourth-and-two from the Baltimore 40-yard line, trailing 17-13 with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.
But he should have been.
The Ravens took possession at their own 15 following the punt, chewed nearly six minutes of clock up on a nine-play, 52-yard drive that resulted in a field goal, and left the Titans needing to drive nearly 80 yards in the closing moments – against a defense that had troubled them all game – just to tie the contest.
Six plays into that final Titans' drive, Ryan Tannehill was intercepted, effectively bringing an end to Tennessee's season in a 20-13 wildcard-round playoff loss.
So let's re-visit the critical decision not to go for it:
- Derrick Henry had gained eight yards on first down, leaving the Titans with three chances to gain two yards and keep a potential go-ahead touchdown drive alive. Surprisingly, the Titans chose not to run Henry on . . .
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