Titans turning goalline stands, fourth-down stuffs, into specialties

By John Glennon

One yard. Thirty-six inches.

The length is less than five No. 2 pencils lined up end to end, just a bit more than the average man's footstep.

Not far.

Yet the distance proved too great for Denver against the Titans, as the Broncos tried not once, not twice, but three times to cover it – and reach the end zone – in the second quarter last Monday. Titans coach Mike Vrabel pumped his fist on the sideline following the Broncos' final failed attempt, welcoming defenders to him after they'd refused to allow Denver a go-ahead score.

If the scene looked like a familiar one to Titans' fans, it should.

Over the last couple of seasons, the Titans have made a habit of producing significant goal-line stands, turning away opponents at close range and changing the momentum of important contests. Starting with last year's memorable last-second stand against the Los Angeles Chargers – one that might have saved Tennessee's regular season – the Titans have turned away four opponents who'd driven to the 1-yard line.

That's not to mention three critical fourth-and-one stops in different spots of the field, two coming in the Titans' big upset win over Baltimore in the 2019 playoffs.

The key to so many short-yardage stuffs? It's more a question of want-to, says Titans coach . . .

This is a premium article, and you've reached the end of the free preview.

The rest of this content is restricted to Broadway Insiders. Register for an Broadway Insider Pass to view this post in its entirety.

If you're not ready to unlock everything Broadway Sports has to offer, you can return to our home page and view all the free content available right at your fingertips.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITSSTANDARD (FREE)BSM INSIDER PASS ($6.99/mo)
Comments on Articles✔︎✔︎
BSM Podcast Network✔︎✔︎
Access to Free Articles and Videos✔︎✔︎
ALL Premium Articles✔︎
EARLY Access to Select Written, Video and Audio Content✔︎
EXCLUSIVE Access to the full Mike Herndon Show✔︎
PRIVATE Invitations to Livestreams and Q&A's✔︎
EXCLUSIVE Access to the New Broadway Morning Newsletter✔︎
EXCLUSIVE Invitation to Private Fantasy Leagues and Competitions✔︎

Register New Account

Choose one of the following:

Author: John GlennonMulti-media journalist with extensive expertise covering the NFL, NHL, professional soccer and more, including the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators for The Tennessean with articles, videos and podcasts. Strengths include the ability to write quick, concise and thorough analysis, as well as the ability to uncover unique human-interest stories. In working as a reporter, John developed skills that extend beyond the sports journalism world. An efficient and effective communicator, John is confident, calm and productive under deadline pressure and knows the power of the written word. John brings to Broadway Sports a work ethic second to none, an intellectual hunger, and an ability to inform and entertain readers, viewers and listeners. Reach out directly to John at: