Tennessee Titans OC Todd Downing on his end-around play vs Giants: 'That was a bad call'

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing said Friday that his criticized end-around play in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants was just a “bad call.” 

With the Titans facing a critical third-and-1 with 6:26 left and clinging to a 20-13 lead, the play was run for rookie tight end Chig Okonkwo, who was swarmed for a 4-yard loss. Tennessee punted, and New York responded with its game-winning touchdown drive and two-point conversion. 

The Titans (0-1) will look to respond from the loss against the Buffalo Bills (1-0) on Monday Night Football at Highmark Stadium (6:15 p.m., ESPN). 

“A better play call,” Downing said when asked what needed to happen for the play to work. “That was a bad call. I take full responsibility for that call. We played to a percentage off what we had seen from that defense in short yardage. … Should’ve got something downhill. That’s on me.”

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The criticism Downing has faced from the Week 1 collapse was not limited to that play. Other calls and personnel groupings in the red zone and third down, where Tennessee went 3-of-11, have been under the microscope. In the Titans’ five third-and-short situations (three or less yards from the line to gain), star running back Derrick Henry got the ball just once – a play in the third quarter after he fumbled a direct snap in the wildcat formation. 

Downing explained that the Titans targeted third and manageable situations against the Giants, whose defensive coordinator, Don Martindale, has a history of blitzing on third down.

“That way,” Downing said, “you’re not putting yourself back there waiting for long routes to develop on third down.”

But he also noted that Tennessee just didn’t do a good enough job converting in the third-and-short situations, where it went 1-of-5. 

“Absolutely,” Downing said when asked if the offense can seek first downs on early downs, as opposed to just on third down. “Third-and-manageable is the preference if we’re not taking those shots on first and second down. There’s a give and take there. Ultimately, the goal is to get first downs, whether it’s on first, second and third down to continue drives.”

There was also a lack of touches for the Titans’ top playmakers. Henry had just nine carries in the second half. Tight end Austin Hooper and receivers Robert Woods and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine combined for just three receptions on six targets for 32 yards. 

Downing said that targets should be taken with a grain of salt. A certain player not getting the ball doesn’t mean he wasn’t first in the progression, he said.  

“We do quite an extensive evaluation of the game plan as a staff to make sure we have some things for guys, particularly early in the game,” Downing said. “I think we saw some different guys getting touches early in the game. One of the things I think we did well was we started faster. That was a point of emphasis, and we were able to get a touchdown on the opening drive by getting the ball to a couple of different guys."

“You want to balance that with not trying to force anything. That’s always part of the ebb and flow to the game, but I think there’s some validity to trying to get guys going early.”

 Ben Arthur covers the Tennessee Titans for The USA TODAY Network. Contact him at barthur@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @benyarthur.