The Titans had the Eagles right where they wanted them late in Week 2, only to watch a call that should have drawn a flag slip away instead.
Tennessee had just moved in front 20-17 with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the defense suddenly had to survive one last Philadelphia push. Jalen Hurts led the Eagles into Titans territory, and with 50 seconds remaining and no timeouts left, the play that changed everything came on first down.
DE Jacob Martin worked around the edge, got to Hurts in the pocket and wrapped him up as the two spun together. Hurts then let the ball fly, but he threw it to nobody and there was nobody around. Intentional grounding looked like the obvious call - it was even discussed on the broadcast - yet the officials let it go.
The thinking appeared to be that Hurts had escaped the pocket. If a quarterback is outside the pocket and his throw reaches the line of scrimmage, grounding isn’t called.
But the replay didn’t make that clear. Martin seemed to get to Hurts almost immediately after the dropback, and when the ball came out, Hurts still looked boxed in by the traffic at the line.
Instead of a penalty, the Eagles got to keep moving. The clock stayed stopped, Philadelphia reset, and Tennessee’s defense was left dealing with the fallout from a play that looked like a panic throw to avoid a sack.
There’s an argument that Martin needed to finish the sack sooner. If the call goes the other way, though, Martin is the one getting credit for getting there in time. Either way, Titans fans are left staring at another officiating moment that shaped a loss.
And this one hurts because Tennessee had earned that moment. The Titans are now 0-2 and head to New York for Week 3 against the Giants, with frustration only growing after head-scratching calls in both games.
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