The Tennessee Titans have now been burned by a missed false-start call in back-to-back weeks, and both plays came in the kind of late-game moments that leave no room for error.
The latest one arrived in Week 8 against the Bengals, when Cincinnati was trying to tie the game and force overtime. With 1:23 left and the ball on the Titans’ 18-yard line, left tackle Orlando Brown gave a little wobble and stepped back before the snap.
No flag came out. Joe Burrow then hit Tee Higgins for the touchdown that tied the game and pushed it to overtime.
That followed a similar sequence the week before against the Browns. Cleveland had the ball with under 30 seconds left in a tied game, facing 1st-and-10 at its own 45.
Deshaun Watson connected with Harold Fanin on a 36-yard pass that moved the Browns into field-goal range, but replay showed right tackle Dawand Jones moving before the snap. Cleveland still got the kick and won the game.
The bigger issue, though, is that these aren’t isolated mistakes. NFL officiating has been drawing heavy criticism all season, with missed calls and bad calls becoming a weekly talking point. Even broadcast crews and rules analysts have been left scratching their heads at some of the decisions, and the Titans have been on the wrong end of plenty of them in 2026.
For a team that has sat near the bottom of the league for several years, the frustration is obvious. The Titans keep finding themselves in games where the officials end up shaping the outcome, and that has become a problem the league can’t keep brushing aside.
It’s not just Tennessee, either. Other teams have had to deal with opponents and officials at the same time, and even when they manage to win, the officiating still changes the way games unfold. The NFL needs to get a grip on it.
In Other News...
Titans Enter Bye Week With A Lineup Problem They Can't Ignore
The Titans are heading into their bye week with more questions than answers after an overtime loss to the Bengals left the roster battered in several spots. Multiple starters went down during the game, including offensive linemen Peter Skoronski and LC Latham, and the timing could hardly be worse for a team already trying to steady itself in the trenches.
John Franklin-Myers is also dealing with a back injury, adding another layer to a week that should have offered a chance to catch its breath. The only real update window now comes closer to the next game against the Jaguars, which means Tennessee will spend the break waiting on health news as much as it does preparing for the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Jeffery Simmons Made An Immediate Statement After Leaving The Titans
Jeffery Simmons wasted little time making his presence felt in Chicago, picking up his first sack as a Bear in the game against the Seahawks. He was on the field for 55 defensive snaps, the most on the team, and his workload looked familiar enough to anyone who watched him in Tennessee, where he had been a steady every-down force before the trade.
For Titans fans, the bigger takeaway is less about the box score than the fit. Simmons made it clear he wanted meaningful football, and the Bears are offering that in a way Tennessee has not this season, with a better record and a different kind of late-season urgency. It is an immediate reminder of what the Titans moved on from, and why his next chapter was always going to carry extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Backfield Shift Could Change More Than Fans Realize
The Titans overtime loss to the Bengals did more than push the record to 1-7, it also added another layer to a backfield that has been shifting week by week. Tony Pollard handled a season-high workload and made the most of it with two touchdowns, a sign that Tennessee is leaning harder on him as the offense searches for stability. Around him, the lineup has been in motion too, with Alontae Taylor sliding to nickel corner and Chimere Dike stepping into a bigger role in the absence of Carnell Tate.
For the backfield, the bigger question is what this recent usage means for Tyjae Spears and Nick Singleton, who have been healthy scratches and have not seen offensive snaps lately. Pollards uptick has been hard to ignore, especially after a game like this, and it may say as much about the Titans current pecking order as it does about one players surge. If Tennessee is going to keep reshaping roles this way, the ripple effects could reach well beyond the running game. [Read more 🡒]