Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel got away with it. Because his team topped the Atlanta Falcons 24-10 inside the Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, his highly questionable decision early in the fourth quarter – he eschewed a chip-shot field-goal attempt in favor of going for a first down on fourth down – that failed miserably ultimately didn’t matter.
Not that he necessarily deserved this break. Especially because Vrabel has tried this kind of macho stunt before. Most infamously, the Titans lost to the San Diego Chargers in London last season when Tennessee went for two points while down one after a touchdown with 35 seconds to play. The attempt failed, and at the end of the year the Titans missed the playoffs by a single win.
But back then Vrabel was a first-year head coach who was reportedly attempting to prove to his team that he believed in them. Question the mindset if you want, but the Titans often played better after that, even crushing eventual Super Bowl champion New England.
Mark WiedmerWhat happened Sunday was different. Macho is one thing. Madness is another. Let the Titans boost their 14-point lead to 17 points early in the fourth quarter against a confounding Falcons bunch that had scored but 10 points all day, and this game was over. O-V-E-R.
Given that, the decision not to attempt a field goal at that point was madness, the risk so much greater than the reward, especially given the 28 times that Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has engineered a fourth-quarter comeback in his NFL career.