LONDON - The Tennessee Titans hated the outcome, but they loved first-year coach Mike Vrabel's call - and at least one member of the Los Angeles Chargers agreed.
Chargers safety Adrian Phillips believes the Titans made the right decision when they attempted a go-ahead 2-point conversion with 31 seconds remaining in Sunday's game at Wembley Stadium, and not just because he made a big play as Tennessee failed to do so.
Phillips broke up Marcus Mariota's pass to Taywan Taylor, the Titans' second shot at the end zone after a defensive penalty on the first attempt, and the Chargers held on for a 20-19 victory.
The defense came through for Los Angeles (5-2) as it picked up its fourth straight win, doing so despite the absence of dynamic running back Melvin Gordon (hamstring injury).
"It was a great decision," Phillips said. "That's the game right there. If I'm the head coach, I go for it, too. You have the momentum. You just (went) 70 yards. You've got one of the biggest running backs in the game, one of the best running quarterbacks in the game and one of the best third-down running backs in the game - and a receiver corps that had been doing good all game - so why not?"
The Titans (3-4), who have lost three straight, drove 89 yards over the final 4:55 before Mariota's 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Luke Stocker pulled them within one point.
After the Titans lined up for the 2-point attempt, Mariota's first pass was intended for Tajae Sharp, an incompletion negated by a holding call on the Chargers' Casey Hayward. Phillips then tipped the pass to Taylor.
Vrabel had the option of playing it safe by attempting an extra-point kick and hoping for overtime, and his decision is likely to be second-guessed outside the Titans' locker room, particularly after the element of surprise disappeared with the penalty.
The momentum was also in the Titans' favor as they had rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half and had largely managed to control the Chargers' high-powered offense.
Vrabel said playing with a banged-up offensive line after right guard Josh Kline limped off during the final drive was "a consideration" when making the call, although the coach also said he had already made the decision before Kline's injury.
"When that drive started, I thought in my mind that if we scored - when we scored - and it was less than 40 seconds, we were going to go for two and win the game," Vrabel said.
"If it was a minute and 30 (seconds), we kick the extra point and we go and play defense. I've got a lot of faith in my players converting third downs and converting those situations. Marcus was doing everything we needed to do to keep the plans alive. So I'm not going to second-guess the call. It just didn't work out."
Mariota, who finished 24-for-32 passing for 237 yards with an interception, agreed.
"I love that he has confidence in us to go make that. We just didn't execute," Mariota said. "I should've done a better job maybe extending the play, knowing it was the last play. There's definitely more I wish I could've done. But that being said, they did a good job of covering it."
Gordon entered the game third in the NFL in rushing with 466 yards and had scored a total of nine touchdowns this season, but he was ruled out after an unsuccessful pregame workout.
Second-year pro Austin Ekeler earned his first start in Gordon's place and ran for 42 yards on 12 carries, but it was veteran quarterback Philip Rivers who shouldered the burden for Los Angeles, finishing 19-of-26 passing for 306 yards. On the Chargers' first play from scrimmage, Rivers connected with Tyrell Williams for a 75-yard touchdown. The first series of the second half lasted three plays and was capped by Rivers' 55-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.
The Titans trailed 10-6 at halftime after two field goals by Ryan Succop - a 55-yarder on the game's first series and a 50-yarder early in the second quarter.
After Williams scored, the Titans ended their 10-quarter skid without a touchdown when Derrick Henry ran 1 yard into the end zone with 9:43 left in the third quarter, and Succop's extra-point kick cut the deficit to 17-13.
The Chargers' Mike Badgley kicked a 28-yard field goal with 12:29 to play, Succop missed from 51 yards with 8:45 to go, and after forcing Los Angeles to punt, the Titans prepared their final charge.
Tennessee's Dion Lewis ran for 91 yards on 13 carries, including a 36-yard gain on the final drive that moved Tennessee into the Chargers' territory, and Tajae Sharpe had seven catches for 101 yards.