Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. (Syndication: The Tennessean)
NFL Twitter couldn’t believe the Titans managed to lose to the Bengals despite getting nine sacks and QB Ryan Tannehill became their target.
The Tennessee Titans were the top seed in the AFC. They enjoyed a bye week before welcoming the Cincinnati Bengals to Nashville for the Divisional Round.
They had all the advantages and were favored to win by more than a field goal.
So how did they manage to blow out?
After the Bengals won on a walk-off field goal, Titans fans and NFL observers were left to play the blame game. And Ryan Tannehill took the brunt of the abuse.
NFL Twitter blasts Ryan Tannehill for Titans choke job
Tannehill completed 15-of-24 passes for 220 yards but the key stat of the game related to interceptions. He tossed three of them, the last of which set up Cincinnati for a field goal in the final seconds.
The entire game felt like a huge wasted opportunity for a team that was set up for so much more.
It’s not like Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had an outstanding afternoon. While he threw for 348 yards, he didn’t throw a touchdown. He had one interception and took nine sacks.
The difference was his performance in the clutch. When he got the ball back with 20 seconds remaining, Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for a 19-yard gain immediately, putting his kicker in position to win the game.
Tannehill made the costly mistake and Burrow made him pay for it. Because of it, Bengals fans get to gear up for the AFC title game and Titans fans get to spend more time on Twitter ranting about what could have been.