The largest come-from-behind road victory in NFL history hinged on a fourth-and-1 stuff by the Cleveland Browns. It was a play Tennessee Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt believes should have been converted.
With 3:09 remaining on his own 42-yard line, Titans quarterback Charlie Whitehurst was knocked back by the Browns. Cleveland took over and scored the go-ahead touchdown five plays later.
"Had we blocked it correctly, we would have made it," Whisenhunt said, per The Tennessean. "We didn't come off the ball correctly. We weren't ready. We didn't have a sense of urgency there. That's something we have to learn from."
Whitehurst was stonewalled from the outset of the play, but Whisenhunt didn't regret going for it. Had the Titans made the conversion they could have salted away most of the clock.
With an offensive line mixed with first-round picks, young talent and high-priced veterans, the coach was as surprised as anyone they couldn't gain a yard.
"I can't agree with you more," Whisenhunt said. "Youth is a part of it. I think that situation is a part of it. I'm not making excuses. This is unacceptable to me. All I can tell you is we have to learn from it.
"Half a yard (to go), with what we have with our offensive line, and feeling like we had a play that would work, with a chance to win a football game after everything else had transpired ... that's why we did it."
It took a myriad of mistakes for the Titans to lose Sunday. The offensive line getting dominated on fourth-and-1 was just one example.
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