Tannehill Laughs Off Touchdown Fail

NASHVILLE – It was a highlight, to be sure. Yet it was not exactly Ryan Tannehill’s finest hour.

With less than a minute to play in the first half of Tuesday’s victory against the Buffalo Bills, the Tennessee Titans quarterback scrambled right and delivered a 10-yard touchdown run.

It was the sixth time as a member of the Titans (playoffs included) that the veteran quarterback crossed the goal line with the ball in his hands. As he had done several other times, he celebrated with a basketball-style finger roll. Then things went horribly wrong.

“(Tannehill) was able to get the touchdown with his legs,” coach Mike Vrabel said a day later. “The celebration left a lot to be desired.”

After his imaginary layup, the 6-foot-4 Tannehill stumbled when he hit the ground, fell on to his rear end and promptly rolled right back to his feet. He chuckled through every congratulatory helmet slap, high five or whatever other method teams used to celebrate with him. When he got to the sideline, he was laughing so hard that he grabbed at his side.

“It was definitely a bad showing of athleticism,” Tannehill said Thursday. “I’m embarrassed that that happened, but I learned from it. I think, through the whole process I learned that’s why they call them touchdowns and not touchups.”

Titans on top! #BUFvsTEN

📺: Watch on CBS or Live https://t.co/JRosML4WEm pic.twitter.com/pPA8xiOKQA
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) October 14, 2020

The momentary ignominy did nothing to bring Tannehill or the Titans back down to earth.

Despite the embarrassing nature of it, Tannehill’s touchdown was part of a 21-3 run that allowed Tennessee to take control of the prime-time matchup between unbeaten teams (Buffalo was 4-0) and was one of four scores in which he had a direct hand. He also threw three touchdown passes in the contest. In his first full season as the Titans’ starter, he is currently is fifth in the NFL with a 110.8 passer rating and has thrown nine touchdown passes with just one interception.

With its most decisive triumph of the season to date, Tennessee improved to 4-0, tied with Pittsburgh for the best record in the AFC, while the rest of the league watched.

The performance featured another spectacular stiff arm from running back Derrick Henry, two interceptions by cornerback Malcolm Butler, both of which included long returns, and one thing the Titans hope they never see again – Tannehill’s touchdown fail.

“Yeah, we saw that. ‘Don’t do that again, don’t do that again man,’” tight end Jonnu Smith said following the contest. “(Tannehill) is good for giving us a good scare. I don’t know if it’s because its October and Halloween is coming up and wants to scare us, but he’s got to chill out. We need you. He’s getting a little bit of tough love.”