Tajae Sharpe going the wrong way
Tajae Sharpe’s decision to not fall forward into a first down on a third down play in the fourth quarter was perhaps the most frustrating blunder of the game considering how simple the concept of the decision actually is.
Mariota threw an absolute duck to Sharpe after it appeared he was hit on the throw, but the ball got there and Sharpe made the catch just a yard short of the first down. All Sharpe had to do was turn it upfield and fall forward to get the first down, and he clearly had the room to do exactly that.
Instead, Sharpe was going the wrong way down what should have been a one-way street. I simply don’t understand what he was looking at after the reception. In that situation, a receiver’s No. 1 priority should be moving forward, and for some reason Sharpe tried to break it back outside instead of just taking it upfield.
When @Show19ine declined to fall forward or turn upfield and take available space for the first down that left the #Titans in a fourth-quarter fourth-and-1, @delaniewalker82 reacted in disbelief, putting his hands on his helmet (bottom right). pic.twitter.com/Q1uMvzLL6b
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 16, 2019
Chalk it up to whatever you want, whether that be a reckless desire to make a big play or not knowing where he was on the field in relation to the first down marker. Sharpe’s botched decision was incredibly costly late in this one, and it led to the next major blunder by the Titans before the drive stalled.