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On first-and-20 with the Titans trailing by a point late in the third quarter, Elic Ayomanor raced down the Tennessee sideline, leaped over cornerback Riley Moss and hauled in a 21-yard pass from Cam Ward.

Ayomanor before any other part of his body hit the white line out of bounds. When the officials ruled an incompletion, however, Callahan didn’t challenge the call and the Titans went on to punt after two more misfires.

It proved to be a big blunder in a in which the Titans, who went 3-14 in Callahan’s first season, were held to 133 yards of offense to go with 131 yards in penalties that were walked off against them.

Pressed after the game why he didn’t challenge the call, Callahan explained, “You鈥檝e got to get a foot in bounds, too, which we didn鈥檛 have a clean look at whether his foot was down, as well. An elbow doesn鈥檛 equal two feet, so his foot would have had to come down, as well. We didn鈥檛 have a clean look, so the call from upstairs was that it wasn鈥檛 worth challenging.鈥�

Wrong on all accounts.

One elbow does equal two feet 鈥� the NFL rulebook is clear that a catch is good if a player 鈥渢ouches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands.鈥�

And it certainly was worth a challenge, something Callahan acknowledged Monday.

鈥淢y interpretation of the rule was wrong,鈥� Callahan said after having had more time to ponder his decision. 鈥淚鈥檒l own it. We should have challenged the play and that鈥檚 pretty much all I can say about it.鈥�

Or will say.

Asked if those advising him about the play also were unaware of the NFL’s rules for what constitutes a catch, Callahan demurred, saying he won’t discuss the process and, besides, the decision falls on him as head coach.

Payton’s unconventional call

If it’s any consolation, Callahan’s wasn’t the only curious call in Denver on Sunday.

Facing fourth-and-8 from the Titans’ 36 with 1:05 remaining and Denver clinging to its eight-point lead, it appeared Broncos coach Sean Payton had a choice between sending out his rookie punter Jeremy Crawshaw to try to pin Tennessee deep or kicker Wil Lutz to attempt a 54-yard field goal.

After timeouts by both teams, Payton kept his offense on the field, however, and dialed up a pass play. Bo Nix was unable to hit Marvin Mims Jr. at the 5-yard line and the Titans took over. Three incompletions and a strip sack later, the Broncos had the win, after which Payton disputed any notion that going for it was a head-scratcher.

He said he knew the Titans would be in a cover-zero look with pure man-to-man coverage and no deep safeties, so it wasn’t the roll-the-dice choice it might have appeared.

Payton also said he had faith in Lutz making it from that distance, 鈥渂ut the way we’re playing defensively, you have to look at the quickest way for them to take the ball 64 yards would be a scoop and score鈥� following a blocked field goal try.

鈥淎nd I didn’t want that to happen,鈥� Payton said. 鈥淪o, we had a lot of time to think about it. I felt real good about the call.鈥�

So did Nix.

鈥淚 felt like we had a good play,” Nix said. 鈥淲e were going to max protect it. We knew they were going to be in (cover) zero. They just brought the house. They brought everybody, and it鈥檚 hard. You don鈥檛 have enough guys to block them. You hopefully have enough time to buy some time. Probably just a few inches higher, Marvin goes out there and catches it.鈥�

Courtland Sutton 鈥渨as probably open, as well,” Nix said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just tough for them to cover crossers like that in a zero situation. Sometimes you hit them; sometimes you don鈥檛. That one, coach was aggressive. Next time we鈥檒l hit it.鈥�

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AP Pro Football Writer Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

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