(This story was updated with new information.)
Tennessee Titans interim coach Mike McCoy has tended to be more conservative in his two games in charge this season.
But a decision in the third quarter of the Titans’ game against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 26 at Lucas Oil Stadium prevented the offense from getting back into the game — and by the looks of it, frustrated rookie quarterback Cam Ward.
Tennessee trailed 17-7 and had the ball to start the second half, driving to the Colts‘ 42-yard line. On third-and-3, the Titans ran a designed run for Tony Pollard for no gain, and they punted.
Ward was not happy coming off the field, and CBS cameras caught him reacting on the Titans’ sideline.
Ward made it clear what his feelings were, asking aloud why they were punting the ball in that situation. “The (expletive) are we doing? Go for it!” he appeared to say.
Johnny Hekker punted into the end zone for a touchback.
Yes, that meant a 22-yard net punt. And it didn’t help when Jonathan Taylor ran for an 80-yard touchdown on the next play. Taylor is the first player to score three touchdowns in three straight games against the same opponent.
Tennessee never got the ball back with the game margin that close again.
McCoy said after the game that he did not hear Ward’s comments on the sideline but defended his decision to punt, citing the defense’s play in forcing two punts on the Colts’ final drives of the first half.
Ward expounded on his in-game reaction, saying he wants to go for it on fourth down every time the team crosses the 50.
“If it was up to me, I’d want to go for it every chance I get,” Ward said. “Just because I’m a competitor, that’s just my breed. That’s just what I want to do out of my football journey. I just think it’s a missed opportunity for us as a team to get a first down and keep the drive moving. We weren’t down that much at that time. So we’re going to always support whatever decision is made, but at the end of the day, we shouldn’t put ourselves in that position. We should get the first down on third down.”