The Tennessee Titans had a rough day on offense Sunday as they failed to score a touchdown against a stout Denver Broncos defense in a 20-12 loss.

Poor decision-making by head coach Brian Callahan regarding a missed call by officials didn’t help their cause in a critical late-game situation. It turns out, as Callahan acknowledged on Monday, that he didn’t know a rule about what does and doesn’t constitute a catch in the NFL.

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Key Titans catch was incorrectly ruled incomplete

The play in question took place late in the third quarter as the Broncos led, 13-12. On first-and-20, Titans quarterback Cam Ward looked downfield to receiver Elic Ayomanor on a sideline throw.

Ayomanor corralled the ball despite physical coverage from cornerback Riley Moss. He fell out of bounds as he landed with the ball, and officials ruled the play an incomplete pass.

But Ayomanor actually got his elbow down inbounds before his body hit out of bounds. The play should have been ruled a legal catch.

Callahan didn’t understand this. He was asked after the game why he didn’t challenge the play and explained the decision with an incorrect understanding of the NFL rulebook.

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Callahan: ‘An elbow doesn’t equal two feet’

“You’ve got to get a foot inbounds too,” Callahan said. “Which we didn’t have a clean look at whether his foot was down as well. An elbow doesn’t equal two feet. So his foot would have had to come down as well. We didn’t have a clean look. So the call from upstairs was that it wasn’t worth challenging.”

Callahan was wrong in his understanding of the rule. Per the NFL rulebook, Ayomanor didn’t have to get a foot down in addition to his elbow. In the sense that two feet down inbounds with possession of the ball constitutes a catch, an elbow actually does equal two feet.

Here’s the language on what constitutes a catch from the NFL rulebook, which states that a player who secures the ball and lands inbounds “with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands” has made a legal catch:

A forward pass is complete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) in the field of play, at the sideline, or in the end zone if a player, who is inbounds:

(a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and

(b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands

Ayomanor caught the ball, and it was a play that warranted a challenge flag from the Titans. It’s a play that could have changed the trajectory of the game.

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When Ayomanor’s elbow hit the ground, he was just beyond the first-down marker. A correct ruling of a catch would have resulted in first-and-10 for the Titans near the Broncos 49-yard line as they trailed by one point late in the third quarter.

Instead, the result of the play was second-and-20. The Titans didn’t gain a first down and punted on the ensuing fourth down. They didn’t score again in the 20-12 loss.

[Get more Titans news: Tennessee team feed]

‘We should have challenged the play’

To Callahan’s credit, he addressed the topic in his Monday news conference and acknowledged that he got that one wrong.

“My interpretation of the rule was wrong,” Callahan told reporters. “I’ll own it. We should have challenged the play. That’s pretty much all I can say about it. I’ll own the mistake. Should have challenged it. And that’s where it stands.”

Asked about how the play was relayed to him from his assistant coaches in the booth, Callahan maintained that the mistake and the responsibility was his own.

“The process and how those things get relayed, I’ll keep those in house,” Callahan continued. “I’m the head coach of the football team, and my job is to make those decisions. I didn’t do a good enough job in that moment.

“I should have challenged it. It probably would have resulted in a potential explosive play. I should have challenged the play.”

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Veteran Woods backs Callahan

Callahan’s accountability drew the praise of at least one Titans player. Veteran safety Xavier Woods told reporters that Callahan practiced what he preaches when acknowledging his mistake.

“It’s what he preaches to us, to take accountability,” Woods told reporters. “To see him doing what he says that he wants us to do, I think that’s big. We all know what happened. Just taking accountability. …

“That call could have gone either way. That call wasn’t just on coach. That game wasn’t just on coach. That game was on coach and players. It’s us as a collective from top to bottom just taking accountability for all our mistakes is how we’re gonna keep persisting and get to the next level.”

The stakes are high in Tennessee this season, Callahan’s second as head coach. The Titans drafted Ward with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft, and setting him up for success is the franchise’s top priority.

Sunday’s Week 1 opener against an elite Broncos defense was a tough test that was compounded by this mistake and others on the field that included multiple passes dropped by veteran receiver Calvin Ridley in key situations.

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The Titans will have their next chance to get on track with their home opener on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.