NASHVILLE – Frustration, and not enough points for the home team, was on full display on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
On a day when one Titans touchdown was taken off the scoreboard, and another Vikings touchdown was highly debated because of a controversial call, the Titans fell 23-13 to the Vikings.
It left head coach Brian Callahan steaming, and Titans fans disappointed, once again.
With the loss, the Titans dropped to 2-8.
Titans quarterback Will Levis threw for 295 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but he was sacked five times in the contest.
The Titans were flagged 13 times for 91 yards in the contest, and some were earned, without question.
And then, there were a few questionable ones that changed the course of the game.
This much is not up for debate: This Titans team has been on the wrong end of some controversial calls in back-to-back weeks, and it’s made things harder for a team already struggling to find success.
The Titans took a 3-0 lead with 4:39 left in the first quarter on a 30-yard field goal by kicker Nick Folk, which was set up by a fumble recovery by defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons.
The Vikings answered back quickly, however, on a 47-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Darnold to receiver Jordan Addison, which made it 7-3 barely a minute later.
Controversy marred the second quarter, when the Titans were flagged for a highly questionable unnecessary roughness penalty in the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play from the Vikings one-yard line. It happened on a Darnold pass intended for Addison, and Titans safety Mike Brown appeared to break the pass up with a clean, legal hit to the chest of Addison, which dislodged the football.
Callahan erupted on the sideline, and he stormed on the field to let officials know his disapproval. To add insult, he was slapped with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Instead of a Titans stop, the flag gave the Vikings a first-and-goal at the Tennessee 1, and they cashed it on for a one-yard sneak by Darnold on the next play to make it 13-3.
A 40-yard field goal by Vikings kicker Parker Romo made it 16-3 at the half.
The Titans got back in it in a flash, with a 98-yard touchdown strike from Levis to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, which made it 16-10 with 6:55 left in the third quarter. The play tied for longest reception in franchise history, and it was the second-longest play of any kind in franchise history, trailing only Derrick Henry’s memorable 99-yard touchdown run vs the Jaguars.
But the excitement over the play was short-lived, as more frustration for the Titans, and their fans, mounted after cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. was flagged for illegal contact on a third-down play, which kept a Minnesota drive alive.
The Vikings cashed that in for another score – a three-yard touchdown pass from Darnold to running back Cam Akers – to make it 23-10 with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
After a Levis-to-Calvin Ridley touchdown pass was wiped off the board because of an illegal formation penalty, the Titans continued in comeback-mode.
A 43-yard field goal by Folk later made it 23-13 with 14:08 left in the fourth quarter.
But the Titans could get no closer.
The Titans return to action next Sunday against the Texans in Houston.