Among the mistakes the Titans made in their loss to the Broncos on Sunday was failing to challenge a catch made by rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor.
Trailing 13-12 toward the end of the third quarter, Ayomanor hauled in an impressive grab on the sideline which was ruled out of bounds. Upon video replay, it could be seen that Ayomanor got his elbow down in bounds before the rest of his body landed on the sideline.
One elbow equals two feet
— Wes Wisley (@TitansStats) September 8, 2025
This was a catch#Titans pic.twitter.com/BypVY4sVmA
Despite this, Titans head coach Brian Callahan incorrectly explained after the game that they didn't challenge the play because Ayomanor would have had to get a foot down as well for it to count as a catch. NFL rules clearly state that a catch counts if a receiver gets either two feet or a body part like an elbow down in bounds.
"Yeah you got to get a foot in bounds too, which we didn't have a clean look at whether his foot was down as well," Callahan told reporters on Sunday. "An elbow doesn't equal two feet. ... The call from upstairs was that it wasn't worth challenging.”
Here is the FULL CLIP of Brian Callahan not knowing the elbow catch rule, which cost the #Titans a big play from Elic Ayomanor.
— SharmSports (@SharmSports) September 8, 2025
An NFL head coach and coaching staff not knowing a basic rule like this is absolutely INSANE!!! #TitanUp
(🎥 @Titans) pic.twitter.com/o1exTk4wkd
On Monday, Callahan clarified his comments, admitting that he should have challenged the play from Ayomanor. Had they challenged the catch, the Titans would have had the opportunity to continue driving down the field and potentially put up points to take the lead at that point.
“Ultimately, my interpretation of the rule was wrong, I’ll own it, we should have challenged the play,” Callahan said Monday. “That’s pretty much all I can say about it. I’ll own the mistake, we should have challenged it and that’s where it stands.”
Brian Callahan says he misinterpreted the rule, should have challenged the play. #Titans. pic.twitter.com/cuHxtQP5gd
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 8, 2025
“At the end of the game, I was worried about a lot of things that went wrong in the game and in the heat of the moment and in the frustration of it after the game in the press conference, again, I misspoke,” Callahan later added. “I’m well aware of the rule. I understand how it works. And the way I articulated it afterwards was incorrect and I understand the rules of this game pretty well."
Callahan: Familair with rule. Misspoke postgame. #Titans pic.twitter.com/jAebZwhtRr
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 8, 2025
Overall, there was much left to be desired from the Titans on Sunday, especially in terms of offensive execution. The defense forced three turnovers from Bo Nix, and gave the Titans enough chances to win, but the offense was unable to capitalize. From failing to challenge Ayomanor's catch to receivers dropping passes and not executing a simple screen play properly, the Titans blew the opportunity to upset the Broncos on the road. Rookie mistakes were expected from rookie quarterback Cam Ward in his first game against a tough defense, but the offensive woes went far beyond Ward in this game.
Cam Ward had to dirt a screen today because all three receivers in the area thought they were supposed to be blocking and nobody turned around for the ball pic.twitter.com/BFkIX3gVRM
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) September 8, 2025
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Titans Coach Clarifies Comments, Admits Fault for Not Challenging Elic Ayomanor Catch .