All the Titans needed was a chance or two to finally add a tally to the previously empty win column Sunday.
They received a handful in Arizona and for the first time all year, Tennessee capitalized, erasing a 21-6 fourth-quarter deficit to take home one of the most stunning victories in the NFL this season. The 22-21 win was a triumph that coach Brian Callahan desperately needed.
"Things just have to go your way sometimes," Callahan said afterward, via The Associated Press. "We haven't had a lot of that so far this year, haven't had a lot of bounces in our favor, and sometimes you need that."
As has been the case for most of the Titans' season to this point, one team had to commit a few blunders in order to give the other a chance to win. Unlike the previous four weeks, Tennessee landed on the beneficial end of such miscues, starting with Cardinals running back Emari Demercado's premature celebration in which he dropped the ball short of the goal line at the end of a 72-yard run that seemed certain to seal the win for Arizona.
That opened the door to a monumental fourth-quarter comeback for the Titans, who cashed in the turnover with a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive that saw Cam Ward complete three passes of 10-plus yards, including a 47-yard strike to Calvin Ridley.
Ward's heroics were only just beginning. After Tennessee received a gift of a fumble in Arizona's end zone (given away by Cardinals corner Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who had intercepted a Ward pass) for a touchdown, Ward was granted one more chance to produce a thrilling finish.
The No. 1 overall pick of April's draft delivered, leading an 11-play, 71-yard drive that included another spectacular connection with Ridley for a 38-yard gain that moved Tennessee to Arizona's 15-yard line with 32 seconds left to play. The long completion was enough to position embattled kicker Joey Slye for his own feel-good ending.
"I wish I had started better," Ward said. "But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you start, it's how you finish."
As Slye's 29-yard field goal slipped inside the right upright and the game clock expired, the Titans realized they'd just pulled off the improbable, if not seemingly impossible for this team.
In one afternoon -- and truly, one quarter -- Tennessee upgraded from doormat to welcome guest. There's still plenty to work on for Callahan's squad, but at least they weren't getting stepped on and walked over as they had in the previous month.
"We needed it pretty bad, just to feel confident moving forward," Ridley said. "We should build from this."
That alone should relieve some of the pressure that has been building on Callahan in recent weeks. We'll see if it's the start of a successful run or merely a fleeting, shining moment in the desert.
