The closing fixture of NFL’s Week 1 saw a dramatic finish in which Tennessee Titans edged out the Denver Broncos, 16-14.
Stephen Gostkowski’s field goal with 17 seconds to go helped his new team open the season in the best possible way, and also erased all of his errors. The three-time Super Bowl champion missed three FGs during the match, and one extra-point besides them.
Still, the all-time points leader in New England delivered a late save.
The game was filled with excitement, and plenty of enjoyable situations happened at the Empower Field this Monday night.
We saw ejections, hard defense, misses, scuffles, everything one game on MNF needs to offer.
The first three possessions were blanks, with the Broncos finally breaking the ice when Drew Lock’s pass hit Noah Fant in the end zone. Denver was creating a swing stopping the Titans in the next possession, but once they needed to strike, Melvin Gordon fumbled the ball, and in the very next attack, Tennessee tied the game.
Ryan Tannehill threw a one-yard TD pass to MyCole Pruitt. He ended the night with 249 yards, for 2 TDs, completing 29 of his 43 passes.
After this score, defenses were dictating the tempo on the field throughout the rest of the halftime and the third quarter. Another one-yarder from Tannehill broke the tie, only this time his target was Jonnu Smith, and that was when Gostkowski missed an extra-point conversion.
Broncos responded on the next drive, and this time Gordon was more focused, delivering a TD, carrying the ball for one yard over the goal line, to give his team a one-point edge over the guests.
Eventually, the Titans found the way to move closer to the end zone and provide Gostkowski a ticket for redemption land. The 36-year old forgot what happened earlier, stuffing in the 25-yard FG to solve the match. With 17 seconds to go, Lock didn’t have too many chances to change anything.
The young QB threw for 216 yards, 22-for-33 for one touchdown. Melvin Gordon rushed for 78 yards on 15 carries, while Fant had 81 receiving yards on five catches. Rookie WR Jerry Jeudy had 56 yards.
Among the Titans, Corey Davis recorded 101 yards in seven receptions, while Derrick Henry had 31 snaps for 116 yards.
Up next, the Titans wait for the Jacksonville Jaguars at home, while Denver Broncos head for Pittsburgh to meet the Steelers who defeated Giants in the game that preceded theirs.