Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill was carted to the locker room with an apparent right ankle injury following Sunday’s opening drive against the host Los Angeles Chargers but missed just one drive before returning.
Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack was dragging Tannehill to the ground at the end of a scramble when the quarterback’s right ankle was bent awkwardly underneath Mack’s left leg during the tackle.
Tannehill first went to the medical tent on the sideline before he was taken by cart into the locker room without a shoe on his right foot. He came back to the sideline to start the second quarter with his ankle taped and helped the Titans drive 63 yards on six plays for a touchdown.
Tannehill later scored a game-tying touchdown on a 1-yard sneak with 48 seconds left. However, the Chargers drove downfield and won the game 17-14 thanks to a 43-yard field goal with four seconds remaining.
After the game, Tannehill said it “felt probably worse than it looked” with “a lot of pain,” but added that he only rode the cart off the field because of the travel distance to the part of the stadium where trainers would check on him. Reporters in the Tennessee locker room after the game said Tannehill was limping.
Tannehill finished the game 15-of-22 passing with 165 yards, an interception and the rushing touchdown.
In his 10th NFL season, Tannehill has thrown for 2,536 yards and 13 touchdowns with six interceptions while leading the Titans to a 6-6 record in his first 12 starts. He missed two games earlier this season against the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs with an injury to the same ankle as rookie Malik Willis, who led Tennessee to a 1-1 record.
Willis came into the game during the Titans’ second drive against the Chargers. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 20 yards and rushed once for 8 yards while Tannehill was being evaluated.
The third-round selection in the most recent draft out of Liberty was a combined 14 of 34 for 157 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in his two previous appearances.
–Field Level Media
