John Glennon

jglennon@tennessean.com

What appeared to many observers to be a huge late-game blunder on the part of Titans tackle Taylor Lewan didn’t look nearly as black-and-white to his coaches and teammates.

On what may well have been the biggest moment of the game, quarterback Marcus Mariota had just connected with Tajae Sharpe on a 19-yard pass that would have given then Titans a first-and-goal at the Oakland 3.

With Sharpe stymied — but still struggling to stay on his feet — Lewan came charging into the pile, launching himself at Oakland defenders from a few yards away.

Officials flagged him for unnecessary roughness, a 15-yard penalty meaning the Titans had the ball at the 18 instead of the 3 with just 50 seconds left in regulation. They would get no closer to a tying score than the 12-yard line and lost 17-10.

“There’s a fine line there,” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. “The runner’s still running and they’re still tackling, and all he was doing … was still blocking. It’s a fine line. It’s how they call it. It happens all the time. I know that their hitters come in and take shots all the time while the runner is still up.”

Lewan knew how critical the call was, which is why he apologized to teammates in the Titans locker room.

Penalties have been a consistent issue for Lewan. He was called for six his rookie season, a team-high 10 last season and has three in three games so far this season.

“I told the team I’m sorry,” Lewan said. “I thought (Sharpe) was up. I know I’ve got called for a lot of penalties and that’s awful. It’s like, 'Here we are again,’ but I just want to stay physical and do my job the right way.”

RAIDERS 17, TITANS 10

Lewan, like Mularkey, did not think the incident was a clear-cut penalty.

“I really have no idea why they called it,” Lewan said. “I’ve done it before. I saw the receiver up. He was trying to struggle to get more yards. A bunch of Raiders were jumping on him. I tried to help my teammate and it obviously hurt more than it helped.”

Lewan said he got no explanation from officials.

“I’m bummed out, but I was just doing what I thought was right,” he said. “The player’s up, struggling to get extra yards. You want to win. You want him to go forward instead of back, and I’m going to do my best. I’m not going to shy away from being physical.”

Lewan came under huge amounts of criticism on social media, notably from ESPN college football analyst Kirk Hebrstreit, who took to Twitter and called Lewan “an absolute fraud,” adding hashtags #FakeToughGuy, #TryToHustle and #Pathetic among others.

But Mariota backed Lewan’s efforts.

“We love his effort and that’s what makes this team better,” Mariota said. “I told him, 'Don’t change.’ That’s the type of mentality we want around here. We want that effort, we want that effort through the whistle. I told him don’t change, just continue to be yourself.”

Reach John Glennon at jglennon@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @glennonsports.