For the second straight week, Tennessee Titans special teams endured inexplicable disaster, allowing yet another Ryan Stonehouse punt to be blocked , this time in Sunday's loss to the New York Jets at Nissan Stadium.
"I don't know that I've seen a punt blocked in six years," Titans coach Brian Callahan said after the game. "So to have it happen back to back [weeks] is really frustrating."
With 8:19 left in the third quarter, Stonehouse attempted a punt from the Titans' 38-yard line, but Jets wide receiver Irvin Charles broke through and was given a free rush on Stonehouse.
Unlike last week, when Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, the punt was blocked out of bounds, giving the Jets the ball at the Titans' 30-yard line. The Jets scored a field goal on the drive, giving them a 17-10 lead with 2:17 left in the third quarter.
The Jets (1-1) held on to win 24-17, keeping the Titans (0-2) winless in Callahan's first season as their coach.
After the game, he was hesitant to place blame on one player, but was clearly frustrated with the special teams overall.
"It's on all of us to fix that," Callahan said. "It's on me to fix it, it's on [special teams coach Colt Anderson] and it's on everybody else to make sure we're doing our jobs on special teams, because right now, it hasn't been good enough all the way around."
What Julius Chestnut said to Ryan Stonehouse
While the punt protection issue against the Bears was a full-unit breakdown, this week's against the Jets appeared to focus on the right side.
Specifically with running back Julius Chestnut's assignment on Charles, the eventual punt blocker.
"I didn't see exactly how it happened," Callahan said. "[Charles] just came off the edge and it looked like a lapse in release timing and technique."
During the play, Chestnut lined up opposite Charles on the line. After the snap, Charles rushed up field, only to cut back inside to find an open path to Stonehouse.
Chestnut said it wasn't an issue with play design or scheme, just an issue of execution.
"He did an up-and-under move and I just missed him," Chestnut said. "Just a man-on-man issue."
After the block — the third straight game that Stonehouse has had at least one punt blocked — Stonehouse was visibly upset on the sideline. No doubt the season-ending injury he suffered against the Indianapolis Colts in 2023 was fresh on his mind.
Shortly after the change of possession, Chestnut was seen talking to Stonehouse on the sideline, appearing to discuss the block and what went wrong.
"I told [Stonehouse] that we will be better," Chestnut said of the conversation.
Chestnut added that, like Callahan, he had never seen two blocked punts in back-to-back weeks, but he made assurances there wouldn't be a third.
"We will be better, that's all I can say," Chestnut said.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com . Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Who's to blame for yet another Tennessee Titans blocked punt? Brian Callahan explains
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