Tennessee Titans’ Mike Vrabel on 2-point conversion penalties: ‘They’ve let Travis (Kelce) play like that’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. − The Tennessee Titans lost by three on Sunday, but had a few calls went the other way, they very well could’ve won by two.

The Titans (5-3) dropped an overtime heartbreaker against the Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) on Sunday, failing to hold onto a late eight-point lead they held for most of the second half in a 20-17 loss. The Titans had that eight-point lead until Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambled for a touchdown with 2:58 left, putting the Chiefs a two-point conversion away from tying the score.

That two-point conversion came anything but easy. The Chiefs’ first try fell incomplete, but it was negated by offsetting penalties; the Chiefs had an ineligible receiver downfield and the Titans had two defenders flagged for holding. The Chiefs’ second try also fell incomplete, but Titans defensive back Joshua Kalu was called for holding against Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. That call moved the ball inside the 1-yard line, leading to a Mahomes scramble to the pylon up the visitors’ sideline to tie the game.

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Upon replay review, Kalu’s holding call against Kelce looked as if it could’ve been an offensive penalty, with Kelce initiating contact and nearly ripping Kalu’s helmet off as the two tangled up, and, from the referee’s vantage point, Kalu grabbed on for a penalty.

“It’s about perspective,” Kalu said. “I feel like he had me in my face in the initial reaction. But I’ll look at the film and see what happens… I talked to (the referee). He just told me from his angle it looked like I was holding him. After that you can’t really do too much. A call is a call.”

Titans coach Mike Vrabel wasn’t familiar with the potential controversy when he was asked about it postgame, but also wasn’t surprised that the Chiefs might’ve gotten away with something.

“They’ve let Travis play like that,” Vrabel said when asked if Kalu could’ve done anything differently. “You can flop and hope you get a call I guess? You’re asking the wrong guy. The Twitter handle is @NFLOfficiating. They can answer any question that I’m not going to be able to answer.”

After the two-point conversion, there were four more scoreless possessions in regulation, two from each team. The Chiefs made a field goal on their first and only overtime possession and the Titans went four-and-out to lose the game.

Contact Nick Suss at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans’ Mike Vrabel on 2-point conversion penalties: ‘They’ve let Travis (Kelce) play like that’