NASHVILLE – Ryan Tannehill sprinted toward the end zone and for maybe a split second, thought about his health.
The Titans quarterback knew he was about to take a big hit.
"I thought about (sliding) for a second," Tannehill said with a smile. "And then I saw how close the goal-line was and I had to go all-out and get in the end zone."
Tannehill showed plenty of guts on a play that made some of his teammates nervous -- and his wife proud.
The play we're referring to here happened in the second quarter, on a second-and-nine from the Jacksonville 21-yard line. In a scoreless tie, Tannehill took off to his right before cutting to his left in the middle of the field and he made a beeline to the endzone. Tannehill collided with Jacksonville defender Tre Herndon at the goal-line, and after going airborne, he landed on his back in the endzone for a touchdown.
It gave the Titans a 7-0 lead in a game the team won going away, 42-20.
"I want Tannehill to slide more," A.J. Brown said. "But he is doing his thing, and he is giving us a lot of confidence in him."
In his fifth start this season, Tannehill played well once again.
He completed 14-of-18 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns against the Jaguars, including a 65-yard scoring toss to Brown and a one-yard toss to tackle-eligible Dennis Kelly.
Tannehill, who is now 4-1 as a starter this season, also ran for two scores – the three-yard run and the gutsy 21-yard run.
"Ryan was balling, man," running back Derrick Henry said. "He just kept doing his thing, throwing the ball and running. He is confident when he takes off and you saw it today, two touchdowns."
Tannehill said he's having a blast as the Titans quarterback, and he's now posted passer ratings of 100-plus in all four of his starts at Nissan Stadium.
Tannehill has proven more than willing to lower his shoulder on runs at the goal-line. He also bulldozed his way into the end zone in a big collision in a win against the Chiefs earlier this month.
Turns out his wife loves his toughness.
"She's always, 'I love when you run!'" Tannehill said, smiling again. "Everyone else is like, 'Slide! Get down!' And she is like, 'Jump!' It's fun. I quickly regretted it, however high I was in the air. I looked down and said, 'Uh, oh, this is going to hurt.' But it was fun, and it was a good opportunity to get into the end zone
