Here’s how things played out. Texans throw an incomplete pass, bringing up 2nd and 10 (already a much better spot than they were in before and just 9 seconds had come off the clock). Then an 11-yard David Johnson run puts them in 1st and goal at the 9. They run it three more times and finally throw it in for a touchdown on 4th and goal at the 1.
During that stretch, the Titans use two of their timeouts, but just 1:13 comes off the clock, in large part, because of the penalty that effectively stole a down from the Texans and gave the Titans back either 40 seconds or a timeout (and possibly more).
The Titans, of course, would drive the length of the field following Houston’s missed 2-point try, score a game-tying touchdown with 4 seconds left in regulation, and then win the game on the first possession of overtime. None of that likely happens without a detail oriented coach who bought them an extra timeout by understanding the game at an extremely high level.
Consider this Mike Vrabel’s official entry into the Coach of the Year race.