Jim Nantz torched the Tennessee Titans during a CBS game break on Sunday afternoon, calling their defensive effort against Jonathan Taylor “pretty pathetic” after watching an 80-yard touchdown run where nobody on Tennessee’s defense appeared interested in making a tackle.
The moment came during the Cowboys-Broncos broadcast when CBS cut to host Adam Schein for a score update. Schein showed Taylor’s touchdown that put the Colts up 24-7, a play where Taylor broke through the line and hit the sideline with Tennessee safeties Xavier Woods and Amani Hooker both in position to make a play. Neither made a serious attempt, as Taylor jogged untouched into the end zone.
Schein tossed to Nantz for his reaction, and Nantz didn’t hold back.
“Pretty pathetic effort in that secondary trying to bring down Taylor,” Nantz said. “He is great, but, man, that looked like it lacked a lot of effort, to me.”
Nantz typically doesn’t go out of his way to criticize teams during game breaks, especially games he isn’t calling. But the lack of effort was apparently glaring enough that he felt compelled to say something.
Taylor finished the afternoon with 153 yards and two rushing touchdowns on just 12 carries, adding another receiving score for good measure. The Colts cruised to a 38-14 victory, completing their third straight season sweep of Tennessee and improving to 7-1. The win also cemented Taylor’s place in NFL history as the first player ever to score three touchdowns against the same opponent in three consecutive games. He’s done it to Tennessee three times now — once in December 2024 and twice already in 2025.
In the two meetings between these teams this season alone, Taylor has racked up 292 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns.
The Titans are now 1-7 after firing head coach Brian Callahan mid-season, and six of their seven losses have come by double digits. They’ve been outscored 230-110 on the year and have become a popular punching bag across the league.
And in Week 8, they became Nantz’s.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.