This is overblown. The reality is the letting the clock run the possession before (when we were losing) and the playcalling in 2mins were bigger problems. But let's take your scenario....
There are 17 seconds left when the Titans are ready to snap the ball...let's say Mariota takes 2 seconds to call a play and they run a hitch for 3 yards and they don't get out of bounds. When the play starts there is 15 seconds. By the time the play is run...there is roughly 10 seconds left...which is about the amount of time most NFL teams take to line up and spike it. So we are 3 yards closer and MAYBE have a shot at not running out of time. And even if we do...that's a LONG FG...probably a career long for Santos...who had just missed a 45 yarder.
Spiking the ball wasn't a bad play per se...but a better play would have been to flood one sideline and try and hit someone in the 10-15 yard range and get out of bounds. You get it, you have a decent shot at a fg and the clock is stopped. You don't get it, you have 4th down anyway. For this same reason, I didn't like the slants call. It's obvious and easier to defend.
But the real culprit happens earlier...both in Vrabel letting the clock run all the way down on the previous possession when we were losing as well as some of the playcalls in 2min at the beginning. Why is DW running a 3-5yd route where he can't get out of bounds? You can't trade a 5 yard gain for 15 seconds of clock when you have too far to go and no TO's.
uke: