Looking to take an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter Sunday, the Denver Broncos turned to running back Willis McGahee three consecutive times from inside the Tennessee Titans' 2-yard line.
But McGahee came up short of the end zone all three times, the final failed attempt coming on fourth-and-goal from the 1. The Titans went on to rally for a 17-14 victory, leaving the Broncos to answer questions as to why they couldn't score from a scant 2 yards out, given coach John Fox's new run-first offense.
Mainly, reporters wanted to know just where Tim Tebow was during that series, considering the quarterback rushed for six touchdowns last season and won a Heisman Trophy at the University of Florida in large part because of his success as a punishing runner.
Fox seemed sensitive to the notion that Tebow should have been used as a goal-line option against the Titans.
"We had two touchdowns yesterday in the same situation -- we just needed three," Fox reminded reporters during his Monday news conference.
The Broncos did indeed score touchdowns in two previous goal-to-go scenarios, but both came via short passes from quarterback Kyle Orton.
Fox hinted that the Broncos have practiced certain goal-line packages that featured Tebow, and they were considered Sunday.
When asked if the fact that Fox kept Tebow on the bench indicated he didn't believe the quarterback could help the team in that situation, the coach bristled.
"I didn't say that," he said. "We just didn't choose (those packages)."
