NFL fans left divided over contentious Joshua Dobbs fumble call which cost Titans ride to the playoffs

The Tennessee Titans and Joshua Dobbs lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence today. This sent the Jaguars through to the playoffs as AFC South champions and the Titans were eliminated from postseason contention.

However, Tennessee were well on top for most of the game. They led 13-7 at half-time, 16-10 at the end of the third quarter and 16-13 before the final touchdown was scored. The manner of the touchdown will certainly grate with Titans fans.

It was a defensive touchdown after Joshua Dobbs fumbled the football and the Jaguars took it all the way into the end zone. However, it was contentious as the Titans quarterback's arm clearly looked to be moving forward when hit. If it had been deemed accordingly, it would have been ruled an incomplete pass the moment the ball hit the ground.

That would have given the ball back to the Titans with a 16-13 lead. With the Titans defense shackling Trevor Lawrence well before then, they could have gone on to win the game and take their spot in the postseason instead.

Opinion was divided on social media, with fans lambasting the officials for inconsistency in calls from week to week. NFL fans on Twitter also believed that a newly promoted starter like Joshua Dobbs got the raw end of the deal. They think that more famous names like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers would get the call overturned in their favor. Here is a sample of some of the responses.

Does Joshua Dobbs have a chance to remain in Tennessee?

After his fumble, however controversial, gifted the game to the Jacksonville Jaguars, did this spell the end for him in Music City? He was picked off the Detroit Lions' practice squad because regular starter Ryan Tannehill went down with an injury and rookie quarterback Malik Willis failed to impress.

In his debut against the Dallas Cowboys, Joshua Dobbs won the starting job and kept it for today's game. He threw for one touchdown in the first half and looked generally accomplished. Had this fumble been ruled an incomplete pass, we might have been talking about Dobbs leading the Tennessee Titans into the postseason.

It will depend on Mike Vrabel if he wants to retain him for next season. But given that he went to university in Tennessee and is now familiar with the system, there could be a case made to retain him for the upcoming season.