the play was named "home run throwback" by the titans and was developed by special-teams coordinator alan lowry. he had learned the play in 1982 as a member of the dallas cowboys coaching staff, watching southern methodist university execute a similar kickoff return to score the winning touchdown in the last seconds of its game at texas tech university. the titans ran the play regularly in practices during the regular season, though the practices usually involved derrick mason, who had been injured earlier in the game and was unavailable for the situation. the number 2 option for the play, anthony dorsett, was also unavailable for the play due to cramps. as a result, the titans put in wide receiver isaac byrd as their main option to retrieve the lateral pass, with kevin dyson put in as a trailer. dyson, as one of the team's lead wide receivers, rarely practiced with the special-teams unit and was mostly unfamiliar with the layout of the play. as a result, head coach jeff fisher pulled him over before the play and gave him a brief rundown of what to do and what to expect on the play. nevertheless, his execution of lowry's vision would be flawless.