5 takeaways from the Colts’ 34-31 loss to the Titans in Week 8.
Well, it’s another season that the Indianapolis Colts (3-5) will fail to win the AFC South after losing in overtime to the Tennessee Titans (6-2).
It was looking like the Colts were going to have a day after jumping out to a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. Everything switched after the Titans forced a turnover on downs on Indianapolis’ third drive of the game and they took their following series to get their first touchdown.
The two teams would go on to battle it out as multiple lead changes happened in the following three quarters. Both sides of the ball had up-and-down performances. The offense played well for the most part until the final two minutes of the game and in overtime. Most in part because of Carson Wentz and some questionable playcalling by Frank Reich. The defense did their part against Derrick Henry but their inability to create consistent pressure on Ryan Tannehill let him pick apart the secondary with A.J. Brown.
This was a game the organization should have won, they had multiple instances to close it out but found themselves unsuccessful in every attempt. The season isn’t over, but the division is out of reach at this point. A wild-card spot is still achievable and they have to be ready for the quick turnaround against the New York Jets on Thursday night, a team that just knocked off the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here are my top five takeaways from the brutal loss for the Colts:
The Clemson Insider wanted to pass along some updates on the nation’s top prospect in the 2023 class, following his visit to The Valley on Saturday. As we all know by now, the Tigers played host to Arch Manning, the five-star quarterback from …
The Clemson Insider wanted to pass along some updates on the nation’s top prospect in the 2023 class, following his visit to The Valley on Saturday.
As we all know by now, the Tigers played host to Arch Manning, the five-star quarterback from Isidore Newman School (New Orleans, La.), and his parents during Saturday’s 30-20 win over Florida State at Memorial Stadium.
Here’s some of what TCI has learned about Manning and his visit over the past 24 hours:
As Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was walking out of the tunnel to head to the field for warmups he turned and saw Arch and his family. Then, he turned around and went back and spent several minutes talking with them.
Manning was one of the recruits that Clemson took up to the top of the Hill to watch the Tigers run down. From what we saw, he seemed to enjoy seeing the most exciting 25 seconds in college football.
5 Star quarterback Arch Manning visits Clemson Saturday, October 30, 2021 at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider
During the game, Arch sat in the back row of the recruit section with his parents. As you can tell from our photo gallery, he and his family seemed to enjoy the game.
We can tell you that Manning was seated amongst fellow five-stars and their families.
One of those five stars is Pinnacle (Phoneix, AZ.) 2023 tight end Duce Robinson, who caught up with TCI regarding his experience in Clemson and offered some insight into Arch’s time in The Valley as well.
He spent most of his time with Arch throughout his visit and indicated to TCI that the nation’s No. 1 prospect in the 2023 class enjoyed himself.
Robinson took a red-eye flight from the Grand Canyon state into Charlotte early Saturday morning. From there, he made his way down to Clemson for his first game day experience in The Valley.
“Me and him, we actually spent most of the time together, our two families,” Robinson said. “That was really cool. I had met him before, but we didn’t really get to have a true conversation. Being able to sit with him for most of the game and talk with him for most of the game was really cool.”
Manning was obviously accompanied by his parents. We can tell you that his mother, Ellen, was making conversation with a lot of the parents around her, as Arch immersed himself with his fellow recruits, such as Robinson.
Between all the publicity that was on display with his arrival, Clemson fans made sure to send their kids down to Arch’s section to retrieve autographs from any miscellaneous items from balls to cups to just about anything you could think of.
Prior to the game, Ahe was walking towards Clemson’s locker room with fellow class of 2023 prospect, Monroe Freeling, a four-star offensive tackle from Oceanside Collegiate Academy (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.).
Freeling told TCI that Arch got lost along the way because he kept getting stopped by fans, who were asking to take pictures. Clemson fans made sure Arch felt at home on his second trip to Death Valley since his unofficial visit this past summer.
When Arch visited the Dabo Swinney High School football camp in June he and his family were left very impressed and some sources had Clemson being in very good shape. Since then Manning has drawn attention all over the Southeast as he’s visited Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss.
His visit this weekend was critical for the Tigers to remind him what makes Clemson special. Arch and his family got to experience Clemson’s family atmosphere once again. They also got to take in their first game day in Death Valley.
Arch and his family like to keep things to themselves about where things stand. There is a ways to go on this one, but one thing we can tell you after talking with a number of sources is that the Tigers helped their positioning this weekend. We believe Clemson will remain a contender until the end. The competition is fierce for Arch so Clemson has plenty of work to do.
Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.
Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks
The bye week has been a very good one for the Las Vegas Raiders. Not only did they get a chance to rest up, but a lot of things in the AFC went their way.
The Chargers fell to the Patriots at home and now have a record of just 4-3. The Broncos did win, but they are only 4-4 and the Raiders hold a tiebreaker over them.
According to FiveThirtyEight, their odds to win the division increased from 26 percent to 35 percent after the loss by the Chargers. They are still not the favorites to win the division (Chargers at 35%) but the gap has narrowed significantly over the last two weeks.
Their odds to make the playoffs also increased as other AFC contenders like the Bengals, Browns and Colts all suffered losses. The site gives them a 66 percent chance to make the playoffs, which is up from 62 percent entering the week. Only the Bills, Titans and Ravens have higher odds to make the postseason than the Raiders.
Things can still change with the Chiefs playing on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants. But the Raiders are still in prime position to make the postseason for the first time since 2017.
Chargers fall to Patriots solidifying Raiders spot atop AFC West
The Raiders took advantage of the Chargers’ bye week to move to the top of the AFC West standing. The Chargers had the opportunity to return the favor in Week 8, facing the Patriots in Los Angeles while the Raiders are on their bye. But the Chargers fell just short.
In the end, it was the Chargers’ defense that faltered, allowing the Patriots to take nearly seven minutes off the clock late in the fourth quarter to go up by two scores.
The drive left just over two minutes for the Chargers to score twice. They moved quickly, scoring a touchdown in 40 seconds on a pass from Justin Herbert to Josh Palmer from 24 yards out. But former Chargers TE Hunter Henry made the catch on the onside kick attempt to seal the win for the Patriots.
Leading the Patriots in receiving was former Raiders WR Nelson Agholor with three catches for 60 yards.
The loss dropped the Chargers to 4-3 on the season. A win would have brought the Chargers to a 5-2 tie with the Raiders with the Charger owning the tiebreaker on the head-to-head.
Instead, the Raiders retain their spot atop the AFC West heading into week nine.
As for the Chargers and Chiefs, they both came into this week at 3-4 trying to get back to .500. The Broncos beat the Washington Football Team 17-10 to do just that while the Chiefs face the Giants on Monday Night Football.
The Houston Astros will meet the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday night from Truist Park.
The Houston Astros will meet the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday night from Truist Park.
The Astros are in a must-win situation after falling to the Braves for the second consecutive game and will look to rebound. Meanwhile, Atlanta can close out the World Series tonight and would love to do it at home.
In Game 5, we’ll see Framber Valdez on the mound for the Astros against Tucker Davidson for the Braves, here is everything else you need to know to watch!
MLB odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds last updated Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Houston Astros (-120) vs. Atlanta Braves (+100)
O/U: 8.5
Check out SportsbookWire for more action on all your games.
We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
Up next for the Broncos is a road game against the Cowboys.
The Denver Broncos defeated the Washington Football Team 17-10 in Week 8 of the 2021 NFL season on Sunday afternoon.
Broncos running back Melvin Gordon scored both of the Broncos’ touchdowns, a 15-yard catch in the second quarter and a seven-yard run in the fourth quarter. Gordon finished the day with 62 yards from scrimmage.
It was an ugly game, with Denver missing a field goal and Washington having two field goals blocked. Both offenses struggled to get anything going, and Peyton Manning’s halftime pass was the highlight of the day. Washington turned it over twice and Gordon lost a fumble for the Broncos that almost allowed Washington to tie it up late (they weren’t able to score).
Denver’s win was marred by a pair of injuries. Slot cornerback Bryce Callahan and left tackle Garett Bolles (ankle) both left the game with the fourth quarter. The severity of their injuries are not yet known.
The Broncos will be happy to have won on Sunday, improving to 4-4, but up next is a road contest against the Dallas Cowboys, one of the top teams in the NFC who some pundits consider a Super Bowl contender.
There aren’t many struggling opponents left on Denver’s schedule, so wins will likely be hard to come by in the coming weeks.
The Miami Dolphins lost their second game of the season to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday by a score of 26-11.
Brian Flores’ defense put up a good effort for most of the game, but they fell short down the stretch. Tua Tagovailoa and the offense weren’t able to attack one of the league’s best defenses effectively, and that was one of the key reasons for the loss.
Buffalo made up for their struggles in the first half by driving the field multiple times in the second half. Sean McDermott’s team found holes and eventually exploited them. With the win, they are tied for second place in the AFC behind only the Titans.
Here are the winners and losers from the Dolphins’ seventh straight loss.
The Jacksonville Jaguars traveled to Seattle this weekend with a little bit of momentum, which is something that franchise isn’t used to having.
Two weeks ago in London the Jaguars picked up their first win since Week 1 of last season.
Then last week Urban Meyer and his guys enjoyed the bye week and talked about how the team was feeling good after its win over the Dolphins.
Well, any feelings of momentum didn’t last long when the team took the field in Seattle on Sunday as the Jaguars were blown out, 31-7, by the Seahawks. The Jags scored a late TD that didn’t mean anything and then they attempted an onside kick that went like this:
