Category: Latest News

Colts open as favorites to Titans ahead of Sunday matchup

Now, the team faces yet another division rival in the Indianapolis Colts (6-5) this week — on the road this time.

The Tennessee Titans (6-5) are finally above .500 again and riding high on a two-game winning streak after recording a 42-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Now, the team faces yet another division rival in the Indianapolis Colts (6-5) this week — on the road this time.

Despite their 20-17 loss to the Houston Texans last Sunday, the Colts are still considered favorites over the Titans ahead of the upcoming matchup.

Bet MGM has the Titans listed as underdogs as by a point spread of (-2.5).

The last time the two teams faced each other, the Colts snatched a close victory, winning 19-17 in Nissan Stadium.

This was one of Marcus Mariota’s less productive games before the team finally made the switch to Ryan Tannehill at quarterback.

The former starter was 19-of-28 passing for 154 yards and one touchdown.

The Colts remain with the same starting quarterback they had in the previous matchup in Jacoby Brissett, who completed 17-of-28 passes for 146 yards with three touchdowns and one interception on the win.

It will be interesting to see how much success Brissett and the Colts have against this version of the Titans, and how much the change at signal-caller impacts Tennessee in the second clash of the year against Indianapolis.

The two teams are scheduled at noon CT on Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Ravens continue top-place dominance in USA TODAY Sports’ power rankings

Beating up on the Los Angeles Rams, 45-6, the Baltimore Ravens proved they’re deserving of the top spot on the power rankings.

Coming into Week 12, plenty of pundits and doubters wondered just how the Baltimore Ravens and their league-leading rushing attack would fare against a Los Angeles Rams defense well equipped to stop it. On the very first drive of the night for Baltimore, we had our answer . . . Running the ball seven of their first nine plays, the Ravens gained 49 yards on the ground. They finished the game with 285 net rushing yards while only allowing Los Angeles to have 221 total net yards.

Since Week 7, Baltimore has been answering every question and caveat put up by those doubting them; and in dominant fashion. After having claimed lopsided victories over four playoff-caliber teams and going on a seven-game winning streak, there should be no one doubting how great this Ravens team actually is.

At the very least, Nate Davis of USA TODAY Sports isn’t. For a third consecutive week, Davis has Baltimore in the No. 1 spot on his power rankings list.

“Yet another milestone now in Lamar Jackson’s sights? He can break franchise’s single-season record for TD passes, which is 33 — set by Vinny Testaverde in 1996.”

Jackson is currently the frontrunner for the NFL’s MVP award this season as well as the leader in Pro Bowl voting — and all for good reason. Jackson was already a dynamic runner but has steadily improved his passing game with each week as he picks apart solid defenses.

Jackson is tied with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson for touchdown passes at 24. But by doing that on 53 fewer attempts, Jackson leads the league in TD% rate. He’s also tied for the third-highest passer rating and is just the third player in NFL history to post two perfect, 158.3 passer rating games in a single season. All of it combined makes Jackson the best quarterback in the NFL at this point.

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Joe Mixon, Bengals players on social were happy with move back to Andy Dalton

Joe Mixon and other Bengals players celebrated the move back to Andy Dalton.

The move back to quarterback Andy Dalton sure seems like it was a popular one with some of the notable players in the Cincinnati Bengals locker room.

New head coach Zac Taylor announced the move to Dalton over Ryan Finley at quarterback for Week 13.

Right after, players like Mixon were active on social:

Mixon, along with notables like Tyler Boyd, liked the team’s official announcement on Instagram:

And in the comments here, Mixon wasn’t shy about tagging Dalton personally and asking if he could be the one to catch his record-breaking touchdown pass:

This is all in good fun, of course. The entire locker room was clearly supportive of the rookie Finley and keeps fighting hard for Taylor.

But here, and assuredly in the quotes to follow in the coming days, the rallying around Dalton seems to be a testament to his leadership and personality.

Dalton gets the start against the Jets over the weekend in what looks like it could be one of his last games with the team.

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Lamar Jackson wins his 4th AFC Offensive Player of the Week award of 2019

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has won the weekly award four times this season, including three times in November.

At this point, the NFL might as well start engraving Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s name on the MVP trophy. For the fourth week this season, Jackson was named the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week. This time for his performance in a Week 12 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Going up against the Rams’ talented defense, Jackson once again picked apart a team en route to a lopsided, 45-6, victory. He completed 15-of-20 passes for 169 yards, five touchdown throws, no interceptions and a 139.4 passer rating. In addition, he added 95 rushing yards on eight carries including yet another insane run. And he did all this while playing little more than three quarters before getting pulled in favor of backup Robert Griffin III with the game already out of control.

It was a November to remember for Jackson, winning the award in three of the four weeks of the month. The only game he didn’t win — Week 11 against the Houston Texans — Jackson very well could have after throwing four touchdown passes and running for 79 yards during Baltimore’s 41-7 victory.

Jackson becomes just the 11th NFL player to win the Player of the Week honor at least four times in a single season. The last time it was done was 2015 when Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton won it five times before winning the MVP award that season.

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Michael Vick passes torch to Lamar Jackson as the fastest QB in “Madden”

With a bump in his speed rating, Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson is now the fastest quarterback in Madden history, surpassing Michael Vick

Throughout Lamar Jackson’s early career, he’s earned non-stop comparisons to Michael Vick. But in Jackson’s second season with the Baltimore Ravens, he’s quickly surpassed Vick in a number of ways, including virtually.

Vick was on the field for Monday night’s win over the Los Angeles Rams, as an official EA Sports ratings adjustor. After seeing Jackson put up 95 rushing yards on just eight carries, it was apparently enough to boost his overall speed rating to 96, beating the adjustor himself.

To help commemorate the occasion, Nike and EA Sports created a pair of cleats for Vick to ceremoniously pass the torch.

With five games remaining, Jackson needs just 164 rushing yards to top Vick’s single-season rushing record for quarterbacks. However, Jackson is on pace to put up 1,274 rushing yards, which would not just beat, but shatter, Vick’s 1,039-yard record.

At the same time, Jackson is currently proving his doubters wrong as a passer as well. He’s tied with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson for the most touchdown passes thrown this season, albeit on 53 fewer attempts for the league’s top TD% rate. Jackson is also tied for the third-highest passer rating thanks in part to his two perfect 158.3 passer rating games this season.

With his rushing prowess and efficient passing this season, Jackson is currently the frontrunner both for the MVP award and in Pro Bowl voting.

With Vick passing the torch to Jackson in multiple ways, it might be time to officially stop comparing the two. Jackson is a far more developed passer and dynamic rusher than even Vick’s best seasons, setting the tone for generations to come.

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Ravens put C Matt Skura on injured reserve; needs knee surgery

The worst fears were confirmed as the Baltimore Ravens center Matt Skura will need surgery on his knee, heading to injured reserve

The Baltimore Ravens continued their winning streak by beating the Los Angeles Rams in Week 12 but came out of the game a little weaker. After center Matt Skura was carted off the field with a knee injury, the worst fears came true with further testing. The Ravens announced they’ve placed Skura on injured reserve, ending his 2019 campaign early.

Skura had his leg rolled on during a pile-up on fourth down in the first quarter. The team initially announced it as a knee sprain, giving some hope Skura would be able to return at some point this season. However, once they got back to Baltimore and further testing could be done, it was determined surgery was needed.

It’s expected undrafted rookie Patrick Mekari will continue as Skura’s replacement after playing well for the remainder of the game against the Rams. Baltimore could also decide to move left guard Bradley Bozeman further inside to center and replace him with someone like James Hurst. However, that would mess with the continuity on the offensive line quite a bit — a unit that has started the same five guys at their respective positions for all 11 games this season.

This was Skura’s second season as Baltimore’s starting center. He’d really come into his how as the season wore on and was playing at a high level when he went down.

Skura posted a touching message to his Instagram thanking the fans and his teammates.

View this post on Instagram

I am honored to have shared the field with this group of men. We truly have something special going on here in Baltimore. These guys are more than teammates, they are my brothers. We fight and battle for each other every week, putting everything we have on the line. My season has ended, but there’s much more to be accomplished. We have a clear vision and aren’t wavering for anyone until the mission is complete. Thank you to all the family, coaches, friends and fans that have sent encouraging, thoughtful messages. It means more than many of you will ever know seeing the support I’ve received. I’m ready to attack this adversity and get back to the field stronger and better than ever! #RavensFlock #BigTruss

A post shared by Matt Skura (@mskura62) on

Titans jump to No. 11 in NFL power rankings

The Tennessee Titans have made quite the turnaround since switching quarterbacks in the middle of Week 6’s loss to the Denver Broncos.

The Tennessee Titans have made quite the turnaround since switching quarterbacks in the middle of Week 6’s loss to the Denver Broncos.

Starting signal-caller Ryan Tannehill has posted a 4-1 record at the helm for the team, and the Titans are now above .500 with an overall record of 6-5 and riding high on a two-game winning streak.

With their recent success, it’s not a surprise the team has jumped in the NFL power rankings of many networks.

The Titans are currently ranked at No. 11 on Touchdown Wire’s list — a jump from their No. 15 ranking last week.

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Here’s a look at what analyst Doug Farrar had to say about his placement of the Titans in this week’s edition.

“Another week, another decisive performance from Ryan Tannehill. Against the Jaguars in a 42-20 blowout win, Tannehill became the first Titans quarterback to throw two touchdown passes and run for two touchdowns in the same game since Steve McNair in 2001,” he wrote. “And after he completed 14 of 18 passes for 259 yards and those two touchdowns, Tannehill became the NFL’s passer rating leader (114.9) among quarterbacks who have started at least five games this season. At this point, it seems a fait accompli that the Titans will look to make him their franchise quarterback in 2020 and beyond. The Titans are 4-1 in Tannehill’s starts, which has put them firmly in the AFC South race, continuing one of the more remarkable rebound stories in the NFL in recent years.”

Farrar makes a fine point about Tannehill, who has been more than just efficient since taking Marcus Mariota’s place. Whether or not he truly is the long-term answer remains to be seen, though.

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The Titans are set to face yet another division opponent in the Indianapolis Colts at noon CT on Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Titans make roster moves, place LB Cameron Wake on Injured Reserve

The Tennessee Titans did a good deal of shuffling within the roster ahead of the team’s Sunday matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Tennessee Titans did a good deal of shuffling within the roster ahead of the team’s Sunday matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

The team placed linebacker Cameron Wake and defensive back Chris Milton to Injured Reserve.

Wake was injured on Sunday’s 42-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, while Milton will also remained sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Also on Tuesday, the Titans promoted cornerback Kareem Orr and outside linebacker Derick Roberson from the practice squad to the team’s 53-man roster.

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Both players were on the active roster for a short time period this year, but neither has seen action in a game.

Tennessee also signed defensive lineman Joey Ivie and defensive back Kenneth Durden to the practice squad on Tuesday.

The Titans will face the Colts at noon CT on Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Bengals are home underdogs against surging Jets

The Bengals are home underdogs against the Jets in Week 13.

The Cincinnati Bengals moving back to Andy Dalton under center hasn’t had a big impact on the odds for the team’s Week 13 game against the New York Jets.

While the odds are a little friendlier than last week’s 6.5-point line with the Pittsburgh Steelers in town, it’s notable the Bengals are 3.5-point underdogs against the Jets, according to BetMGM.

Cincinnati’s decision to go back to Dalton over rookie Ryan Finley hasn’t moved the needle much. Neither has a defense slowly showing signs of life and a running game that finally seems to be on the right track.

Rest assured the Jets play a role in this too. The Sam Darnold-led squad is on a three-game tear where the offense has put up 34 points in each triumph.

After some early-season oddities like Darnold falling ill, the Jets have somewhat corrected course to 4-7. It helps the league’s best run defense is only permitting 78.1 rushing yards per game, not to mention just 23.5 points.

The Bengals continue to grasp at anything to help avoid 0-16, but the odds here are understandable as one of New York’s biggest strengths happens to counter one of the only things the Cincinnati offense has done well lately.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Titans-Colts: Time, TV schedule and how to watch

Here is the broadcast information, as well as other important details to know about the upcoming game.

Coming off of a big 42-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans will look to stay hot as they face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts are favored in the matchup, and will look to bounce back after 20-17 loss to the Houston Texans.

Here is the broadcast information, as well as other important details to know about the upcoming game.

Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts: Sunday, Dec. 1 at 12:00 p.m. CT

TV channel: CBS

Broadcast team: Kevin Harlan, Rich Cannon, Jay Feely

Live stream: fuboTV ( try it free)

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium

Weather forecast: Showers, 44 degrees

Point spread: Colts, (-2.5)