Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Some big games are on tap in NFL Week 3 and the big names got those assignments.
Time to get ready to travel if you are an NFL announcer. The assignments have been posted and you know where you are going. Have to hope you get a good one. For a map of what games will be shown in what parts of the country, click here.
Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (analyst), Erin Andrews (reporter), Kristina Pink (reporter)
Stephen Gostkowski was about be out of a job and a goat and then he kicked a game-winning field goal for the Titans.
What could be more 2020 than kicking a game-winning field goal and likely losing your job?
That’s the situation Tennessee Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski finds himself in after Monday’s 16-14 victory over the Broncos in Denver.
Gostkowski, a great kicker for the New England Patriots until injured last year, missed his first three field-goal attempts and an extra point before hitting the game-winner from 25 yards with 17 seconds to go.
Gostkowski missed three kicks early last season against Miami, two PATs and a field goal in a 43-0 victory. However, this was a national-TV calamity until the end.
A cool moment before the game-winning kick saw his former Patriot teammate, DB Malcolm Butler, come over and give the shaken kicker a pat and some kind words.
Kicking woes are not new for Tennessee, which managed to hit a total of eight field goals in 2019 while using roster five kickers at different times of the season.
What was bizarre on the Denver sidelines was Coach Vic Fangio failing to use his timeouts to preserve clock for his offense if Tennessee scored. And, then in a total stunner, he failed to call one to try and freeze Gostkowski.
Gostkowski has New England heritage like Titans coach Mike Vrabel. Not sure those ties that bind will be enough to keep him employed in Tennessee after the struggles.
The Broncos’ Josey Jewell tore the helmet straight off the head of Tennessee’s Jeremy McNichols.
The Titans’ Jeremy McNichols had the ball and then he had no protection for his cranium.
Denver’s Josey Jewell attempted to tackle the first-year Titan RB and grabbed his facemask, ripping his helmet off in the process Monday night in the second half at Mile High.
There are face mask penalties and there are FACE MASK penalties. pic.twitter.com/f40Zc4lZhA
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 15, 2020
While the play should have been dead once the helmet came off, McNichols continued running. His mouthpiece actually remained in his mouth despite the helmet going in the other direction.
Jewell’s handiwork cost Denver 15 yards on the play for grabbing the facemask, a personal foul.
Oh man, @JeremyMcNichols looks fearless after helmet comes off … @Titans pic.twitter.com/rllOhUzPBd
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) September 15, 2020
Derrick Henry of the Titans made a powerful statement with his suit Monday.
Derrick Henry made quite the political statement Sunday arriving at the airport in Denver as the Tennessee Titans got ready for their game against the Broncos on Monday night.
The Heisman winner from Alabama, who led the NFL in rushing in 2019, has a suit that spells out the names of Blacks killed by police in America.
Henry’s suit with honored the victims of racial injustice, including Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, and others.
It is stunning, to say the least. Quite the powerful statement.
It takes all of us. @KingHenry_2 pic.twitter.com/mJqneXE5zL
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) September 14, 2020
Mike Vrabel and Jadeveon Clowney are ready to reunited in Tennessee.
The biggest free agent out on the market appears to have found a home. Defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney is reported to be heading to Mike Vrabel and the Tennessee Titans.
Jadeveon Clowney is expected to sign with the Tennessee Titans sources tell ESPN. He rejoins Mike Vrabel who was on the Texans defensive staff for Clowney’s first 3 years in the league in Houston. The Saints, the other main suitor, made a very strong case. This was a close one.
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) September 5, 2020
There is a connection between Vrabel and Clowney, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2014. He spent time with Vrabel as a Houston Texan. Clowney moved on from Houston to Seattle and now heads to Tennessee, the third team in his career.
More on Jadeveon Clowney expecting to sign with the Tennessee Titans, via @diannaESPN.https://t.co/I1yhVMGmNl
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 5, 2020
The seventh-year veteran had his best season in 2017, when he played in Vrabel’s scheme for the Texans. Clowney posted career highs in sacks (9.5), tackles for a loss (21) and QB hits (21) that season.
In addition to Vrabel, Clowney played for Titans outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen in Houston. Titans defensive backs coach Anthony Midget held the same title on the Texans staff that coached Clowney.
Clowney was named to three consecutive Pro Bowls from 2016-18 with the Texans. Overall, he has 236 tackles, 32 sacks, 9 forced fumbles, 7 recoveries, 51 tackles for loss, an interception and 4 defensive touchdowns.
The NFL is selling team helmets with a camouflage design.
Check out some of the cool Camo Alternate helmets the NFL popped out Wednesday.
The video shows how the helmets come together — rapidly — and some of them have really cool looks.
The 2020 @RiddellSports #Camo Alternates are meant to be seen.
Pick up your favorite team’s helmet from @OfficialNFLShop: https://t.co/GuB5w83LQK pic.twitter.com/ZMnQX1f24s
— NFL (@NFL) August 26, 2020
If you like them enough to buy one, click here. It will set you back anywhere from $54.99-$429.99 per helmet. And they are selling fast, per the site.
The Titans and Derrick Henry beat the deadline on a contract extension, per a report.
The deadline was closing in Wednesday on players NFL teams hit with the franchise tag. One, the league’s leading rusher in 2019, Derrick Henry, will have a new deal with the Tennesse Titans, per an NFL.com report.
Ian Rapoport tweeted Henry and the Titans are going to reach a long-term deal before the 4 p.m. ET deadline.
The #Titans and RB Derrick Henry are reaching a long-term deal in advance of the deadline, sources say. The winner of the NFL’s rushing title gets paid.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 15, 2020
Henry was slated to make about $10.3M in 2020 under the tag.
TD Wire’s Mark Schofield predicted earlier in the day an agreement would be reached.
Henry was a first-round pick by Tennessee after winning the Heisman at Alabama. He rushed 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns, both league-leading in 2019.
Predicting win-loss records for all 32 NFL teams in 2020
Free agency has had its run. The NFL Draft is over. A first take on how teams will finish the upcoming season.
The NFL Draft is over and most free-agent moves have taken place. What does the 2020 season look like at an early glance for all 32 teams?
There were growing pains in Year One for Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury. They will continue in Year Two with more progress. Being in the NFC West doesn’t make improvement easy.
Many decisions have been made about fifth-year options for the 2017 NFL Draft first-rounder. Some remain with the deadline May 4.
Busy time for NFL teams and the players they chose in the first round of the 2017 draft. Rookie contracts for NFL draftees are four years long. Contracts for players picked in the first round, however, carry a team option for a fifth year and if a team wishes to use it, the option must be exercised by May 4.
The Saints picked up the option on offensive lineman Ryan Ramczyk in March. Ramczyk, taken from Wisconsin, has earned recognition on the All-Pro list in both 2018 (on the second team) and 2019 (on the first team).
