Five standouts from Titans’ 35-32 win over Chiefs

Here’s a look at five of those names.

The Tennessee Titans (5-5) evened out their record and put on one of the most thrilling performances in Week 10 as they defeated the visiting Kansas City Chiefs, 35-32 in Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

It was a competitive game filled with big plays on both sides, and several players stood out.

Here’s a look at five of those names.

1. QB Ryan Tannehill.

Tannehill continues to be efficient with the reins of the offense in his hands, and was a crucial part of guiding the Titans to the win. He was 13-of-19 passing for 181 yards and two touchdowns. He also had three rushes for 37 yards.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Dre Greenlaw comes up with clutch interception off Russell Wilson

The 49ers rookie linebacker came up with the biggest play of his young career in overtime Monday night.

It doesn’t get more clutch than this.

Rookie linebacker Dre Greenlaw got the start at Will linebacker for the injured Kwon Alexander. Seattle was driving, in the red zone looking to end Monday’s game on the first possession in overtime.

Wilson tried to float a pass over Greenlaw for a touchdown, but the rookie had other ideas.

T

AFC playoff picture: Jaguars exit Week 10 with No. 10 seed

The Jags came out of their bye week in the hunt for the wild-card, but their loss to the Texans really hurt.

Although we’re over a week removed from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ loss to the Houston Texans, fans still are well aware of how costly it was. At the time, the victory would’ve put the Jags in second place in the AFC South with a 5-4 record and right in the heat of the battle for a wildcard seed when considering Week 10’s games. Instead, they will have to settle for the No. 10 seed with a 4-5 record.

As for the rest of the AFC, the standings for this week are as follows:

1. New England Patriots (8-1)
2. Baltimore Ravens (7-2)
3. Houston Texans (6-3)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (6-4)
5. Buffalo Bills (6-3)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)

7. Oakland Raiders (5-4)
8. Indianapolis Colts (5-4)
9. Tennessee Titans (5-5)
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-5)

Obviously, a wild-card spot is what the Jags will have to settle for because they have a lot of ground to make up to catch the AFC South leading Texans, who are 6-3 and have two victories over them. That said, they definitely need to win Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, who ironically are ahead of them in the playoff race and are in the same division. A win would put the Jags in second in the division with a 5-5 record and would help them leapfrog the Titans (due to Jacksonville’s Week 3 win), who also have a 5-5 record.

The key game to watch aside from the Jags’ during Week 11 will take place on Thursday night between the sixth seeded Pittsburgh Steelers and their divisional foes: the Cleveland Browns. The team’s typically play each other tough and a loss would knock the Steelers down to 5-5. Meanwhile, the fifth seed Buffalo Bills will take on the Miami Dolphins, while the seventh seed Oakland Raiders will take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Lastly, the ninth seeded Titans will be on their bye week.

Gregg Williams’ Jets defense provides a good test for Dwayne Haskins

A tough matchup against the Jets could be critical for Dwayne Haskins.

[jwplayer rzKgNnfu-ThvAeFxT]

Just how far along is Dwayne Haskins?

It’s a good question to ask now that the Washington Redskins are going all in around the first-round pick as starter.

And interim coach Bill Callahan kept the perspective fair, per Craig Hoffman of 106.7 The Fan: “He needs the experience. Let’s be frank. We’re at a place we don’t want to be record wise, so let’s give him the opportunity.”

Haskins’ extended shot at developmental time hits a potential big brick wall with the New York Jets and the well-known coordinator Gregg Williams.

Williams’ defense just helped the Jets pick up a win over the Giants while holding Saquon Barkley to one yard on 13 carries.

Callahan is zeroed in on Williams:

Call it a great way to establish a benchmark for Haskins — the Jets won’t hesitate to send constant pressure his way.

While Haskins’ gig as starter might seem secure, now the staff wants to see consistent improvement. Williams and the Jets will provide the test.

[vertical-gallery id=24890]

Pelicans vs. Rockets: The Good, the Bad and the Ball

The New Orleans Pelicans did their best, but they couldn’t slow down James Harden and the Houston Rockets without Brandon Ingram.

The New Orleans Pelicans still haven’t won two games in a row this season after losing to the Houston Rockets 122-116 Monday at the Smoothie King Center. Here was the good, the bad and the Ball from the contest.

The Good: The wings

With both Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram — the Pelicans’ leading scorer — sidelined for Monday night’s matchup against the Rockets, New Orleans needed a balanced scoring effort from their team and they got just that, particularly from their shooting guards.

JJ Redick and Josh Hart scored a combined 43 points, with Redick leading the way for the Pelicans with 24 points, including seven 3-pointers. Hart, who started at small forward with Ingram out, also got hot from behind the arc, draining four 3-pointers in six tries.

Unfortunately, the starting shooting guard on the Rockets is pretty good, too. In 38:16, James Harden scored a game-high 39 points on 52% shooting from the field despite going 3-11 from behind the arc. He also dished out nine assists, which was two short of Jrue Holiday’s game-high 11 assists.

The Pelicans put up a good fight for most of the game, but it’s hard to compete against a team with two superstars when you have none and injuries to key players. Giving up 122 points didn’t help their cause, either.

The Bad: The defense

The Pelicans have had the same problem all season and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I’m, of course, talking about their defense.

New Orleans let Houston score two points above their season average (120.1) on Monday despite holding them to just 16 fast break points. Their season average going into Monday night’s game was 20.4 points.

Guarding Harden and Westbrook is no easy task, especially with Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram out, but it’s something 28 other teams have to manage and they didn’t.

The Ball

Lonzo Ball sat out of Monday’s game with a adductor strain. He’ll be re-evaluated on Tuesday.

WATCH: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo responds to backlash over White House visit

One week after the Washington Nationals visited the White House as honorees following their 2019 World Series Championship, team General Manager Mike Rizzo responded Monday to the backlash over the visit.

One week after the Washington Nationals visited the White House as honorees following their 2019 World Series Championship, team General Manager Mike Rizzo responded Monday to the backlash over the visit.

“We weren’t trying to make a political statement, whatsoever,’’ general manager Mike Rizzo told USA TODAY Sports in a wide-ranging conversation about the club’s crucial offseason. “We just thought that the honor and the tradition of champions being invited to the White House and the office of the president, and especially us being the hometown team in their backyard two miles away from the capital, is something that should be done.

“Obviously, each player could make their own decision whether they wanted to attend, but most of the players were excited by it.”

Most memorably, catcher Kurt Suzuki put on a “Make America Great Again,” hat when he took the podium and president Donald Trump hugged him from behind in response.

Rizzo said that the team was “damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” in regard to accepting the invitation from the president following the Nats’ first world championship, adding that he is a registered Independent and that he votes in every election for who he wants.

“The office of the president is something that we respect,” Rizzo said. ‘We felt we should be there. We also felt we should do it with everyone still in town there, or not do it at all.”

WATCH: Redskins rookie QB Dwayne Haskins to run offense for remainder of season

Rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins is going to run the Redskins offense for the remainder of the season, interim head coach Bill Callahan announced Monday.

Rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins is going to run the Redskins offense for the remainder of the season, interim head coach Bill Callahan announced Monday.

The Ohio State product made his first NFL start in Sunday’s 24-9 loss to the Bills (6-3) with season starter Case Keenum in concussion protocol. In the debut start for the Redskins (1-8), Haskins completed 68.2 percent of pass attempts (15 of 22) for 144 yards without throwing an interception. He was sacked four times for a loss of 28 total yards.

Haskins also came off the bench this season versus the Giants (2-8) and after Keenum was injured versus the Vikings (7-3). The 22-year-old was the Redskins’ 2019 first-round draft pick and Callahan said Monday that he knew he would make a long-term decision, but wanted to have a conversation with the QB first.

The Redskins host the Jets (2-7) Sunday.

Does Minkah Fitzpatrick have a case for DPOY?

Minkah Fitzpatrick has had an interesting welcome into the NFL, but it doesn’t seem to have stopped him from playing his best football yet. After being drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, it had looked …

Minkah Fitzpatrick has had an interesting welcome into the NFL, but it doesn’t seem to have stopped him from playing his best football yet.

After being drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, it had looked like Fitzpatrick was poised to be the lead man in the team’s secondary.

Instead, he was bounced around three different positions, and was unable to solidify himself as a large contributor because of this.

When the Alabama product requested a trade early on in the 2019 regular season, the Dolphins granted his wish – it also helped that they were looking to build up draft stock in preparation for the 2020 NFL Draft.

A trade was made with Pittsburgh after Week 2, and thus, the breakout year had begun.

In his seven weeks as a Steeler, it’s been hard to not find Fitzpatrick’s name in a headline.

He’s made flashy plays and crucial plays in the black and yellow, almost as if he wanted to show the Dolphins’ front office ‘what could have been.’

So far in 2019, Fitzpatrick, with both teams, has accumulated five interceptions, two defensive touchdowns, eight pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and 45 total tackles.

This stat line is not only impressive for a second-year player that struggled with his original team, but for any defensive back in the pros.

If he is able to continue making big plays that positively affect his team, and keep his name in the headlines – for positive, on-the-field, reasons – he could enter the 2020 season as the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

The Trent Williams situation gets another comment from Bill Callahan

The interim coach had some interesting comments about the star left tackle.

[jwplayer rzKgNnfu-ThvAeFxT]

By now, much has been said about the ongoing saga between the Washington Redskins and Trent Williams.

In the latest stretch of spat between the two parties, the Redskins decided to put the left tackle on the NFI list and opted not to pay him.

With the bye week over, interim coach Bill Callahan got back on the podium in front of the media and understandably had to tackle these questions.

According to JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, Callahan said “I have nothing but the utmost respect for Trent.” He also noted he was compassionate of the situation but otherwise didn’t want to comment.

And at this point, Callahan is just trying to steer a largely sinking ship on an interim status. It’s expected he’ll comment on his relationship with Williams as a person but leave the business side out of the discussion.

[vertical-gallery id=24890]

Michigan State lands 2020 3-Star WR Montorie Foster Jr.

MSU has landed a unique wide receiver prospect for their 2020 recruiting class.

We reported last week that Michigan State had offered a scholarship to 3-star wideout Montorie Foster Jr. Well, he was in town this weekend, and despite taking in a pretty terrible loss by the Spartans to Illinois he still committed play football in East Lansing in 2020.

Foster is a very intriguing, unique prospect in that he stopped playing football in middle school, but decided to return to the sport just before this season and has already become a 3-star in that short period of time.

Michigan State may be getting a steal here who slipped by other teams due to his lack of experience. If the Spartans can get him polished up he could be a huge weapon for Noah Kim down the road.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]