Tag: AFC South

Top 5 offensive lines of Week 11: NFC South revivals, top dawgs, and a historical O-line TD celebration

An exceptional celebration topped the list in Week 11—maybe for all Pigskin Eternity—and a few others also didn’t disappoint.

What started with the Helmet Doink Heard ‘Round the Internet and ended with a repetitive masterclass in how much higher Estadio Azteca is than Mile High, Week 11 in the NFL provided a continuous flux of double-take moments.

While the Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph Storm was eventually downgraded to a social-media depression, the Arizona Cardinals nearly made it a two-game losing streak for the San Francisco 49ers. The Denver Broncos brought back reflections of Bills-Oilers 1993. Ezekiel Elliott introduced his best Dak Prescott-pregame impression. Tom Brady was happy with the win over the Eagles—but not, like, happy-happy. And, you guys, what exactly is pass interference?

Cut through the confusion, the entertainment and debacles, and there were also some top-level offensive line performances. A near “Yeah Billy Bob, we got the six” moment, with an exceptional celebration topped the list in Week 11—maybe for all Pigskin Eternity—and a few others also didn’t disappoint.

Here were the top 5 from Week 11.

5. Atlanta Falcons

(Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

What in the world has gotten into the 2019 Atlanta Falcons?! Suddenly, they are trendy. A real matchup nightmare. The Dirty Birds of Yesteryear. (Gillette is probably scrambling to re-release those Matt Ryan ads.) And yes, they are certainly this week’s Oliver Stone Award winner—Any Given Sunday.

They lined up across the ball from the Carolina Panthers in Week 11 and, for the second consecutive week, pummeled an NFC South opponent. The Falcons’ air attack was effective. Going up against a pass defense ranked in the top half of the league, Matt Ryan finishing the day 21-of-31 for 311 and one touchdown. The O-line held off a sturdy edge assault from Mario Addison and Bruce Irvin, limiting the pressure and allowing Ryan time to find his targets. Although the run game wasn’t anything monumental, the 30th-ranked rushing attack did just enough to keep things somewhat balanced.

Alex Mack, Jamon Brown, James Carpenter, Jake Matthews, and Kaleb McGary: Your performance—considering it was the first not under a roof this season—was truly “Great Outdoors.”

5th :: 4th :: 3rd :: 2nd :: 1st

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Texans coach Bill O’Brien appreciates short week after 41-7 loss to the Ravens

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien is thankful for the short week for his club after they took it on the chin at the Baltimore Ravens Sunday.

The Houston Texans took a whipping at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens 41-7 Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium.

The loss sent the Texans to 6-4 on the season and blew a chance to get a tiebreaker over the No. 2 seed in the AFC, which would have gone a long way towards securing the club’s first ever first-round bye.

With a 34-point loss on the road, coach Bill O’Brien is thankful for the mental challenges that come in preparing for the rematch with the Indianapolis Colts on such a short week.

“I actually think that’s probably a good thing,” O’Brien told reporters Monday. “I think that these guys, we have a resilient locker room.”

The Texans regrouped at 2:00 p.m. and had a squad meeting with a walkthrough scheduled for Monday evening. They also had other meetings relating to special teams, offense, and defense throughout the night.

“These guys will be ready,” O’Brien said. “They’ll be very focused. They’re a great group to coach. They realize that in the NFL it’s a week-to-week business and we’ve got to do a much better job this week, obviously.”

The Texans will have to be more focused than they were in Week 11. A loss to the Colts would ensure Houston suffered a series sweep for the first time since 2017 and virtually delivered Indianapolis the AFC South. With a game in hand against the Texans already, the head-to-head win technically gives the Colts first place in the AFC South ahead of the matchup. A loss would drop Houston to 6-5 on the year and elevate the Colts to 7-4. Even if the Texans were able to tie Indianapolis, the series sweep would keep Indianapolis a game ahead and pit Houston in a race for one of the conference’s two wild-card spots.

“On a short week, I know that these guys will be very focused,” said O’Brien.

What day is it as the Texans prepare for the Colts in Week 12?

The Houston Texans are coming off of a short week as they gear up for a rematch with the Indianapolis Colts. What day of preparation are they on?

One of the great aspects of the NFL is the weekly routine the entire 16-game slate affords. Sundays are game days, Mondays are recaps of what happened, Wednesdays through Fridays are practice days — rinse and repeat.

It’s a big crunch when a club goes from a Sunday game to a Thursday night matchup, and that is right where the Houston Texans are as they gear up for a rematch with the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium.

According to coach Bill O’Brien, Monday is “Thursday” relative to the preparations for the Colts as he explained to reporters how the team is preparing for Indianapolis after a 41-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium.

“When you get back here last night you’ve already watched the tape on the plane,” O’Brien said. “You have an idea of how the game was played and what we need to do to correct some things and what may carry over to this game.

“So, you get right to work on that because there’s an urgency, there’s a game Thursday night. Basically this is Thursday of a game week. We’ve got to get going.”

The Texans and Colts are each 6-4 on the season, tied for first place in the AFC South, with Indianapolis having won the Week 7 matchup 30-23 to achieve the first part of a head-to-head tiebreaker.

O’Brien appreciates the quick transition from one NFL week to the next, especially one where his club risked being shutout for the fourth time ever in franchise history, playoffs included.

Said O’Brien: “I think that’s a good thing. I think that we came in here last night as coaches, we worked at it, we got a little bit of sleep and we got back up early and we have a pretty good idea of what we want to do. Now we have to have good meetings and communicate it to the players and good jog-throughs and get the players to know precisely what we want to do and build that and be ready to go on Thursday night.”

Kickoff for Texans-Colts is at 7:20 p.m. on FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime, and Twitch.

The good, the bad and the ugly of the Jaguars’ 33-13 loss to the Colts

Fans feel as though there wasn’t a lot of good to take from the Jags loss to the Colts but at least Foles looked to be 100% from his injury.

Time is slowly ticking away on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ season.

The Jaguars concluded Week 11 with a brutal 33-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. With this loss, the Jags sit at 4-6 on the year and will move further down the standings in the AFC. This all but eradicates their chances of making the playoffs.

Sunday’s game was also a huge deal because it marked Nick Foles’ return from the collarbone injury he sustained Week 1.

How would Foles measure up to a tough division rival in the Colts? Here are the good, the bad and the ugly moments from the Jaguars loss vs. the Colts:

1. The good: Foles’ shoulder looks well and healthy

Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

While the final result on the scoreboard wasn’t particularly desirable, Foles showed that he is perfectly healthy and appeared to show no setbacks from his injured shoulder. Foles threw 47 passes and had 33 completions, proving that he can handle a high volume of passes. He even showed off some great intermediate accuracy on his two touchdown throws to wide receiver DJ Chark Jr.

There were many questions as to rather or not Foles would be able to return to form after his injury and it seems for now that everything looks fine health-wise for him. It’s an encouraging sign for a quarterback that the Jaguars will be committed to for three more years.

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Instant analysis: Jags get embarrassed by Colts despite Nick Foles’ return

The Jags entered Sunday’s must-win game needing to show some life and did the exact opposite.

The Jacksonville Jaguars came into Week 11’s game against the Indianapolis Colts looking to capitalize on a must-win situation but that did not happen. In fact, it wasn’t even a close game as the Jags fell flat with the final score being 33-13.

The Jags were coming off their bye week almost at full strength with just one player on their injury report, while the Colts were without their top receiver, T.Y. Hilton, however, that did not matter. The Colts offense still found success on the ground as the Jags’ defense had another terrible outing against the run. By the time the clock hit 0:00 the Colts had garnered 264 rushing yards mostly thanks to Jonathan Williams, who had 116 yards and Marlon Mack, who exited the game early with an injury but had 109 yards and a touchdown. Simply put, Week 11 marked yet another poor showing from Todd Wash, which should leave the status for his job potentially in the air.

The Jags’ offense wasn’t much better, however, and that was despite the return of Nick Foles from his Week 1 collarbone injury. The veteran had a forgettable day despite the plethora of passing attempts he made (33-of-47) and passing for just under 300 yards and a pick. Of course, those stats were padded due to the Jags being behind for most of the game. Additionally, he had some poorly thrown balls throughout the game, but it’s worth noting he’s just returning from a two-month hiatus. Still, it was not a performance fans will be happy about — and rightfully so.

The Jags also had some questionable offensive play-calling by John DeFilippo. Similar to their previous loss to the Houston Texans in London, the team didn’t give Leonard Fournette a lot of carries early and it resulted in him finishing the game with just eight total carries (for 23 rushing yards) on the whole day. With him being one of the league’s top rushers many fans will question his usage, which is puzzling, to say the least.

In all probability, the Jags have played themselves out of postseason contention although the Houston Texans lost handily Week 11 as well. Still, they will have to get over this loss quickly with a trip to the Tennessee Titans coming up. Kickoff for that game will be at 4:05 EST on Nov. 24 via CBS.

Watch: Quenton Nelson’s EPIC Keg-Stand Touchdown Celebration

former Notre Dame stud offensive guard Quenton Nelson and the rest of the offensive line performed one of the best group touchdown celebrations to date

The Indianapolis Colts are in a dogfight for a playoff spot, battling with the Houston Texans for the AFC South lead.

In an important divisional game for the Colts on Sunday, they started slow but began to pull away from the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second half.

After the Colts scored to go up 16-7 in the third quarter, former Notre Dame stud offensive guard Quenton Nelson and the rest of the offensive line performed one of the best group touchdown celebrations to date.

Keg stands for the win.

Please never change, Q.

Jags remain at No. 20 spot of USA TODAY power rankings after Week 10’s games

After their bye week and a crazy Week 10 chain of events for the rest of the league, the Jacksonville Jaguars remained at the No. 20 spot of USA TODAY’s power rankings. However, they have the opportunity to begin trending upwards Week 11 as Nick …

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After their bye week and a crazy Week 10 chain of events for the rest of the league, the Jacksonville Jaguars remained at the No. 20 spot of USA TODAY’s power rankings. However, they have the opportunity to begin trending upwards Week 11 as Nick Foles will be returning to the lineup as the Jags take on their longtime rivals in the Indianapolis Colts.

20. Jaguars (20): Fun fact — over course of his career, Nick Foles’ passer rating improves each successive month … so November/December exactly when you want him.

The Jags’ last game took place against another divisional rival in the Houston Texans, who handily beat the Jags Week 9 and caused them to drop to their current spot. Meanwhile, the Texans jumped to the No. 5 spot as a result of the win in last week’s power rankings but dropped to the No. 8 this week despite being on their bye week.

As for the Indianapolis Colts, they fell from the No. 11 spot to the No. 14 spot as a result to the Miami Dolphins upsetting them Sunday. Lastly, the Tennessee Titans jumped to the No. 18 spot (from No. 24) after upsetting a team, who most viewed as Super Bowl contenders in the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. That allowed them to leapfrog the Jags and make them the lowest ranked AFC South team of the power rankings.

Jags have the league’s eighth easiest remaining schedule

The Jags may have an uphill battle to endure to make the postseason, but at least their schedule is favorable in the process.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars may currently sit at 4-5 with the No. 10 seed in the AFC playoff picture but it appears the hardest part of their schedule is over with. In fact, as of Week 11, they have the league’s eighth easiest schedule according to the NFL Media Research Department as their opponents combine for a record of 29-36 (.446 percent).

This is great news when considering how the Jags have struggled against opponents with records of .500 or better. As of Week 11, the Jags are 1-5 against opponents who fit the bill. Of course, that one win was against the Tennessee Titans Week 3. Heading forward they will have to face four opponents with records of .500 or better in the Indianapolis Colts (twice), Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, and Tampa Bay Bucs are the teams they face with losing records.

Another plus is that the Jags will have veteran quarterback Nick Foles back to help them navigate through the next two months. Given his résumé during his run with the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s possible he can string some wins together and get the team into the postseason, but only time will tell.

As for the rest of the AFC South, the Titans came in with the third toughest schedule (against a .611 win percentage), while the Houston Texans have the ninth toughest schedule (against a .554 win percentage) and the Colts came in with the 13th (against a .531 win percentage).

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.

AFC South recap: Texans watch Colts lose, Titans win

While the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars took a bye week, the Indianapolis Colts lost and the Tennessee Titans won in Week 10.

The AFC South was not at full-power in Week 10. Half of their division took a bye week, with the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars recovering after a Texans win in London. Nevertheless, the division continued to bring drama by way of the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans.

With the Titans picking up a win and the Colts losing, the official AFC South standings heading into Week 11 have the Texans on-top. Here are the standings:

AFC SOUTH
1 Houston Texans 6-3
2 Indianapolis Colts 5-4
3 Tennessee Titans 5-5
4 Jacksonville Jaguars 4-5

After the bye, Houston will face the 7-2 Ravens in Baltimore. The Jaguars will host the Colts.

Ryan Tannehill leads the Titans to a comeback win over the Kansas City Chiefs

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

His stats aren’t gaudy, his game isn’t flashy, but Ryan Tannehill is starting to establish himself as “the guy” in Nashville. In his third game as the starter, the former Texas A&M Aggie had his first signature win as the starting quarterback of the Tennessee Titans.

In a back and forth affair, Tennessee’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs — with Patrick Mahomes— got wild in the fourth quarter. Up by five with less than two minutes left, the Chiefs attempted a field goal. It wound up mismanaged, giving the Titans ideal field position to string together a win.

Tannehill drove his Titans down the field on a four-play, 61-yard drive that took 58 seconds off the clock. The last score came on a decisive 23-yard touchdown pass to slot receiver Adam Humphries. That score decided that Tennessee still has a fighting chance in the division.

The Titans will enjoy a bye week before facing the Jaguars in Week 12.

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