Tag: NFL Week 17

Texans coach Bill O’Brien calls Will Fuller, Benardrick McKinney ‘day-to-day’

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says that Will Fuller and Benardrick McKinney are “day-to-day” with their respective injuries.

Injuries are piling up for the Houston Texans. However, according to their coach, Bill O’Brien, they may not be as bad as perceived.

On early Monday, the rumor mill flooded with information of wide receiver Will Fuller’s groin injury, which he suffered in Saturday’s 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that he will be out for three weeks.

O’Brien, on the other hand, does not use the same diction. The coach said on Monday, after the report, that the wide receiver is “day-to-day.”

“I think he’s making progress and I would say right now that’s just a day-to-day. I wouldn’t be able to answer what’s going to happen on Sunday but I think he’s definitely making progress.”

That does not mean that Fuller will play on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Considering his injury history it should be a guarantee that he doesn’t. He has either missed or not finished six games in 2019. The Texans will likely use Kenny Stills in his No. 2 role while he is out.

Whether or not that means Fuller will be available for the first round of the playoffs is unknown. On the season, he has 49 receptions for 670 yards and three touchdowns.

2018 Pro Bowl inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney suffered a concussion in Week 15’s win over the Tennessee Titans. He did not play in the contest against Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Similar to Fuller, McKinney is day-to-day, according to O’Brien.

“Both of those guys are making progress,” O’Brien said. “Relative to Sunday, I’d say both of those guys are in the day-to-day category.”

McKinney has tallied 101 combined tackles, four tackles for loss and three pass deflections. He wears the green dot on his helmet, indicating that he relays defensive play calls and adjustments to the defense.

While O’Brien calls the two starters day-to-day, officially injury reports will indicate whether or not that is true.

Report: Texans work out rookie QB Nick Fitzgerald

The Houston Texans worked out rookie quarterback Nick Fitzgerald on Monday, as well as others including CFL standout RB William Stanback.

Mondays are for workouts. In addition to working out running back Jeremy Cox, the Houston Texans hosted a slew of hopefuls, including quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, running back William Stanback and tight ends Matt Flanagan and Cole Herdman, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Fitzgerald, an undrafted rookie of Mississippi State, started for three years in the SEC, acting as Dak Prescott’s replacement. In 44 career games, he recorded 6,207 passing yards, 55 touchdowns and 30 interceptions on a 54.2% completion rate.

A dual-threat, Fitzgerald tallied 3,607 yards and 46 touchdowns on 601 rush attempts.

Stanback played his college football at Virginia Union and UCF before joining the Montreal Alouettes in 2018. In 2019, the CFL named him an All-Star. He recorded 1,048 yards and five touchdowns on the year.

Flanagan went undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2018. He last spent time with the Washington Redskins training camp before his release on Aug. 31. In 2018, he logged one reception for 14 yards in Washington.

Herdman went undrafted out of Purdue in 2019. He recorded 91 receptions for 1,010 yards and eight touchdowns in his four seasons playing in the Big 10.

Lamar Jackson, other key starters to not play vs. Steelers

The Baltimore Ravens are limiting their risks in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the AFC’s top seed already locked up by Baltimore, they have very little to play for next week and will use the time to rest instead. Coach John Harbaugh …

The Baltimore Ravens are limiting their risks in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the AFC’s top seed already locked up by Baltimore, they have very little to play for next week and will use the time to rest instead.

Coach John Harbaugh said quarterback Lamar Jackson, running back Mark Ingram, guard Marshal Yanda, safety Earl Thomas and defensive tackle Brandon William’s will be among those sitting in Week 17.

After seeing Ingram go down with a calf injury and both Jackson and Mark Andrews limping at one point against the Browns, it only proved the idea the Ravens should be cautious.

Baltimore looks like the best team in the league right now, in the midst of an 11-game winning streak and sitting at a league-best 13-2. To jeopardize one of their top players for a meaningless game would have been foolish.

Instead, the Ravens will give their key starters three weeks of rest with Week 17 off and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

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Texans coach Bill O’Brien mum on the return of J.J. Watt

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien would not comment on defensive end J.J. Watt’s return to the roster from a torn pectoral.

The rumor mill is running.

Before the Houston Texans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on Saturday, reports flew throughout the NFL landscape that their defensive end J.J. Watt is set to return off the injured reserve after tearing his pectoral in Week 8 against the Oakland Raiders.

Though reputable reports point to Watt returning for the playoffs, Texans coach Bill O’Brien is mum on the situations.

“I’m going to pass on that question,” O’Brien said on Monday. “I’m not up here to talk about J.J. We’ll get to that when we get to that, whether it’s this season, the offseason or whatever.”

On Dec. 19, Watt added fuel to the fire before rumors pointed heavily to his return, tweeting, “It’s not over though.”

Watt would aid a struggling Texans pass-rush. Despite playing half of the season, he ranks second on the team in quarterback pressures with 24, according to Pro Football Reference.

Pro Football Focus has Watt graded as their third-best edge defender, sitting at an 89.6. A three-time Defensive Player of the Year, he tallied four sacks, 20 quarterback hits and a forced fumble before suffering the torn pectoral. It’s fair to say that his impact on the Texans’ defense is great.

“I mean anytime you have any player,” O’Brien said. “I mean, obviously with J.J., everything that he’s done for our football team. Anytime you have a great player that’s been out and the rules allow you to bring them back, you know, it would help the team.”

If he were to make it back for the playoffs, the Texans’ reeling pass-rush would see a massive boost in star power. Often, since his injury, Houston’s defensive line has struggled to get consistent pressure outside of blitzes. Watt would change, forcing double teams, in turn, free rushers to get to whichever quarterback they play in the postseason.

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Report: Texans working out RB Jeremy Cox

On Monday, the Houston Texans worked out rookie undrafted running back Jeremy Cox according to reports.

The Houston Texans are tinkering with their running back room as they near the playoffs.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans are working out former Los Angeles Chargers running back Jeremy Cox on Monday.

Cox previously worked out for the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos. He went undrafted out of Old Dominion earlier in 2019.

Cox measures in at 6-foot, 230-pounds. He tested well at his Old Dominion pro day, posting a 4.42-second 40-yard-dash, a 39-inch vertical jump and 25 reps on the 225-pound bench press.

In his four seasons at Old Dominion, Cox tallied 451 rush attempts for 2,175 yards and 23 touchdowns. In 2016, as a sophomore, he recorded 13 touchdowns on the ground.

Cox also recorded 75 receptions for 532 yards and a touchdown while playing C-USA football.

The Texans currently have four running backs on their active roster in Carlos Hyde, Duke Johnson, Taiwan Jones and Buddy Howell. They also have undrafted rookie Karan Higdon on the practice squad.

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Ravens should rest Lamar Jackson, other key starters vs. Steelers

With some injury scares and nothing meaningful to play for in Week 17 against the Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens should be cautious

The Baltimore Ravens have an interesting predicament to face in Week 17. With their playoff seeding already decided — grabbing the top spot with their win in Week 16 — there’s little for the Ravens to play for against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though pride, sweeping a division rival, keeping them from the playoffs and going 14-2 with a 12-game winning streak are pretty amazing things; they’re not all that important in reality. At least not given what Baltimore’s ultimate goal is this season: the Super Bowl.

So with no weight put on Week 17 for the Ravens, why should they risk the guys that got them this far? I contend they absolutely shouldn’t and outside of some light practice to keep everyone warm and in the right mindset, many of Baltimore’s starters should be seen in sweatpants on the sideline instead of jerseys, pads and helmets come Sunday.

There are a few arguments to be made against sitting key players next week. Some would argue not playing a game in two weeks would make those players rusty when they finally get to play. There’s also an argument for doing everything possible to keep the Steelers from the postseason. But I don’t particularly buy either notion and see the potential harm far outweigh the potential benefits.

Every NFL team already gets a bye week and you better believe players look forward to the extra bit of rest in a long season. It allows those players that are a little banged up some extra time to recuperate and get closer to full health. And at this point in the season, all 53 players are nursing cuts, bumps, bruises and worse. Safety Earl Thomas already told ESPN’s Josina Anderson he’s not planning on playing this final game because his body needs the extra rest and that should be a good enough indication for coach John Harbaugh on the state of his players.

While practice is not real football, that should be enough to limit any major rust the players have by missing this final game. And a sluggish start to a game would be far preferred over potentially losing a key player like Lamar Jackson or Thomas in a game that ultimately didn’t matter. The Ravens already got a taste of what that scare feels like against the Browns, seeing Mark Ingram leave the game with a calf injury, both Jackson and Mark Andrews limping at one point, and both Jimmy Smith and Marcus Peters had to miss some time with ailments of their own. Why put them in harm’s way for a game where the only purpose for Baltimore is possibly keeping them in a better rhythm?

Though it would be nice to ensure Pittsburgh misses the postseason by starting everyone, it might not even be necessary given the state of the Steelers.

They can’t decide which quarterback they want to start, bouncing between Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph this season, benching both quarterbacks at points after poor showings. Pittsburgh also isn’t likely going to be very healthy for this game either, seeing Rudolph, running back James Connor and center Maurkice Pouncey all leave Week 16 with injuries. Their statuses for Week 17 are far from finalized but it’s doubtful they’ll be 100% by Sunday afternoon even if they do play.

To recap: The Ravens might not even need their starters to beat the Steelers, the game means nothing to Baltimore either way and they could really use the extra week of rest to get healthy . . . It seems like a no brainer to me.

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Ravens vs. Steelers in Week 17 flexed to 4:25 p.m.

The Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game in Week 17 has bigger playoff ramifications, forcing the game to be flexed to later.

The Baltimore Ravens might not have much to play for in Week 17 but the Pittsburgh Steelers sure do. Team that up with a classic AFC North rivalry and you have the makings of some good television. It seems the networks agree with that notion, flexing the Ravens vs. Steelers game from 1:00 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. ET, according to the team’s Twitter account.

Baltimore has already decided their seeding in the AFC playoff picture, locking up the top spot with their win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 16. But Pittsburgh losing to the New York Jets puts their playoff hopes in jeopardy. While the Ravens might want to rest many of their starters, they likely aren’t interested in seeing the Steelers make the cut for the postseason and a loss is a sure-fire way of making that a reality.

With the wild card spots far from finalized, any games with real postseason stakes tend to get bumped up to the later spots in order to maximize ratings. Regardless of if Baltimore ends up resting players or not, their Week 17 game will have playoff implications for the AFC and the final wild-card spot. And considering it took overtime to decide the winner of the first matchup this season back in Week 5, this should be a fun game to watch.

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Texans-Titans Week 17 rematch flexed to 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff

The Houston Texans versus the Tennessee Titans Week 17 season finale has been flexed to a 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff at NRG Stadium.

The NFL has announced they have moved the kickoff up for the Houston Texans versus Tennessee Titans rematch at NRG Stadium from a noon kickoff in Week 17 to a 3:25 p.m. start time.

https://twitter.com/KDPomp/status/1208929828034031617

The 3:25 p.m. kickoff will be the third late afternoon game of the year for the Texans, who have played a slew of noon games on Sunday this season.

The game will also be the first time since 2008 the Texans will have had two home games in the late afternoon time slot.

For the Titans, they are currently the No. 6 seed thanks to a loss from the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday to the New York Jets. Even though the Titans fell to the New Orleans Saints, Tennessee’s tiebreakers over the Steelers put them in the final wild-card spot.

A win and the Titans are assured a spot on the dance floor in January.

For the Texans, they can’t get out of wild-card weekend as the Baltimore Ravens are 13-2 and the New England Patriots are 12-3. To get to the No. 3 seed, which would mean the Texans might face the Titans, they would need to beat Tennessee in Week 17 along with the Kansas City Chiefs losing to the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football or to the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium.

Ravens officially clinch No. 1 seed in AFC

The Ravens handled their business, beating the Browns in Week 16 to clinch the No. 1 seed and make the playoffs go through Baltimore

The Baltimore Ravens continued their amazing season, beating the Cleveland Browns in Week 16 by a final score of 31-15. It marks Baltimore’s 11th consecutive win this season and pushes them to 13-2 with just one more game remaining.

But more importantly, the win means the Ravens have officially clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture — the first time in franchise history they’ve done that. The top seed gives Baltimore a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The question now becomes how the Ravens will handle Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The game means nothing to Baltimore outside of a chance to sweep Pittsburgh this season and potentially alter who gets into the playoffs. But with a few players going down with injuries today, it could be wise for the Ravens to rest some key starters in an effort to walk into the postseason as healthy as possible.

Regardless of how they handle next week, they now know the road to Super Bowl LIV goes through Baltimore for the first time.

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Report: Ravens to rest Lamar Jackson in Week 17 if they lock in playoff seeding early

If the Baltimore Ravens have nothing to play for in Week 17, they’ll sit quarterback Lamar Jackson against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Baltimore Ravens have an interesting question to answer in the final week of the season. If they have their playoff seeding already figured out, do they rest their starters against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17 or play postseason matchmaker by going all-in?

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Ravens could sit at least quarterback Lamar Jackson and start Robert Griffin III against the Steelers in that case.

That could be seen as a controversial decision since Pittsburgh could very well be fighting for their postseason lives in Week 17. While Baltimore beat the Steelers back in Week 5 to start their now nine-game winning streak, it took overtime to get the job done. The Steelers have been surging since that point themselves and could be quite the dangerous foe to allow into the playoffs.

On the other hand, there wouldn’t be much reason for Baltimore to put their key players in harm’s way unnecessarily either. The Ravens could potentially lock up the No. 1 seed this week and while the notion of kicking the Steelers from the postseason sounds great, it would be foolish for it to potentially come at the loss of an impact player as Baltimore eyes Super Bowl LIV.

Instead, the Ravens could use that time to rest key players in order to get as healthy as possible for the playoffs. If they have the first or second seed already by Week 17, they’ll be guaranteed a first-round bye. Meaning sitting players like Jackson would effectively give them two weeks of rest before taking on the winner of the wild card round. That extra rest could very well be the difference in Baltimore making Super Bowl LIV or not.

It’s a tough call for the Ravens’ coaching staff and one that will be criticized heavily if it doesn’t pan out while universally beloved if they make it to the Super Bowl. But sitting at 11-2 entering Week 15 and currently the best team in the league, it’s best to trust what coach John Harbaugh and his staff choose to do.