Connect with us

NFL

Matchups, prediction for Week 5 AFC South showdown

Published

on


The Jacksonville Jaguars host the Tennessee Titans Sunday in a divisional matchup of teams dealing with some drama.

What a week and a half it’s been for Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer. He first blew a 2-touchdown lead to the Bengals on national TV, then stayed in Ohio to party with friends instead of flying home with his team — with Meyer’s boozy (and flirtatious) exploits captured by cell phones. He’s since apologized multiple times and has been reprimanded by his boss. Compared to that, Mike Vrabel has it made. He’s dealing with more normal football stuff — like injuries to key players and an underachieving roster. The Titans have ruled six players, including wide receiver Julio Jones, and listed another five as questionable.

Tennessee Titans offense vs. Jacksonville Jaguars defense

How does a team run 100 plays (including penalties) … not turn the ball over … and lose … to the JETS? It’s one of the great mysteries of Week 4. The short answer is, the Titans were bad in the red zone, with just 2 touchdowns on five trips. Going 5 of 19 on third downs and allowing 7 sacks didn’t help, either.

The Jaguars were equally bad at situational football in their Week 4 loss to the Bengals. Their second half was a disaster, surrendering 17 first downs, 313 yards, and allowing Cincinnati to convert all four third-down attempts after the break. The Bengals scored on all four of their second-half possessions to turn a 14-point halftime deficit into a 3-point win.

Ryan Tannehill vs. Jaguars defense

Is Ryan Tannehill finally reverting to the mean? After two comfortable, largely controlled seasons with the Titans, through four weeks, Tannehill has looked more like the quarterback he was in Miami than the one he became in Nashville.

He’s on pace for his worst season as a Titan, with his completion percentage (63.6%), touchdown rate (3.3%), yards per attempt (7.0), and passer rating (86.9) all pedestrian, to put it kindly.

Perhaps he’ll get right against a Jaguars outfit that has allowed at least 23 points in all four games to start the season. Joe Burrow plain lit Jacksonville up last Thursday, going for 348 yards and 2 touchdowns on 25 of 32 passing. The Jaguars rank 30th in passing yards allowed (312.3 per game), 31st in pass defense efficiency (9.4 yards per pass), and their interception rate (0.75%) is seventh-worst in football.

Advantage: Ryan Tannehill

Titans weapons vs. Jaguars defensive backs

If the Titans were at full strength, this would be a no-brainer. An offense with A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, and Derrick Henry would have the edge against most defenses. But this Titans team is not at full strength. Far from.

Jones and Brown both have hamstring injuries that kept them out of the Jets game. That meant Tannehill had to throw to the likes of Jeremy McNichols (12 targets) and Josh Reynolds (9) in Week 4. It’s no surprise he threw 19 incompletions. Brown is expected to play Sunday. Jones will not.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, have just 1 interception in four games, the third-fewest in football. They’ve given up the third-most yards (418.5 per game) and the fourth-most per play (6.4). Shaquill Griffin leads the team with a whopping 3 pass breakups. Griffin and Rayshawn Jenkins both give up roughly 9 yards per target. Andrew Wingard (42.2 passer rating against) is the lone bright spot in an undermanned secondary.

Advantage: Titans

Titans offensive line vs. Jaguars defensive front

What in the world is wrong with the Titans’ pass protection? A year after ranking 10th in sack rate (1.4%), they now are 30th, allowing one once every 8.9 pass attempts. That’s brutal. And the most puzzling part? The personnel hasn’t really changed. The players they have are simply playing worse.

That begins with left tackle Taylor Lewan, who’s allowed at least 3 sacks in four games. Plus he’s dealing with a toe injury that has his availibility for Sunday in question. The silver lining? The Titans can still run block. Henry is far and away the NFL’s rushing leader (127.5 per game), although his average is down nearly a full yard per carry from last year.

Still, it’ll be strength vs. strength Sunday. The one thing the Jaguars do well is stop the run. Only four teams allow fewer yards per carry than Jacksonville (3.5). It’s a big reason the Jaguars are in the top half of the league in goal-to-go defense (70%).

That’s the good news. The bad? They cannot rush the passer. The Jaguars’ sack rate is 3.8% — the second-lowest in the NFL. Josh Allen has been a disappointment so far, with 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, and 3 QB hits.

Advantage: Push

Jacksonville Jaguars offense vs. Tennessee Titans defense

The record doesn’t reflect it, but the Jaguars are trending in the right direction. Their 21 first downs against the Bengals were a season-high; they scored touchdowns on three of four red-zone trips and converted half of their third-down tries.

Unfortunately, they’re digging out of a deep hole. The Jaguars still rank 31st in points (18.5 per game) and are in the bottom half of the league in yards (321.5), efficiency (5.4), third downs (33.3%), and time of possession (25:29).

They’ll face a Titans defense that has surrendered 27+ points in three of their first four games. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson showed NFL promise for the first time late in New York’s Week 4 win over Tennessee, lighting up the Titans for 232 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14-of-22 after halftime. That should have been no big surprise, though, considering Tennessee allows 6.1 yards per play, seventh-most in football.

Trevor Lawrence vs. Titans defense

We may have seen the future last Thursday night. Lawrence had by far his best game as a pro, setting season highs in completion percentage (70.8%), yards per attempt (8.5), rushing yards (36), and passer rating (96.5). But he still has a long way to go in terms of accuracy, with an ugly bad throw (26.5%) and on-target (67.6%) rates as a pro.

The Titans will be determined not to let a rookie quarterback expose them for a second straight week. But will it matter? Tennessee has been awful at pass defense through four weeks, allowing opposing quarterbacks to average 8 yards per pass attempt. The team’s interception rate (1.5%) isn’t particularly good either.

Advantage: Trevor Lawrence

Jaguars weapons vs. Titans defensive backs

The season-ending DJ Chark ankle injury is a body blow to a Jaguars offense that was already limited, particularly with Travis Etienne out his entire rookie year with a hurt foot. That essentially leaves Jacksonville with Laviska Shenault (19 catches for 194 yards in 2021) and a whole lot of wishful thinking. Tavon Austin could provide some relief as he works his way into game shape.

Titans cornerback Janoris Jenkins turns 33 this month and looks every bit of it. Opposing quarterbacks have a 103.2 passer rating against him. Kristian Fulton has been boom or bust. He leads the Titans with 5 pass breakups and has allowed just 46.2% of passes thrown his way to be completed. But he’s also given up 19.1 yards per completion and 2 touchdowns. Tennessee had high hopes for safety Amani Hooker, but he’s on injured reserve with a foot injury. Former All-Pro safety Kevin Byard has been excellent as usual.

Advantage: Push

Jaguars offensive line vs. Titans front seven

A big reason for the Jaguars’ improved play on offense in Week 4 was the excellent play of their offensive line. Lawrence was sacked just once, and the Jaguars exposed a supposed stout Bengals defense for 139 rushing yards and 4.6 per carry.

But this was no one-time blip. The Jaguars, led by left tackle Cam Robinson, are sixth in both yards per carry (4.9) and sack rate (4.2%). They’re also 12th in converting goal-to-go situations into touchdowns (80%).

Pass rush was a huge issue for the Titans in 2020, and they spent big money to solve it, bringing in Bud Dupree via free agency. Dupree has missed the past two games with a knee injury but should play Sunday. He should add pop to a defense that has 16 tackles for loss in four games.

Outside linebacker Harold Landry leads the team in that category with 4. He also has 2.5 sacks. The Titans’ run defense ranks eighth in yards (91.5 per game) and ninth in efficiency (3.9 per carry).

Advantage: Jaguars

Betting line and game prediction

The Jaguars are 4.5-point home underdogs, and that seems a bit fat to our eyes. The Titans are 27th in Football Outsiders’ DVOA — only four spots ahead of the Jaguars. If the Tennessee offense were at full strength, we could see laying those points. But while Tennessee will likely win, we see it closer than most.

Prediction: Titans 23, Jaguars 21



Source link

NFL

Taylor Swift Is Shown Chugging a Beer on the Jumbotron at Super Bowl 58

Published

on

By


Global superstar Taylor Swift made it to the big game to support her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce. In the second quarter, it was evident that she was having a good time at the Super Bowl after taking a 12-hour flight from Tokyo the night prior.

Taylor Swift Seen Chugging Beer at Super Bowl

Swift’s attendance has been highly anticipated, as many fans questioned whether she would be able to make it to the big game since she had been in Japan until Saturday for her Eras Tour.

Sure enough, she made it to the Super Bowl and was seen making a grand entrance alongside Blake Lively and Ice Spice.

Swift made it back to the States with plenty of time to make it to Allegiant Stadium to support Kelce. After a leg of her Eras Tour, where she performed several nights in Japan, the singer appeared to let loose.

In a box full of friends, Swift was shown chugging a beer with Ashley Avignone. She was shown on the jumbotron and slammed her cup down after she finished her beer.

There was a mix of cheers and boos as Swift was shown on the big screen, and a long pass to Mecole Hardman was the only highlight of the first half for Swift and her friends. The 49ers led the Chiefs, 10-0, late in the second quarter.

On social media, Swift garnered plenty of support from NFL fans.

If you’re hating on her you can kick rocks man she’s the best,” one user posted on X

“The one thing I learned this season is that she is actually fun,” another said. 

“Booing Taylor Swift chugging a beer is so soft. She’s just one of us now and I respect it ,” another posted. 

At the time of the beer chugging, Kelce, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, has had one catch for a single yard. It came on the first possession, which ended up being a three-and-out. The Kansas City Chiefs hadn’t done much otherwise.

They did have a deep pass play to Hardman, which put them in the red zone, but Isiah Pacheco fumbled on the very next play — one that Kelce was surprisingly on the sideline for.

Swift and Kelce have garnered much media attention as their romance has taken off throughout this NFL season.

Swift was able to support her boyfriend at many of his games throughout the final stretch of the season, as her Eras Tour was on a break. But starting on Feb. 7, she went back on the road.

MORE: NFL World Reacts to Unbelievable Super Bowl Trick Play

Despite performing in Tokyo the night before the Super Bowl, she was able to make it in time to support her boyfriend due to the time difference and is having a good time doing so.

As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, the 2024 NFL Draft is on the horizon. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!

Listen to the PFN Fantasy Podcast

Listen to the PFN Fantasy Podcast! Click the embedded player below to listen, or you can find the PFN Fantasy Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.  Be sure to subscribe and leave us a five-star review! Rather watch instead? Check out the PFN Fantasy Podcast on our Fantasy YouTube channel.





Source link

Continue Reading

NFL

What Happened to the 49ers Linebacker?

Published

on

By


The San Francisco 49ers sustained a massive blow during the second quarter of Super Bowl 58, as linebacker Dre Greenlaw left the game on a medical cart.

CBS Sports confirmed that the veteran Greenlaw suffered an Achilles tear, ruling him out for the rest of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

What Happened to Dre Greenlaw?

The outside linebacker, who had already been battling past injuries to his hamstrings and calves, left with what appeared to be a leg injury.

And somehow, his left leg looked like it buckled as he tried to trot onto the field with the Niners’ defense.

Greenlaw clutched his left leg in agony before being helped off the field.

CBS Sports sideline reporter Evan Washburn reported that the outside linebacker left with what was ruled as a lower leg injury. He was later determined to sustain an Achilles injury.

Greenlaw was declared out for the rest of the game.

Greenlaw Carted Off in Passenger Seat

Even more noticeable was where Greenlaw sat on the cart.

He ended up leaving not in the back of the medical vehicle but ended up riding shotgun with his leg injury.

One would think that with an injury like an Achilles ailment, medical officials would try to make the player as comfortable as possible before they leave. It wasn’t the case here.

MORE: San Francisco 49ers Depth Chart

Regardless, Greenlaw was replaced by Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles for the rest of the first half. Greenlaw became the most significant injury of the game.

As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, the 2024 NFL Draft is on the horizon. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!

Listen to the PFN Fantasy Podcast

Listen to the PFN Fantasy Podcast! Click the embedded player below to listen, or you can find the PFN Fantasy Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.  Be sure to subscribe and leave us a five-star review! Rather watch instead? Check out the PFN Fantasy Podcast on our Fantasy YouTube channel.





Source link

Continue Reading

NFL

NFL World Reacts to Epic Super Bowl Intro From CBS

Published

on

By


Super Bowl 58 is here and it’s going to be exciting. The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are facing off in the final game of 2023.

CBS is broadcasting the game and the opening was nothing short of amazing. How is the NFL world reacting to the electric Super Bowl-opening video?

Epic CBS Super Bowl Intro Garners Reaction From NFL World

The video, which spanned four minutes and 19 seconds, featured players from both teams talking about the big game and what it means to them. It also featured their families talking about their journeys to this point.

“Amazing intro! Reminds me of my dad! Bravo on the intro!,” one NFL fan said on X (formerly known as Twitter)

Additionally, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” played in the background, giving it a near-movie feel. “This was incredible.,” another person said on X. “And so, the @49ers and @Chiefs face that final curtain,” CBS Sports said.

The 49ers finished the regular season as the top seed in the NFC with a 12-5 record. After their first-round bye, they defeated both the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to earn their trip to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. Both of their victories came in comeback fashion, including an NFC Championship-record 17-point comeback.

The Chiefs, on the other hand, had a more uphill battle. Entering the playoffs as the AFC’s third seed, they finished the regular season with an 11-6 record. In the playoffs, they defeated the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and Baltimore Ravens to punch their ticket.

Super Bowl 58 is a re-match of Super Bowl 54 when the Chiefs defeated the 49ers 31-24. The win was the first in Patrick Mahomes career, as he also won Super Bowl MVP. Four years later, the Chiefs have made three more and won another. For the 49ers, this is their first trip back to the big game since.

The game kicked off at 6:30 p.m. ET with the 49ers receiving the opening kick. In addition to being broadcast on CBS, the game is also being streamed on Paramount+.

As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, the 2024 NFL Draft is on the horizon. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!

Listen to the PFN Fantasy Podcast

Listen to the PFN Fantasy Podcast! Click the embedded player below to listen, or you can find the PFN Fantasy Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.  Be sure to subscribe and leave us a five-star review! Rather watch instead? Check out the PFN Fantasy Podcast on our Fantasy YouTube channel.





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending