Titans fans were hoping the Panthers (9-0) would overlook Tennessee, so they could steal a win.
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A fumble by McCluster with 1:00 left in the game, gave the Panthers the pigskin for the ability to kneel down. And this time around, the team was firing on almost all cylinders.
The Panthers came out fast on offense, scoring a touchdown on their first two drives.
Take Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers for example.
“They trust in each other and they are playing mistake-free football right now”, said right tackle Byron Bell, who moved from the Panthers to the Titans in the offseason. But the linemen did a better job protecting Newton in the third quarter and were key in the Panthers rushing for 100 yards for the 20th consecutive game. Green Bay scored a touchdown with 32 seconds left in the game, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn’t connect on the attempt to tie the game with a 2-point conversion pass as Bynes pressured him. They finished with 119 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
What the Panthers can do to neutralize that is to stop the rushing attack early. It was a complete game by the team, minus a few sacks on the offensive line to extend the streak even further. I expect Funchess’s reps to continue to escalate as the season goes on.
“They made a coaching change, they won last week, so their expectations are up”, Rivera said.
B Receivers: Tight end Greg Olsen pulled down eight catches – including a one-hander for the second week in a row – for 80 yards, and backup tight end Ed Dickson had his first receiving touchdown this year.
Stafford threw for 242 yards for the league-worst Lions.
How about that defense? We feel extremely comfortable with the Panthers at 4.5 as they are clearly a more talented team on both sides of the ball. “It’s just possess-the-football, wear-you-down-eventually”. Impressive Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota was moving the ball effectively in the first half, but was kept off the scoreboard in the second.
Kurt Coleman continues to shine as one of the patented under the radar “Gettleman Bargain Bin” signings.
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If Cox, McCourty and Wreh-Wilson are unable to play next week, the Titans secondary will be led by Coty Sensabaugh, a four year veteran with limited starting experience; Cody Riggs, the rookie from Notre Dame; and B.W. Webb, who the Titans signed from the practice squad in week eight. His Bills’ defense managed to stop the Jets inside the Buffalo 10 in the final minutes and that was enough to hold off the late push by the Jets. Not only did the receivers fail to aid Mariota, but the running game once again came up short, totaling just 64 yards on 21 carries, and Mariota got 24 of those yards himself. The Titans were held to 19 yards and one first down in the third quarter, and they never regained the momentum they showed early in the game when Mariota was effective as a runner and passer. Getting Andrew Norwell back should help.
