And the run defense was atrocious, living down to its No. 28 ranking by giving up 138 yards in the first half and 180 for the game.
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And when Denver looks at an offense with a former National Football League rushing champion at running back in DeMarco Murray, a Heisman Trophy victor as a No. 2 back in Derrick Henry, and two first-round draft picks at tackle in Taylor Lewan and rookie Jack Conklin, the Broncos see a physical challenge that has to be met.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Given a sixth chance this season to get over.500, the Tennessee Titans grabbed it with a 13-10 win Sunday over the Denver Broncos at Nissan Stadium.
After enduring losing seasons during his last two years at Kentucky, linebacker Avery Williamson came to the Tennessee Titans and promptly slogged through 2-14 and 3-13 seasons his first two years in the NFL.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter (15) pulls in a forty one yard touchdown reception in the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
It would be one thing to imply that the Denver Broncos abandoned the run, but they never even looked like they were all that interested in running the ball in the first place.
The Green Bay Packers made it three wins on the bounce as they beat the Seattle Seahawks 38-10, the Atlanta Falcons ran riot against the Los Angeles Rams in a 42-14 win and the New York Jets earned an 23-17 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Prez is a stellar 9-2 at WagerTalk with his Game of the Year releases and 9-1 (90%) in his last 10.
“From the outside looking in, a lot of people are going to say it doesn’t look good, ” Denver coach Gary Kubiak said.
Now the Broncos (8-5) are two back in the mighty AFC West with three games remaining – and in a crowded field for a wild-card berth. The Titans match up well with Denver as they have a solid quarterback and great running game but the Broncos are still the better team and getting points this late in the season is a steal. He finished the day with 334 yards and one touchdown. Obviously, there wasn’t much commitment to the run.
Offensively, the Titans are averaging 25.7 points and 382.2 total yards (240.8 in passing and 141.5 in rushing) per game.
So while Mariota and the Titans now own a winning record with just three weeks left in the regular season, they also own the Los Angeles Rams’ first-round pick in the 2017 draft.
“That’s how it is going to be sometimes”, Mariota told reporters after the game. The Broncos remain off schedule, off track and off the field, leaving the exhausted defense to fight endless battles.
In Siemian’s five starts over the Broncos’ last six games – he missed the game in Jacksonville with his left foot injury – the quarterback has thrown for 1,519 yards (303.8 yards per game) with eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
The Broncos also couldn’t stop the Titans and DeMarco Murray from running the ball all over them in the first half. Siemian hit tight end A.J. Derby for a first down that brought the offense within 20 yards of comfortable range for kicker Brandon McManus. Harris escaped injury, but Douglas did not elude wrath. Douglas defended himself, saying film study would’ve shown he cut blocks in run support.
Sleeping on the Titans would be a mistake, however, as QB Marcus Mariota has matured and grown with leaps and bounds into his leadership role for this team.
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The New England Patriots hold control of the tiebreaker in common opponents. While the New England Patriots (10-2) now have the best record in the AFC East and the entire conference, the Chiefs and Raiders (10-3) are still very much in the running for best the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
