Turron Davenport Close ESPN Covered Eagles for USA Today He covered the Ravens for the Baltimore Times He played college football at Cheyney University Rob Demowski Close ESPN Staff Writer Covered Packers for Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1997-2013 Two-time Wisconsin Athlete of the Year, as selected by the National Sports and Sportswriters Association
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Tennessee Titans handled business Thursday on the road against the Green Bay Packers in a 27-17 victory at Lambeau Field. Close ESPN
Covered Eagles for USA Today He covered the Ravens for the Baltimore Times He played college football at Cheyney University
Close ESPN Staff Writer
Covered Packers for Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1997-2013 Two-time Wisconsin Athlete of the Year, as selected by the National Sports and Sportswriters Association
Despite red-hot recruit Christian Watson throwing two touchdown passes from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Tennessee countered with two touchdown passes to tight end Austin Hooper. A big play put things away as Titans rookie receiver Treylon Burks caught a 51-yard pass that allowed the Titans to kill the clock.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans (7-3) took the game to the Packers. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill led the way with a season-best 22-of-27 passing game for 333 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to provide balance to the offense. Everything you need this week:• Full schedule » | Rating »• Depth Charts for Each Team »• Trades » | Injuries »• Football Power Index Rankings »More NFL coverage » Running back Derrick Henry rushed for 87 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown. He now has over 1,000 yards on the season. Henry also had 45 yards on two catches, and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper. He joined San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey as the only non-quarterback to have a passing and rushing touchdown in a game this season. Promising trend: The Titans’ receivers impacted the game for the second straight week. Rookie Treylon Burks got things started with a 43-yard reception that set up Tennessee’s first touchdown on the opening drive. Burks finished with seven receptions for 111 yards, both career highs. Robert Woods had six catches for 69 yards. QB Analysis: Tannehill has been extremely effective. Most of his big plays came from play-action, where the Packers focused on stopping Henry. He made perfect passes to Burks on the big play and Chigoziem Okonkwo for another, and threaded the needle between two defenders to Hooper for a 16-yard touchdown. Tannehill’s passes hit his receivers, giving them a chance to gain yards after the catch. It was his second straight game with at least 250 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Big play: The Packers cut the lead to 14-9 on a 39-yard run by Mason Crosby. Tannehill found Okonkwo for a 31-yard completion two plays after the kick return. Okonkwo was able to haul in Tannehill’s pass and stay in bounds as he fell to the ground after Packers’ Darnell Savage bit on the down route leaving him wide open. The play changed the field after Tennessee was pinned back at its own 12-yard line. Under the radar stat: Henry became the fifth player in NFL history to score 10 rushing touchdowns in five straight seasons, joining LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Shaun Alexander and Michael Turner. Next game: vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Nov. 27. Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Green Bay Packers
Good night Green Bay. There will be no encore. The good vibes around the Packers continued four days after they defeated the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday to end a five-game losing streak. With the Philadelphia Eagles next, this has the makings of another losing streak. At 4-7, the Packers may be one loss away from this season being a lost one. One of the few good things that came out of this game was the continued performance of rookie wide receiver Christian Watson, whose two touchdown catches put him at five over the last two games. Watson finished with 48 yards on four catches and the two scores. • Derrick Henry Fueled By High School Haters• When Will Packers QB Love Hit Him? • Oral history of the last time the Jets beat the Pats• A blemish on Geno Smith’s amazing season• Why either team could win the AFC East Impressive NextGen stat: Watson’s 14-yard touchdown run was the very definition of a tight-window throw. According to NFL NextGen Stats, Watson had 0.5 yards of separation from Titans fullback Kristian Fulton. That’s the smallest separation of any of Rodgers’ 55 touchdown passes over the last two seasons. Describe the game in two words: Defensive disasters. A failed coverage against rookie Okonkwo for 31 yards, missing a tackle on a 42-yard screen pass to Henry and then getting completely fooled on a jump pass from Henry to Hooper all happened on the same drive in the third quarter and led to a game-breaking touchdown. In some ways, injuries have been the story of defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s unit most of the season. Patrick McDermott/Getty Images Silver lining: The return of Randall Cobb made a difference — and not just as a receiver. Cobb had a team high in receptions (six) and yards (73), and also returned punts and recovered an Aaron Jones fumble that helped the Packers to their first touchdown of the game. Cobb had missed the last four games while on injured reserve with a sprained ankle. He was activated to the roster a few hours before kickoff. According to Radar Stats: Thursday marked the Packers’ fifth straight loss as a favorite, which is their longest losing streak as a favorite in a season. Next game: at Eagles, Nov. 27.
