Tennessee (3-8) at Washington (7-5)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Commanders by 6 1/2
Against the spread: Titans 2-9; Commanders 7-5
Series record: Tennessee leads 8-6.
Last meeting: Titans beat the Commanders 21-17 on Oct. 9, 2022, at Washington.
Last week: Titans beat the Texans 32-27; Commanders lost to the Cowboys 34-26.
Titans offense: overall (25), rush (16), pass (30), scoring (28)
Titans defense: overall (2), rush (8), pass (1), scoring (27)
Commanders offense: overall (6), rush (5), pass (14), scoring (5)
Commanders defense: overall (16), rush (29), pass (4), scoring (16)
Turnover differential: Titans minus-12; Commanders plus-3
Titans player
to watch
QB Will Levis. The second-year quarterback has been among the NFL's best in his three games back from an injury. He has completed 67.9% of his passes for 748 yards, which is seventh best in that span. He's thrown five TD passes with two interceptions and a 107.2 passer rating. The one issue the Titans and Levis have to clean up remains sacks. He's been taken down 20 times since his return.
Commanders player to watch
LB Frankie Luvu has been perhaps first-year general manager Adam Peters' best free agent signing, and he along with six-time All-Pro Bobby Wagner have helped Washington's defense grow into a consistent, reliable unit. Luvu has 79 tackles, seven sacks and is a factor in pass coverage, as well.
Key matchup
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels vs. the Titans secondary. Daniels is still the favorite to be the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, but opponents have started to figure out something about him and Kliff Kingsbury's offense. Tennessee picked off C.J. Stroud last week in winning on the road at Houston, and Daniels after a charmed start in the NFL has been a little off on some throws lately. The Titans are a more formidable test for him than the Cowboys.
Key injuries
Titans: S Amani Hooker should be back from the illness that caused him to be a late scratch last week. ... RB Tyjae Spears is working through concussion protocol after sitting out last week. ... CB Chidobe Awuzie's window to return from injured reserve opened Wednesday, possibly making him available.
Commanders: RB Austin Ekeler and starting RT Andrew Wylie are not expected to play after getting concussions against Dallas. ... RB Brian Robinson Jr.'s status is uncertain after spraining an ankle early in that game. He has already missed games this season with knee and hamstring injuries, and the Commanders are 1-2 without him. ... CB Marshon Lattimore has not played since joining the team at the trade deadline from New Orleans on Nov. 4 because of a hamstring injury. ... K Austin Seibert was placed on injured reserve after missing a field goal attempt and two extra points, including one with 21 seconds left that would have tied it, against Dallas. Coach Dan Quinn said Seibert reported a groin injury Monday after the 28-year-old missed the previous two games with a right hip injury. Zane Gonzalez is expected to get promoted from the practice squad to take Seibert's place.
Series notes
The Titans have won the past two meetings and are 4-4 on the road in this series. Washington is trying to beat Tennessee for the first time since 2014. ... First-year Tennessee coach Brian Callahan's father, Bill, spent five years on staff with Washington, including an 11-game stint as the interim replacement in 2019 after Jay Gruden was fired. Bill is now on his son's staff as offensive line coach. ... The Commanders are on a three-game skid after losing to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Dallas. ... These franchises first met in 1971, a year after the AFL-NFL merger. Washington won that game over the then-Houston Oilers.
Stats and stuff
The Titans are one loss from clinching a third consecutive losing season. ... They enter December allowing just 276.4 yards and just 169.6 yards passing a game. … Titans RB Tony Pollard ran for 119 yards last week, his second 100-yard rushing game this season. He has 800 yards rushing this season. … The Titans had four sacks at Houston. … K Nick Folk has 399 field goals. His next field goal will tie Mason Crosby for 14th in NFL history and make him the third active kicker with 400, joining Justin Tucker and Matt Prater. … Rookie CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr. had his first career interception last week. … LB Kenneth Murray Jr. had his first interception for the Titans. … WR Calvin Ridley has 4,992 yards receiving for his career. He needs 8 yards and one TD catch to become the 21st active player with 5,000 yards receiving and 40 TD catches for his career. … WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has six TD catches in the past seven games, including one each in the past two. ... The Commanders finished with 411 yards against the Cowboys, but they had just 169 and nine points before falling behind 20-9 with just over five minutes left. ... Daniels has completed just under 61% of his passes over the past five games since returning from a rib injury. He completed 75% before that. He had a rushing touchdown in the loss to Dallas, his first since Week 4. ... WR Terry McLaurin has tied his career high for TD catches with seven. ... Zach Ertz is 100 yards receiving away from becoming the ninth eight end in league history to 8,000. ... Wagner leads the Commanders with 99 tackles and recovered the fumble by Cowboys RB Rico Dowdle that was forced by rookie DT Johnny Newton last week.
Fantasy tip
The injuries to Robinson and Ekeler appear to put Jeremy McNichols in line to be the top running back. McNichols played in 30 games over two seasons with the Titans. Don't forget about Chris Rodriguez Jr., who was signed off the practice squad Tuesday and could get the lion's share of the carries. Rodriguez was already the Commanders' leading rusher once, running for 52 yards in their Nov. 3 win at the New York Giants.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
The Associated Press
