Tannehill Could Leave Packers’ Defense Scrambling
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Tennessee Titans stars Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill could spell double trouble for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
Henry is leading the NFL in rushing and has a chance to become the eighth player in NFL history with 2,000 rushing yards. Tannehill has an impressive 31 touchdowns vs. five interceptions and a five-game streak of 100-plus passer ratings.
Not to be overlooked is Tannehill’s running ability. Tannehill, who had two rushing touchdowns last week, isn’t Kyler Murray but he is a legit threat. His career average is 4.8 yards per carry.
Tannehill’s running ability is noteworthy because quarterback scrambles have hurt the Packers of late. Carolina’s Teddy Bridgewater had four carries for 26 yards last week. Two weeks earlier against Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts had five carries for 29 yards and Carson Wentz had three carries for 18 yards. The week before that, Chicago’s Mitchell Trubisky had an 11-yard run.
“Definitely an athletic quarterback that throws the ball extremely well,” defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery said. “Like last weekend, we gave up a couple rush lanes in my room. Guys have to be more cautious, especially when you get in the red zone, of their rush lanes. You can’t let a guy like this, one, have a lot of time to throw it because he can make all the throws and, two, you better be in those windows. If he tucks that ball, he’s athletic – he’s a former receiver at A&M – so you know he’s athletic and he’s shown that on film.”
Gambling Angle
At BetMGM, the Packers are 3-point favorites. They’ve received about 65 percent of the money against the spread. In a matchup between the No. 1 scoring team (Tennessee) and the No. 3 scoring team (Green Bay), the over/under is merely 53.5 points on a wintry night.
In the big individual matchup, Titans running back Derrick Henry vs. Green Bay’s highly questioned run defense, Henry’s over/under at PointsBet is 105.5 rushing yards. The price on Henry rushing for at least 175 yards is +500.
(Note: Just before kickoff, the line on Henry had moved to 113.5 yards and the 175-yard bet had shortened to +450.)
How about Henry vs. Aaron Jones in a head-to-head battle? Henry is -371 and Jones is +255.
Packers Milestone Watch
- Jones entered the week ranked fourth in rushing with 968 yards. That has him 32 yards short of posting the 25th 1,000-yard rushing season in franchise history. Jones finished with 1,084 yards last season. Eddie Lacy, Ryan Grant, Ahman Green, Dorsey Levens, John Brockington and Jim Taylor are the Packers with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
“That’s a great benchmark for any back to hit,” Jones said. “It’s the NFL and that’s a hard thing to do. So, kudos to everybody that reaches it. I don’t see it as something that comes easy. It’s something that you’ve got to work for – not only you but your blocking unit, game plan and all of that. It all starts with our guys up front, though.”
- Aaron Rodgers has thrown for 3,828 yards. That has him on the verge of his ninth season of 4,000 yards. That’s the sixth-most in NFL history.
- Davante Adams has 98 catches and 14 touchdowns. Adams, Cris Carter, Herman Moore and Randy Moss are the only players since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 with 95-plus catches and 14-plus touchdowns in the first 14 games of the season.
Streakers
- Packers tight end Robert Tonyan has scored a touchdown in five consecutive games. Only four tight ends in NFL history have a six-game touchdown streak: Antonio Gates (nine games) and Tony Gonzalez, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski (six apieces).
- Henry has nine consecutive 100-yard games on the road. Hall of Famer Barry Sanders holds the record with a 10-game streak in 1996 and 1997.
- Rodgers, who has 40 touchdowns and four interceptions on the season, has 17 touchdown passes vs. zero interceptions in his last seven Sunday night games.
- Tennessee has generated 30-plus points and 420-plus yards in five consecutive games. The Titans are one of five teams in NFL history with such a streak. No team has accomplished that in six consecutive games.
Extra Point
Entering the week, the Titans had scored an NFL-high 436 points. The Chiefs were next with 435 and the Packers were on their heels with 434. The Packers and Titans have scored a league-high 55 touchdowns. This will be the first game in NFL history between two teams averaging 30-plus points in Week 16 or later.
Countdown To Kickoff
Five Days: Five Keys to the Game
Four Days; Four Views from Inside the Titans
Three Days: Three Reasons to Worry
Final Countdown: Pettine vs. Top Running Backs
Linsley Returns (and More Roster Moves)
Elgton Jenkins: His Best Position
