Live Updates: Packers vs. Titans on ‘Thursday Night Football’
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will battle the Tennessee Titans at frosty Lambeau Field on Thursday night. Follow along all night for updates.
Final Score
Titans 27, Packers 17
Click here for our game story, complete with game ball and questionable call.
Fourth Quarter
Titans 27, Packers 17 (4:54 remaining)
Preston Smith’s third-down sack has kept the Packers’ hopes alive but the heartbeat isn’t strong.
Titans 27, Packers 17 (5:21 remaining)
The 77,000-plus fans have had enough. Starting at the Titans’ 43, the Packers went four-and-out. The offense was booed off the field. On third-and-3, Allen Lazard was wide open on a crossing route. The ball was a bit high but Lazard didn’t jump and the ball went right through his fingers. On fourth-and-3, Aaron Jones appeared open but Rodgers went to Lazard. The ball landed in the middle of nowhere.
Titans 27, Packers 17 (6:59 remaining)
The defense got the stop it needed, with Krys Barnes delivering a hard hit to scrambling quarterback Ryan Tannehill on third-and-2. So, Aaron Rodgers will get another shot. He’ll get great field position, as punt returner Keisean Nixon fielded the ball on the hop and cut it back to his left for a 24-yard return to the Titans’ 44.
Titans 27, Packers 17 (10:44 remaining)
Offensive holding on right tackle Yosh Nijman killed this drive before it started. Green Bay’s hopes are on life support.
Titans 27, Packers 17 (10:44 remaining)
Aaron Rodgers has compared Rasul Douglas to Charles Woodson. That level of play hasn’t shown up often this season but it did in an incredible interception. Douglas was at the line of scrimmage, then hit reverse at about 100 mph. Ryan Tannehill certainly didn’t think Douglas was going to be involved in the action on his pass to Treylon Burks. The Packers will take over at their 34, running out of time and season.
Titans 27, Packers 17 (13:45 remaining)
On the first play of the drive, Rodgers had Christian Watson deep but Titans corner Kristian Fulton grabbed Watson’s left arm and the ball fell incomplete. On third-and-7 and with the pocket collapsing, Rodgers threw one in the vicinity of Robert Tonyan. It was incomplete. And Green Bay’s flailing defense will have to get a stop.
Titans 27, Packers 17 (14:55 remaining)
Joe Barry’s defense continues to get trounced. The Titans cruised right down the field for a big touchdown. On the second play, two Titans receivers crossed paths, Green Bay’s secondary all covered one of them and Robert Woods was wide open for a gain of 32 to the 28. Two plays later, Tannehill hit tight end Austin Hooper between a pair of defenders for a 16-yard touchdown.
Third Quarter
Titans 20, Packers 17 (2:04 remaining)
On a must-score drive, the Packers scored a touchdown. On second-and-goal from the 8, Aaron Rodgers faked handoffs to AJ Dillon and Randall Cobb. That freed up Christian Watson, who was streaking through the end zone for the touchdown. On the two-point play, Rodgers gave Aaron Jones a jet-sweep-style flip. Tight end Robert Tonyan had the key block and celebrated it as if he had scored. Watson has five touchdowns the last two games, a first for a Packers rookie since Max McGee in 1954. Key plays early in the drive included a 28-yard pass to Cobb and a 23-yarder to Allen Lazard on a third-and-3.
Titans 20, Packers 9 (5:17 remaining)
A disastrous drive by Green Bay’s defense. On second-and-7 from the 12, the Packers got great pressure on Ryan Tannehill but nobody bothered to cover tight end Chig Okonkwo for a gain of 31. It appeared Darnell Savage dropped the coverage. One play later, the Titans ran an expert-level screen that left powerhouse running back Derrick Henry streaking through the secondary for a gain of 42 to the 9. On second-and-goal from the 3, Henry got the handoff, stopped before the line and threw a touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper. The extra point hit the upright, keeping it an 11-point game.
Titans 14, Packers 9 (8:25 remaining)
Mason Crosby kicked a 39-yard field goal to make it a one-score game. A couple of slick plays – a blind throw to Randall Cobb and a fake to AJ Dillon and pitch to Aaron Jones – got the Packers moving, and Allen Lazard made amends for a drop by converting on third-and-10. The drive stalled, though. Jones didn’t have a prayer on first down and whiffed on blitzing linebacker David Long on third-and-11.
Halftime
Titans 14, Packers 6
So much for last week’s thrill of victory. Green Bay trotted to the locker room hearing the boobirds. Tennessee leads at halftime because it’s dominated the first 30 minutes. The Titans lead 171-96 in yards, 38-20 in plays and 19:25 to 10:35 in time of possession. Derrick Henry has 18 touches (and one pass) and Ryan Tannehill has thrown 18 passes, almost matching Green Bay’s play count. The Packers will get the ball to start the second half.
Second Quarter
Titans 14, Packers 6 (32 seconds remaining)
The Titans have extended their lead just before halftime as Derrick Henry bulled into the end zone on first-and-goal at the 4. Preston Smith and Darnell Savage were blocked and Henry had it easy. The story of the game is Tennessee’s ball control. Henry has had 18 touches (and one pass) while the Packers have run 17 plays. On third-and-7, Ryan Tannehill hit Robert Woods for 9; on third-and-3, Tannehill found Treylon Burks for 6.
Titans 7, Packers 6 (3:21 remaining)
The Packers needed a first down to at least give the defense a breather. Instead, AJ Dillon went nowhere on the first two plays and Aaron Rodgers was called for intentional grounding just beyond the goal line. Pat O’Donnell did well to get off the punt, but the Titans will take over at Green Bay’s 41.
Titans 7, Packers 6 (4:54 remaining)
The Titans drove 18 plays and consumed 10 minutes and got nothing to show for it. On fourth-and-1-foot from the 4, the ball, predictably, went to stud running back. Rookie Quay Walker knifed into the backfield and made the play, with support from fellow linebacker Krys Barnes and outside linebacker Preston Smith.
Early in the drive, coach Matt LaFleur won a challenge on a third-and-10 pass to Austin Hooper, turning a first down into fourth-and-1 at midfield. The Titans kept the offense on the field. With Ryan Tannehill barking out signals over the roar of the crowd, he acted confused and gestured toward the sideline. The direct snap went to Henry, who leapt over the pile for the first down. Henry went on to convert a third-and-1, a third-and-1 and a third-and-2. But he couldn’t convert on fourth-and-1.
First Quarter
Titans 7, Packers 6 (0:00 remaining)
The Packers drove 78 yards in 11 plays. On third-and-9, Aaron Rodgers caught the Titans with 12 defenders on the field and threw a jump ball to rookie Christian Watson. With a 5-inch advantage over cornerback Kristian Fulton, Watson looked like a high school senior playing basketball with a fifth-grader by making a leaping grab. Coach Mike Vrable appeared to be asking for a timeout but didn’t get it. The snap was low on the extra point and the kick was blocked by Denico Autry.
Two big plays set it up. First, Rodgers threw a gem to Randall Cobb on a corner route for a gain of 24. Two plays later, Aaron Jones got drilled by safety Joshua Kalu. The ball squirted loose but Cobb saved the day with the recovery.
Titans 7, Packers 0 (7:01 remaining)
On second-and-7, linebacker Quay Walker blitzed and joined Preston Smith in sacking Ryan Tannehill. With the release of Amari Rodgers, veteran receiver Randall Cobb – fresh off injured reserve – returned the punt 5 yards.
Titans 7, Packers 0 (9:02 remaining)
The Packers went three-and-out, so so much for answering the Titans. Getting his first crack at a powerhouse run defense, Aaron Jones got stuffed for minus-1 on first down. On third-and-5, Aaron Rodgers’ pass into the flat to tight end Robert Tonyan was off-target; a completion might not have moved the chains, anyway, against the NFL’s best third-down defense. An excellent open-field tackle by Rudy Ford prevented a big return on the punt.
Titans 7, Packers 0 (10:31 remaining)
Lambeau Field was rocking until the Titans zoomed 83 yards for the opening touchdown. On third-and-7, Ryan Tannehill had enough time to read a book and bake a cake before he found rookie Treylon Burks streaking behind Keisean Nixon for a gain of 44. After that, it was like a hot knife through cold butter. The touchdown came to running back Dontrell Hilliard, who was open in the flat for a 14-yard touchdown.
LeRoy Butler Will Be Honored at Halftime
Packers legend LeRoy Butler, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, will be honored at halftime with his name being added alongside the other Hall of Famers on the Lambeau Field façade.
“Yeah, that’s so cool. It’s so deserving,” coach Matt LaFleur said this week. “We talked about it up here when he talked to the squad just how passionate he is about the Green Bay Packers and the game of football and supporting these guys. What a special honor. It’s something that you can never take away from you. Just really happy for him.”
During the ceremony, Butler will receive his Ring of Excellence. The ring is one of three iconic Hall of Fame symbols, along with the gold jacket and bronze bust. The ring is set in 14K gold with a total diamond weight of 1.75 carats.
Reasons to Worry and Reasons for Hope
Derrick Henry is the king of Thursday Night Football. He’ll face a bad Packers run defense.
Can Christian Watson do it again? He’s facing a pass defense that’s vulnerable to the big play.
Packers-Titans Inactives
The big names are active: left tackle David Bakhtiari and left guard Elgton Jenkins for the Packers and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons for the Titans. Who’s out?
Randall Cobb was activated off injured reserve, one of two roster moves made before the game.
Pregame Notes
- For the kickers, the ball is carrying better toward the south end zone. During pregame warmups, Mason Crosby was considerably short from 54 to the north end but split the uprights from 54 to the south. It was the same story for Crosby’s counterpart, Josh Lambo.
- With David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins active, the Packers will roll with their No. 1 line for a third consecutive week. That's Bakhtiari at left tackle, Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Jon Runyan at right guard and Yosh Nijman at right tackle.
- Linebacker Krys Barnes, who missed the Dallas game with a concussion, is back and has joined Quay Walker with the No. 1 defense.
- The kickoff temperature will be 26 with a wind chill of 16.
- The Packers won the toss and have deferred.
How to Watch: Packers vs. Titans
TV: Remember, there is no national broadcast. The game is available on Amazon Prime Video, with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit on the call and Kaylee Hartung as the field reporter. The game will air in Wisconsin on WGBA-TV Channel 26 in Green Bay and WITI-TV Channel 6 in Milwaukee.
Radio: Packers Radio Network (Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren; click here for affiliates), Westwood One (Kevin Kugler and Ben Leber) and Sirius (Channel 81 or 226 and on the SXM app).
Pregame Vitals
Time and date: 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
Location: Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
Records: Packers, 4-6; Titans, 6-3.
The line: The Packers are 3.5-point favorites at SI Sportsbook, unchanged since the start of the week. The over/under has fallen a point to 40.5. That’s the third-lowest total on the schedule.
Third-Round Blues
No team has fared worse than the Packers with their third-round picks, a fact driven home by the release of Amari Rodgers. Here's our study of the last five drafts.
