Titans shoot for sixth win in row with Saints visiting
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel dismissed the idea of talking to his team about postseason seeding and home-field advantage in the playoffs with a succinct response. No.
His approach stays the same even if the Titans (7-2) have the NFL’s longest active winning streak at five games to sit atop the AFC halfway through the season. Better yet, the past four victories have come against playoff teams from last season, with each bigger than the last.
“Not going to change anything,” Vrabel said.
When the New Orleans Saints (5-3) visit Sunday, Tennessee will have the chance to add another team from last year’s playoffs to its streak. The Titans are still adapting to life without star running back Derrick Henry, the two-time reigning NFL rushing champion who entered Week 9 on top of this year’s charts — even though he’s on injured reserve and missed last weekend’s 28-16 road win against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Saints are working through replacing quarterback Jameis Winston, lost for the season, and have dealt with numerous other injuries this season. Trevor Siemian, who spent time with the Titans last year, had the first crack last week in a 27-25 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, with Taysom Hill getting some spot duty behind center in his return from a concussion.
The Saints, who had won three straight games before falling to their division rivals, remain second in the NFC South standings, trying to stay close to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after beating the reigning Super Bowl champions 36-27 on Oct. 31.
“We have the Titans this week, and those are the details we are focusing on,” Saints linebacker Demario Davis said. “We do not have the luxury of worrying about anything else.”
The Titans are 6-0 this season against teams that made the most recent playoffs, including beating the Rams, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills over the past four weeks. A win Sunday would make the Titans the second team in NFL history to win five straight against playoff teams from the prior season; only the 2003 Philadelphia Eagles have managed the feat.
The Saints aren’t far behind. New Orleans is 4-0 against playoff teams from the 2020 season, having beaten the Bucs, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and Washington.
Falcons visit Dallas
ARLINGTON, Texas — Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn dodged questions about facing the Atlanta Falcons for the first time since getting fired as their head coach last year by stating the obvious several times: The Cowboys have to focus on themselves after their worst showing of the season.
Defense wasn’t the only problem in a puzzling 30-16 loss to the Denver Broncos last weekend that ended a six-game winning streak. Dak Prescott’s passing stats were shockingly bad through three quarters before two late touchdowns to make a 30-0 score look better.
For Quinn’s unit, though, stopping the run was the biggest problem in the first defeat for the Cowboys (6-2) since a 31-29 loss at Tampa Bay in the NFL season opener. Big plays helped the Broncos rush for 190 yards — almost 90 better than their season average — and Quinn wanted to talk about a season-high 14 missed tackles, not Sunday’s visit by the Falcons (4-4).
“I have great memories there and I always will, and I think a lot of the really cool things that we accomplished there — and there were a lot of them — versus how it ended,” said Quinn, who was fired after an 0-5 start to the 2020 season, his sixth in charge of the Falcons. “But you guys saw the performance, so there is no time to take a stroll down memory lane.”
This year’s Falcons have shaken off a 1-3 start in Arthur Smith’s first season as a head coach with three victories in four games, with last Sunday’s 27-25 road victory over the New Orleans Saints pulling them even with last season’s win total.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said he remains good friends with Quinn. They traded texts recently, and Ryan said his former coach often asks about his kids.
“I mean, listen, I love Dan,” Ryan said. “He’s an awesome person. He’s a great coach. I really enjoyed playing for him. Wish him nothing the best, but he knows what this week is about for both of us. It’s about trying to get a win. He’s an incredible competitor. So once we’re playing, it’s about going against their defense, and I’m sure Q will be locked in the same way.”