AFC South

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Tennessee Titans could get star running back Derrick Henry back from his foot injury sooner than initially expected. 

On Monday's episode of Good Morning Football (starts at 0:30 mark), NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Henry could return in Week 18 against the Houston Texans. 

Henry hasn't played since the Titans' 34-31 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 31. He was diagnosed with a Jones fracture in his foot that required surgery. 

ESPN's Dianna Russini reported Henry had the procedure on Nov. 2 and it "went well."

Head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters there was " absolutely" a chance that Henry could return at some point this season, but the team wasn't going to put a timetable on his comeback. 

On Dec. 12, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Henry's rehab "is going so well that Henry is in line to return for the playoffs if Tennessee makes it in—or potentially Week 18 if the Titans face a win-and-in situation."

Henry was having an MVP-caliber season prior to his foot injury. The 27-year-old still leads the league with 117.1 rushing yards per game. He had 1,091 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns through Week 8. 

In eight games with Henry, Tennessee's offense was averaging 377.1 yards and 28.4 points per game. Those numbers have dropped to 298.9 yards and 18.6 points per contest in seven games without Henry. 

The Titans (10-5) can clinch their second straight AFC South title with a win or a Colts loss in either of the final two weeks of the regular season. 

Tennessee hosts the Miami Dolphins on Sunday before wrapping up the regular season on Jan. 9 against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.        

Jacksonville Jaguars running back James Robinson suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Sunday's game against the New York Jets, interim coach Darrell Bevell told reporters.

That confirmed an earlier report by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

He was carted off to the locker room in the first half.

This is a considerable blow to a Jaguars offense that is already struggling mightily with some of its key weapons out for the season.

The 23-year-old previously suffered a foot injury during the Oct. 31 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, although ESPN's Adam Schefter reported he "escaped serious injury" and was ruled "day to day" following tests. He didn't miss any time as a result.

The Illinois State product appeared in 14 games as a rookie in 2020 and tallied 1,070 rushing yards, 344 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns. He has followed that up with 757 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground in 2021.

Jacksonville is largely just playing out the string on what has turned into a disappointing season, so Robinson's Achilles injury only adds to the team's frustration. Look for Dare Ogunbowale to be the primary running back in his absence.           

Houston Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks won't play Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Per ESPN's Field Yates, Cooks wasn't activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Texans. 

As of Thursday, ESPN's Sarah Barshop noted Houston had 23 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Given the circumstances, the team has been operating under the NFL's intensive protocols. 

Cooks has quietly developed into one of the NFL's most reliable wideouts. He entered 2019 with four consecutive seasons of at least 1,000 yards across stints with the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, and he recorded 29 touchdowns over that span.

Although he only posted 42 catches with the Rams in 2019, he bounced back with 81 receptions for the Texans last year. He's compiled 80 grabs for 945 yards and five scores in 14 games so far in 2021.

The 28-year-old Oregon State product missed six games during his rookie year in 2014 with a broken thumb. He played in 72 straight regular-season games before suffering a concussion in Week 8 of the 2019 season in L.A. He sat out one game last year with a neck injury.

Chris Conley and Nico Collins figure to see a few extra targets as the top options in the passing game. Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett are the other options for increased playing time.

Cooks has been one of the few standouts on a rebuilding Houston roster, and the passing game can be expected to struggle in his absence with rookie quarterback Davis Mills under center.

The Indianapolis Colts placed guard Quenton Nelson on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, ruling him out for Saturday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.

This is the second time this season that Nelson has been placed on the COVID list. He was previously on the list in training camp after being a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Only unvaccinated players are placed on the COVID list if they have close contacts.

If Nelson is still unvaccinated and tested positive for COVID-19, he will miss the team's next two games. The Colts play the Las Vegas Raiders on Jan. 2, which is inside the 10-day window for unvaccinated players returning to the lineup. 

Nelson missed three games earlier this season with a sprained ankle.

The Tennessee Titans aren't down for the count just yet, and head coach Mike Vrabel had some choice words following his team's 20-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night at Nissan Stadium. 

The Titans, who have struggled with injuries to key players such as Derrick Henry and Julio Jones this season, entered Thursday night having lost three of their last four games, including a 22-13 loss to the Houston Texans on Nov. 21. 

The Titans began the second half down 10-0 before coming back to score 17 unanswered points. San Francisco tied the game at 17 with 2:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Tennessee kicker Randy Bullock nailed the game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining to seal the victory. 

Thursday's win put the Titans one step closer to clinching a playoff spot. They can punch their ticket with an Indianapolis Colts loss Saturday. The Titans are now 10-5 on the season and own the No. 2 seed in the AFC. 

Wide receiver A.J. Brown is coming back to give the Tennessee Titans' struggling offense a boost and potentially boost lineups for the fantasy postseason. 

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Cameron Wolfe, Brown is being activated off injured reserve and will play Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers. 

The Titans announced Monday they designated Brown for return from IR. He originally suffered a chest injury during Tennessee's Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans. 

Brown previously sat out the Titans' Week 4 loss to the New York Jets with a hamstring injury. 

In 11 games this season, Brown leads the team in receptions (46), receiving yards (615) and is tied for the top spot in receiving touchdowns (three). 

Tennessee has dealt with significant injuries to many of its key offensive players. Derrick Henry remains out after undergoing foot surgery in November to repair a Jones fracture.

Julio Jones doesn't have an injury designation after being a full participant in practice Wednesday, so he could be available against the 49ers. He only played 27 snaps last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a hamstring issue. 

If Jones and Brown are able to play, it will mark just the seventh time this season that both have appeared in the same game together. 

A group of NFL executives believe Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be named the league MVP. 

In a survey of 23 high-ranking personnel by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Rodgers beat out Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor for the award by an 11-8 voting margin. 

As most of the other top quarterbacks who have been in the MVP conversation have stumbled recently, Rodgers has caught fire over the past four weeks.

The 38-year-old is averaging 325.3 passing yards per game with a 70.6 completion percentage, 13 touchdowns and no interceptions since Week 11. Green Bay is averaging 35.8 points per game during that span. 

For the season, Rodgers leads the NFL in ESPN's QBR metric (67.3), is tied for fifth in the NFL in touchdown passes (30) and seventh in completion percentage (67.8). He has the lowest interception rate among all qualified quarterbacks (0.9 percent).

"I'd love to not say he's the guy, because he's easy to root against," one NFC team executive told Pelissero, "but f--king Aaron Rodgers, [he's] amazing."

The Colts' ascent to AFC playoff contenders has coincided with Taylor turning into a superstar. 

After being held to a total of 171 rushing yards through the first three games of the season, Taylor is averaging 122.5 yards per game on the ground and has scored 19 total touchdowns (17 rushing) since Week 4. 

Taylor has eight 100-yard rushing games this season, including at least 170 yards three times since Week 9. The Colts are 8-0 when he hits the century mark and 0-6 when he doesn't. 

If Rodgers wins the award, he would join Peyton Manning as the only players in NFL history with at least four MVPs. He would also be the first player since Manning—the all-time leader with five MVPs—in 2008 and 2009 to win it in back-to-back seasons. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was the only other player to receive two votes in the survey. Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp and Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert each received one vote.    

"That's all that matters. To beat the New England Patriots."

The message was clear from head coach Frank Reich during Wednesday's episode of HBO's Hard Knocks in Season: The Indianapolis Colts.

While last week's episode was all about the bye and a glimpse at the players' lives off the field, this week brought a return to the playoff race. That meant the focus was on a Saturday showdown with the Patriots and all the work that went into preparing for the Super Bowl contenders.

Running back Jonathan Taylor had never played the Patriots in his career, but he knew how much work would be required to get the win:

Fortunately for the Colts, all that hard work paid off.

Indianapolis controlled the game on the way to a 27-17 victory and improved to 8-6 in the process. Considering it was once 1-4 and is now 5-1 in its last six games, it has quickly turned into the team none of the top seeds will want to face come playoff time.

Taylor continued his MVP quest with 170 rushing yards and a touchdown, which was necessary because quarterback Carson Wentz threw for just 57 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Even the mascot got in on the fun when Taylor broke free for a long touchdown:

The defense and special teams also shined, which helped pick up the slack for Wentz. New England didn't score a single point until the fourth quarter, and the Colts seized a two-score advantage in the first quarter and never trailed after E.J. Speed recovered Matthew Adams' blocked punt in the end zone.

The special teams scoring was particularly notable since Colts special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone was a featured character during Wednesday's episode because he was formerly a player and coach for the Patriots.

It wasn't all business and touchdowns, though, as the rookies had a chance to show off during a holiday cookie bake-off and the players worked on their Pro Bowl voting.

Turns out many of the Colts were voting on who would join them at the game since seven members of the team were named to the Pro Bowl on Wednesday.

Taylor was the headliner, but Indianapolis is also sending center Ryan Kelly, offensive guard Quenton Nelson, defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, linebacker Darius Leonard, cornerback Kenny Moore II and long snapper Luke Rhodes to the Pro Bowl.   

Those Pro Bowlers have playoff dreams to chase first, and the win over the Patriots has the Colts just one game back of the Tennessee Titans in the AFC South even though the first-place team has the tiebreaker thanks to two head-to-head wins.

Indianapolis is in postseason position as the No. 5 seed, although it is part of a crowded AFC wild-card race with six teams with six losses and four more with seven losses.

As long as Taylor is leading the show—both on the field and on HBO—the Colts figure to be in ideal position even in a tight race.

The Houston Texans will reportedly be without one of their top playmakers for Sunday's home game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday that wide receiver Brandin Cooks was placed on the COVID-19/reserve list.

Houston hasn't had many bright spots this season, but Cooks is certainly one of them. He has 80 catches for 947 yards and five touchdowns in 14 games this season and has led the team in receiving yards in 11 of its contests this year.

While the Oregon State product doesn't generate as many headlines as other pass-catchers across the league, this is yet another season of consistent production. In fact, he is just 53 receiving yards shy of reaching the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth time in his career since he entered the league as a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

This is also Cooks' sixth year with at least five touchdown catches.

The wide receiver isn't the only member of the Texans who was placed on the COVID-19/reserve list.

Insider Aaron Wilson reported he was joined by 17 other players: Ka'imi Fairbairn; Eric Wilson; Jaleel Johnson; Jacob Martin; Maliek Collins; Jonathan Greenard; Derek Rivers; Lane Taylor; Justin McCray; Kamu Grugier-Hill; Christian Kirksey; A.J. Moore; Terrance Mitchell; Terrence Brooks; DeMarcus Walker; Jaylen Samuels; and Cre'von LeBlanc.

Their opponent was not spared, though.

Los Angeles placed pass-rusher Joey Bosa; running back Austin Ekeler; center Corey Linsley; returner Andre Roberts; linebacker Tevaughn Campbell; defensive back Trey Marshall; linebacker Chris Rumph II; and defensive back Kemon Hall on the COVID-19/reserve list.

This game is far more important to the Chargers than the Texans. Houston is 3-11 and playing out the string with an eye on the offseason, while Los Angeles is 8-6 and in the middle of a crowded AFC Wild Card race as one of six teams with six losses.

From an individual perspective, Cooks will have one fewer game to reach 1,000 yards if he does sit out against the Chargers.