BRANDIN COOKS

The Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams should have plenty of company sitting out the first round of the NFL draft next week.

The Tennessee Titans clinched the top seed in the AFC for the first time in 14 years, beating the Houston Texans 28-25 on Sunday behind Ryan Tannehill’s career-high-tying four touchdown passes.

Rookie Trey Lance threw two touchdown passes in the second half of his second career start, and the San Francisco 49ers closed in on a playoff berth with a 23-7 victory over the Houston Texans.

Rex Burkhead ran for a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns, and the Houston Texans took advantage of three turnovers to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 41-29.

Tremon Smith returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, ending the longest drought in the NFL, and the Houston Texans beat woeful Jacksonville 30-16 on Sunday to end a three-game skid and extend their dominance in the series.

Houston rookie Davis Mills threw for a career-high 331 yards and a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks starting in place of Tyrod Taylor, who was benched after the Texans were shut out 31-0 by the Colts last week.

Rookie Zach Wilson threw for 145 yards and ran for a touchdown to help the New York Jets snap a three-game skid by rallying for a 21-14 win over the Houston Texans.

Odell Beckham Jr. arrived in Los Angeles on Friday and made his way north to the Rams’ training complex.

Carson Wentz threw two touchdown passes, Jonathan Taylor ran for two more scores and the Indianapolis defense protected a big second-half lead to help the Colts put away Houston 31-3.

Rookie Mac Jones threw a touchdown pass to tie it in the fourth quarter and Nick Folk’s 21-yard field goal with 15 seconds left lifted the New England Patriots to a 25-22 win over the Houston Texans.

Houston Texans first-year coach David Culley fully appreciates the threat Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills offense presents.

Houston’s messy quarterback situation got messier.

Tyrod Taylor threw for 291 yards and two touchdowns filling in for Deshaun Watson to lead the Houston Texans to a 37-21 win over Trevor Lawrence and the mistake-prone Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Houston Texans begin camp with quarterback Deshaun Watson's status overshadowing everything else.

There are veterans who joined up for one final run at the title, and wide-eyed rookies who were thrust into the Super Bowl spotlight. AdHALL OF FAMERSThree of Brady’s Super Bowl teammates have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame with more likely to come down the road. Julian Edelman and Deion Branch, who both won Super Bowl MVPs with Brady, are tied for the most catches with 24 apiece. MISSING RINGSOnly two players went to the Super Bowl with Brady more than once and never got a ring out of it. COMMON NAMESA few first names have stood out more than others when it comes to Brady’s Super Bowl teammates, led by the nine Brandons: Bolden, Browner, Deadrick, Gorin, King, LaFell, Meriweather, Mitchell and Spikes.

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)The Week 17 scoring bonanza provided the perfect finish to a record-setting season on offense. Teams combined for 100 touchdowns in the final week of the season for the second-most in NFL history in a single week behind only the 104 scored in Week 14 of the 2013 season. He became the first player with at least 4,500 yards passing, 35 TD passes and five TD runs in a single season. The Browns joined the 2012 Colts (minus-30) as the only teams to win 11 games in a season when they were outscored. EVEN STEVENIn a bit of a statistical oddity, the Vikings gained the exact same number of yards this season as they allowed: 6,292.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)HOUSTON – The Houston Texans know Deshaun Watson is the quarterback they need to lead them next year and beyond. First on the list of priorities for the Texans is to hire a coach and general manager. That’s pretty obvious.”DECISIONS ON OFFENSEWhile the Texans are set with Watson, they have plenty of other decisions to make on offense. Star receiver Will Fuller is a free agent and Watson has been vocal about his desire for the Texans to re-sign him.

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry (22) breaks away from Houston Texans defensive end Charles Omenihu (94) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Houston. (AP Photo/Sam Craft)HOUSTON – The Tennessee Titans won the AFC South on Sunday. All it took was Derrick Henry surpassing 2,000 yards rushing and rookie Sam Sloman’s 37-yard field goal that bounced off the upright and through for a 41-38 victory over the Houston Texans. The Titans then capped a long drive with a 5-yard TD run by Ryan Tannehill with less than two minutes remaining. Henry had put the Titans on top 10-3 when he dashed 52 yards early in the second quarter.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt leaves the field after a losing an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, in Houston. HOUSTON – The Houston Texans have been bad all season. Sunday was the third time in the past four games the Texans have had a chance to win or tie a game late but lost a fumble instead. “And in my mind, for me, he brings a high level of hope for us to be able to win a game. The Titans beat the Texans 42-36 in overtime in Week 6 behind a 212-yard rushing performance from Derrick Henry.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) is tackled by Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020, in Houston. That preparation paid off on Sunday when Samaje Perine scored a 3-yard touchdown late to give the Bengals their first road win in more than two years with a 37-31 victory over the Houston Texans. It’s the first road win for Taylor, who is in his second season, and the first time the Bengals (4-10-1) won away from Cincinnati since a 37-36 victory at Atlanta on Sept. 30, 2018. Perine put the Bengals up 17-10 when he ran 46 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. The Bengals took an early lead when Allen found Drew Sample wide open for an 8-yard touchdown on their first drive.

CHICAGO – All Mitchell Trubisky cared about was helping the Chicago Bears get back to winning. Trubisky threw three touchdown passes to outplay Deshaun Watson in their first meeting since they entered the NFL, and the Bears snapped a six-game losing streak with a 36-7 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday. Chicago (6-7) sacked Watson seven times, including a safety by Khalil Mack, to tie a career high for the Texans quarterback. 2 overall pick in 2017 when he could have gone with Watson or Patrick Mahomes drew even more buzz than usual during the week. “I was just so focused on what I needed to do for my team that it really allowed me to block everything out,” Trubisky said.

Daniel Jones is active and is expected to start at quarterback for the New York Giants against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. After missing last week’s game with a hamstring injury, Jones practiced fully for the first time on Friday. Jaguars: QB Jake Luton, CB Luq Barcoo, LB Kamalei Correa, LB Quincy Williams, C Brandon Linder, TE Tyler Davis, DE Reggie Gilbert. Giants: WR Dante Pettis, CB Darnay Holmes (knee), ILB T.J. Brunson, OT Kyle Murphy, OT Jackson Barton, DE R.J. McIntosh. Buccaneers: DL Khalil Davis, CB Jamel Dean, RB Leonard Fournette, QB Ryan Griffin, TE Tanner Hudson, DL Jeremiah Ledbetter.

Indianapolis Colts middle linebacker Anthony Walker (54) celebrates with teammates after he recovered a fumble by Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)HOUSTON – With their offense sputtering in the second half Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts turned to their defense to seal a win over the Houston Texans. Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes in the first half and the defense dominated after that, lifting the Colts to the 26-20 victory. Their offense didn't score after that, but the defense held Houston (4-8) scoreless in the second half and Justin Houston added a safety with a sack of Watson in the end zone. With Sunday's shutout in the second half, the Colts are allowing an average of 7.33 points in the second half of games this season.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Deshaun Watson might never lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars. All of them, including the team's only two wins this season, came with Watson at the helm. The Jaguars would have become the first to allow at least 30 points in seven consecutive games in a single season. Jaguars players screamed at officials as Watson snapped the ball, insisting the play clock was at zero, and Marrone was livid afterward. And that’s all I’m saying about that one.”KEY INJURIESTexans: Already down three linebackers to start the game, Houston lost another in the first quarter when Brennan Scarlett injured an arm.

HOUSTON – The Houston Texans finally picked up a win this weekend in their first game since coach Bill O’Brien was fired. Now the Texans are looking to build on what they did in the victory over the Jaguars with interim coach Romeo Crennel and improve this week when they are scheduled to visit the Titans. “I saw the fight during the course of the game,” Crennel said. They held the Jaguars to just 75 yards rushing after entering the game allowing 181.8 yards a game. He has 319 yards rushing in just three games and ran for 211 yards in his previous game against Houston.

Deshaun Watson threw for a season-high 359 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was recovered by Whitney Mercilus, who fumbled on the return, but the Texans pounced on the ball to keep it. Houston (1-4) pushed the lead to 30-14 when Watson found Brandin Cooks on a 28-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-4 with about five minutes remaining. The Texans were able to overcome two interceptions by Watson by taking advantage of two fumbles by the Jaguars. EJECTEDFor the second week in a row a player was ejected for targeting after a hit on a Texans player.

HOUSTON – The Baltimore Ravens' multifaceted rushing attack, which led the NFL last year by nearly 1,000 yards, was slow to get going in the first half against the Houston Texans. Mark Ingram, quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens pounded away at Houston after halftime and ran away with a 33-16 victory. The Ravens built a 20-10 halftime lead with the help of a fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter by L.J. The Ravens were up 3-0 when Houston went for it on fourth-and-1 from its 34 late in the first quarter. The Texans cut the lead to three when Watson connected with Darren Fells on a 10-yard touchdown pass.

So it's only fitting that when Kroenke's Los Angeles Rams open their $5 billion West Coast NFL showpiece on Sunday night, their opponents will be Jones' Dallas Cowboys. “Jerry has told us all about the stadium,” Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said. “I know he’s excited for the Rams organization and what’s gone into this stadium. It’s supposed to be an unbelievable venue.”McCarthy's debut as the Cowboys' first new coach in a decade is the other milestone event at SoFi Stadium. They held two scrimmages at SoFi Stadium to familiarize their players with their new environs, but the awe still hasn't evaporated.

Fans watch the Kansas City Chiefs during NFL football training camp Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Chiefs coach Andy Reid no longer carries around the heavy and ignominious tag of best coach never to win a championship. This is the best opportunity you can have to start the season.That contract extension is the second largest in NFL history. Very, very dynamic players, Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. They also will miss cornerback Bashaud Breeland and defensive tackle Mike Pennel, who are suspended for the start of the season.

Listen, the first game is always that way, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, because you're never quite sure what they're going to do. Even with preseason games, the first few games are up in the air. If we would have had our four normal preseason games then we wouldve seen 25 to 30 snaps of their first group. But the speed of practice never quite matches that of a preseason game, and the speed of a preseason game never quite matches a regular-season one. But without preseason games to work on such fundamentals, the Chiefs had to tweak the way they approached tackling.