In a season featuring few reasons to mention the Titans, a team sideline reporter has made a headline for mentioning something he heard on the Titans’ plane.
Via Ben Axelrod of AwfulAnnouncing.com (citing Paul Kuharsky), Will Boling has been removed from the team’s charter flights going forward. Boling’s offense was to share something he’d witnessed on the trip home from Cleveland after a Week 14 win.
Boling had shared, per Axelrod, that Titans defensive end Arden Key commandeered the plane’s intercom system to tell his teammates to ignore comments quarterback Cam Ward made after the victory.
“On Monday, I told a story about a comment I heard on the Titans’ team charter,” Boling said in an appearance on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville. “And I want to apologize for sharing something that should have remained private and totally off the record. I totally understand the team plane and bus are sacred places for players, for coaches, for members of the organization. I take full accountability. I broke their trust with that team by sharing details that were not mine to share. Moving forward, I will work to regain that trust. I sincerely apologize.”
Trust, as they say, is earned in drops and squandered in buckets. Still, it seems Boling has learned a valuable lesson about zipping it, especially since it seems to be a transgression less about malice and more about naiveté.
Especially since what he shared was fairly innocuous.
Titans Clips
With NFL teams possibly planning to swoop in on South Bend, Notre Dame is scrambling to keep coach Marcus Freeman.
Here’s the reality: Teams with vacancies are permitted to interview him now (if they haven’t already).
Those teams are the Titans and Giants. There’s no requirement for those teams to announce or even to disclose that they have interviewed Freeman.
That’s the rule as it relates to any coach who currently isn’t working for another NFL team. The mad dash to request permission to interview assistant coaches comes after the regular-season ends. Paperwork is filed with the league office, and the official inquiries inevitably, if not immediately, are leaked to reporters who are employed by the league.
For unemployed coaches and/or current college coaches, there’s no external paper trail.
Whether Freeman would be interested in the Titans or the Giants is unknown. Both teams have been dysfunctional in recent years, with revolving doors and chronic struggles. It could be a hard sell to get Freeman interested in either job.
Freeman also can be discreetly contacted by teams that have yet to fire their current head coaches, with no league rules violated. As the end of the 2025 regular season approaches, teams that know they’ll be making a change will be (or should be) trying to identify all potential candidates. Freeman and/or his representation can be contacted without consequence.
Given that Notre Dame has made clear its desire to keep Freeman, he doesn’t have to rush for the first bad opportunity in the NFL. He can wait, if he wants, for a good, stable job to come upon. The Steelers or the Ravens, for example, would be attractive, since both teams have kept their current coaches for 19 and 18 years, respectively.
And what if Andy Reid retires in the next few years? Who wouldn’t want to coach Patrick Mahomes — even if the rest of the roster currently needs plenty of work?
Regardless, the potential pursuit of Freeman isn’t something that must wait until the regular season ends. It can begin right away, and the teams that are talking to him can keep it as quiet as they choose.
There are currently two NFL head coaching vacancies.
But there will surely be several more after the regular season concludes in January.
Could a college coach be on the radar for a team in 2026?
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua believes his program’s head coach, Marcus Freeman, is on the radar for NFL teams. He has reason to, as Freeman is the current betting favorite to land the Giants’ job.
“Everybody has eyes on Marcus,” Bevacqua said this week, via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. “College has eyes on Marcus, NFL has eyes on Marcus. I bet Hollywood has eyes on Marcus.
“He’s the absolute best coach in the country for Notre Dame, full stop, one of the greatest college coaches in the country.”
Freeman, 39, has been Notre Dame’s head coach since Brian Kelly departed the program for LSU late in 2021. He had just been hired earlier in the year as the team’s defensive coordinator/linebackers coach after spending 2017-2020 as Cincinnati’s defensive coordinator/linebackers coach.
He’s accumulated a 43-12 record with the program, coaching the Fighting Irish to the CFP National Championship Game to cap the 2024 season. Notre Dame lost to Freeman’s Alma Mater, Ohio State, where he’d played linebacker from 2004-2008.
While Freeman has never coached at the NFL level, he briefly spent time with the Bears, Bills, and Texans before retiring due to a medical condition.
But with NFL teams potentially circling South Bend, Bevacqua wants to ensure Freeman doesn’t feel tempted to leave the job he has by making sure the coach feels valued.
“I can say with 100 percent certainty he feels that way, and Notre Dame is totally aligned around the importance of college football for Notre Dame,” Bevacqua said. “I make sure that he knows that he will be where he deserves to be, and that is at the top, top, top tier of college football coaches when it comes to compensation every year.”
We’ll see if there’s more smoke around Freeman as a potential candidate when the NFL’s regular season ends in January.
Shedeur Sanders had a solid performance on Sunday, but the Browns could not do enough to beat the Titans.
Tennessee secured its second victory of the season by defeating Cleveland 31-29.
After a blocked punt allowed the Titans to go up 31-17 with a 41-yard field goal, the Browns made things interesting with Sanders’ 7-yard touchdown run. With another defensive stop, the Browns had a chance to tie the game after Sanders’ 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Harold Fannin.
But a bizarre-looking wildcat play for the two-point conversion failed when Quinshon Judkins was tackled in the backfield, effectively ending Cleveland’s comeback threat.
Sanders finished the contest 23-of-42 for 364 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He also was Cleveland’s leading rusher, gaining 29 yards on three carries with a TD.
Quinshon Judkins had just 26 yards on 14 attempts. Fanin had eight receptions for 114 yard with a TD. Jerry Jeudy had three receptions for 76 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown.
The Titans ran through the Browns with Tony Pollard picking up 161 yards on 25 carries — including a 65-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
Quarterback Cam Ward was 14-of-28 for 117 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Chasing history, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett had 1.0 sacks on Sunday to give him 20.0 on the year. He’s now just 3.0 sacks from breaking the single-season record with four games left.
At 2-11, the Titans will be on the road to face the 49ers in Week 15.
The 3-10 Browns will face the Bears on the road next Sunday.
Shedeur Sanders played well in the first half for the Browns as Myles Garrett gets closer to making history, with Cleveland holding a 17-14 lead over Tennessee at halftime.
Sanders finished the first half 9-of-14 passing for 180 yards with two touchdowns. His first was a nice 1-yard pass to David Njoku early in the second quarter. That gave the Browns their first TD of the day and made the score 14-10, Tennessee.
Sanders’ second touchdown was a 60-yard pass over the middle to Jerry Jeudy, who got into the end zone for what was just his second score of the year.
Jeudy has three receptions for 76 yards.
Defensively, Myles Garrett registered his first sack of the day late in the second quarter to end a drive — giving him 20.0 on the year. He’s now just 3.0 sacks from setting a new single-season record with several weeks left in the season, let alone another half to play on Sunday.
Cam Ward is 9-of-15 passing for 70 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Tony Pollard has been running all over the Browns, with 97 yards on 10 carries — including a 65-yard touchdown.
With 19.0 sacks in 12 games, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett needs only four sacks to break the single-season sack record.
Coincidentally, he’s facing on Sunday a quarterback who is sacked, on average, four times per game.
Rookie Cam Ward has been sacked 48 times in 12 games. Which opens the door for Garrett to create even more havoc today.
He has created significant havoc multiple times this season. Garrett had five sacks against the Patriots in Week 9, and four sacks against the Ravens in Week 11. He could have another big day against the Titans — and he possibly could set the record with four games left to put it out of reach.
The single-game record, as noted during NFL Network’s GameDay Morning, is 7.0. That was set by Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas in 1990 against Seattle.
On that say, Thomas had a chance at an eighth sack. When he missed it, Seahawks quarterback Dave Kreig threw the game-winning touchdown pass.
The Jaguars will be without their leader in receptions against the Colts in Sunday’s battle for the top of the AFC South.
Wide receiver Parker Washington is inactive for the game. Washington, who leads the team with 36 catches this season, was listed as questionable to play with a hip injury.
There’s better news for Jacksonville on the other side of the ball. Defensive linemen Arik Armstead (hand) and Travon Walker (back) are both active after joining Washington with questionable tags.
Colts at Jaguars
Colts: CB Sauce Gardner, RB DJ Giddens, DE Tyquan Lewis, S Reuben Lowery, TE Will Mallory, S George Odum, T Luke Tenuta
Jaguars: WR Parker Washington, S Andrew Wingard, LB Yasir Abdullah, OL Walker Little, TE Johnny Mundt, DL Emmanuel Ogbah, DL Austin Johnson.
Dolphins at Jets
Dolphins: QB Quinn Evers, WR Tahj Washington, T Kendall Lamm, DT Matthew Butler, LB Andre Carter, CB A.J. Green
Jets: QB Justin Fields, WR Tyler Johnson, S Tony Adams, CB Ja’Sir Taylor, EDGE Braiden McGregor, DT Mazi Smith, TE Jelani Woods
Steelers at Ravens
Steelers: WR Roman Wilson, DT Derrick Harmon, S Kyle Dugger, T Calvin Anderson, DT Brodric Martin, WR Ke’Shawn Williams, QB Will Howard
Ravens: WR Devontez Walker, DT Aeneas Peebles, G Ben Cleveland, T Joseph Noteboom, QB Cooper Rush
Saints at Buccaneers
Saints: S Justin Reid, CB Rejzohn Wright, RB Alvin Kamara, T Taliese Fuaga, TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden, DT John Ridgeway, DT Khristian Boyd
Buccaneers: QB Connor Bazelak, G Elijah Klein, S Kaevon Merriweather, CB Benjamin Morrison, DL Elijah Simmons, T Tristan Wirfs
Titans at Browns
Titans: CB Jalyn Armour-Davis, S Jerrick Reed, OL Drew Moss, C Lloyd Cushenberry, DT Shy Tuttle
Browns: G Wyatt Teller, DT Adin Huntington, T Jack Conklin, TE Brenden Bates, RB Raheim Sanders, WR Jamari Thrash
Commanders at Vikings
Commanders: QB Josh Johnson, LB Ale Kaho, T Trent Scott, DE Jalyn Holmes, T George Fant, DE Drake Jackson
Vikings: QB John Wolford, S Theo Jackson, DL Levi Drake Rodriguez, G Joe Huber, T Walter Rouse, TE Ben Yurosek, DL Elijah Williams
Seahawks at Falcons
Seahawks: QB Jalen Milroe, CB Shaquill Griffin, RB Cam Akers, LB Jared Ivey, LB Connor O’Toole, OL Mason Richman
Falcons: WR Drake London, CB Cobee Bryant, RB Nathan Carter, DL Brandon Dorlus, OL Michael Jerrell, WR Casey Washington
Bengals at Bills
Bengals: QB Jake Browning, WR Jermaine Burton, TE Cam Grandy, DE Trey Hendrickson, DT Jordan Jefferson
Bills: T Spencer Brown, WR Josh Palmer, LB Terrel Bernard, DE Joey Bosa, DB Darnell Savage, DT Phidarian Mathis, OL Chase Lundt
Shedeur Sanders remaining on the board for the Browns to draft him in the fifth round became a major storyline during the draft and that was largely because there was a lot of talk during the pre-draft process about Sanders joining Cam Ward at the top of the draft.
Ward went first overall to the Titans after training with Sanders at points in that process and Sanders said on Wednesday that it was always fun to work with his fellow quarterback. Sanders said the two players have gone their “separate ways” since landing in the NFL because they’re focused on their jobs, but they’ll be back together when the Titans visit Cleveland on Sunday.
While some might see the matchup as a chance for Sanders to make the case that he should have gone off the board closer to Ward, the Browns starter said that his focus for this week won’t have any extra emphasis on the first overall pick.
“Nah, I think it’s nothing extra within myself,” Sanders said, via a transcript from the team. “It’s a lot of great quarterbacks, you know, week by week that we play against. So, I wouldn’t say this adds anything.”
Ward may have been selected well ahead of Sanders, but his rookie year has been no picnic and he’s won as many times in 12 starts as Sanders has won in his first two. That one win hasn’t earned Sanders much beyond this week’s start, so both players have plenty to strive for without making any individual bragging rights a big part of the equation.
The NFL will head into the final five weeks of the regular season with the fewest number of teams still in playoff contention since at least the 2002 season.
The Giants, who fell to 2-11 on Monday night, became the first team eliminated from postseason consideration in Week 12 and four teams joined them in Week 13. The 1-11 Titans, 2-10 Raiders, 2-10 Saints, and 3-9 Cardinals are also set to start making their plans for the 2026 season.
Per NBC Sports research, that is the most teams out at this point in the season since the divisional realignment that took place ahead of the 2002 season.
While all of those teams are out of the running, no teams have clinched a playoff spot at this point.
A handful of other teams should be joining that quintet soon. The 3-9 Jets, 3-9 Browns, 3-9 Commanders, 4-8 Falcons, and 4-8 Vikings are going to a lot of things to break in their favor to keep the playoff fires burning much longer.
The Commanders and Vikings play this week and the loser will have no remaining path to the playoffs. The Commanders will also be out if they win and the Eagles win while the Jets, Browns and Falcons are all out with a loss this week.
Punters don’t often receive personal fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Logan Cooke of the Jaguars got one for his involvement in a post-play scrum during Sunday’s win over the Jaguars.
After the game, Titans running back Julius Chestnut alleged that Cooke “said he would kill me” during an interaction. On Monday, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen was asked about his reaction to that comment.
Coen said that his experience in the NFL has been that it was nothing out of the ordinary.
“I’ve probably heard that said, I mean, 100 times from players in games. So, whatever,” Coen said in a video conference with reporters.
Jaguars long snapper Ross Matiscik and Titans cornerback Kaiir Elam were also penalized for their roles in the altercation while Titans safety Mike Brown was ejected. Any NFL discipline for the affair will be doled out later this week.
