JEFFERY SIMMONS

The Tennessee Titans have picked up the fifth-year option on defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. The Titans announced Wednesday they picked up the option worth $10.7 million on the 19th pick overall of the 2019 draft. Simmons is coming off his best season yet after posting a career-high 8 1/2 sacks, including three in a win in Los Angeles over the Rams in November.

The Associated Press will hand out its individual NFL awards on Feb. 10 at NFL Honors in Los Angeles.

Ryan Tannehill ran and threw for touchdowns as the Tennessee Titans held off the New Orleans Saints 23-21 on Sunday for their NFL-best sixth straight victory.

Kevin Byard returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown, and Tennessee’s defense carried the Titans to a 28-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in a showdown between conference co-leaders.

Henry took a direct snap and ran 5 yards for a touchdown 3:30 into overtime and the Titans remained undefeated, rallying to beat the Houston Texans 42-36 on Sunday. “Obviously, we all witnessed somebody taking a game over,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of Henry. Watson's final TD pass put Houston (1-5) up 36-29 with 1:50 left, but his pass to Randall Cobb on the 2-point conversion attempt failed. Coach Romeo Crennel, in his second game since replacing the fired Bill O'Brien, said he went for the conversion in a bid to put the game out of reach. Watson answered two plays later with a 53-yard TD pass to Will Fuller for a 30-29 lead with 8:37 left.

The undefeated Titans are healing up from the NFL’s first COVID-19 outbreak. DeCastro will miss his third game of the season after sustaining an abdominal injury last week against Philadelphia. Johnson, Pittsburgh’s second-leading receiver, is out because of a back injury suffered on a punt return last week. Cincinnati also will be missing starting defensive tackle D.J. Eagles: RT Lane Johnson, WR DeSean Jackson, WR Alshon Jeffery, CB Avonte Maddox, S Marcus Epps, LB Duke Riley, QB Nate Sudfeld.

Malcolm Butler intercepted two passes, the second he returned 68 yards, and both set up short touchdowns for Tennessee. “They were ready to go and at the same time we beat ourselves,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. Allen's pass went off Andre Roberts' hands right to Butler, and he returned the interception 29 yards to the Bills 16. Tennessee led 21-10 at halftime after Tannehill ran in from 10 yards seconds before the half. Safety Micah Hyde denied the Bills got caught looking ahead to the defending Super Bowl champs.

The NFL's ranks of undefeated teams should thin by one Tuesday night, Oct. 13, 2020, when the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans finally meet in a rescheduled game. (AP Photo/David Berding, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The NFL's ranks of undefeated teams should thin by one Tuesday night when the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans finally meet in a rescheduled game. The NFL first postponed, then rescheduled their Oct. 4 game with Pittsburgh to Oct. 25, and their game with the Bills pushed back two days. “As a team that’s off to a good start, we feel like we’ve got a good thing rolling here and we want to play,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. The Bills will be the first team to play the Titans since the NFL closed Tennessee's facility Sept. 29.

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Coach Mike Vrabel says the Tennessee Titans stand by how they've followed the NFL's protocols for the coronavirus pandemic and hope the league will allow the team back inside the building Wednesday. “And then we'll kind of see where we're at with the league and hopeful to return and get back in the building,” Vrabel said. The NFL and its players union had people in Nashville meeting with the Titans to review how the team handled the outbreak and checking protocols. The Titans, and any other team with an outbreak or exposed to a team with an outbreak, now have new protocols to follow. The Titans’ outbreak reached 20 cases on Sunday, the team’s sixth straight day of at least one positive, with 18 returned since Sept. 29.

(AP Photo/Wade Payne)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Titans know good teams win ugly games, and being 2-0 for the first time in 12 years has a way of making any victory look much prettier. Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 49-yard field goal with 1:36 left, and the Tennessee Titans remain undefeated after holding off the Jacksonville Jaguars 33-30 Sunday. It’s exciting to get the win and get the Titans to 2-0.”Quarterback Ryan Tannehill said Gostkowski came up huge for the Titans on something that wasn't a chip shot. “Excited to be 2-0 for the first time here in Tennessee," third-year Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. So the Titans turned to Tannehill, the quarterback who led the NFL in 2019 with a 117.5 passer rating.