TITANS (10-7) at PATRIOTS (13-3)

Saturday Colton Parayko Jersey , 8:15 p.m. ET, CBS

OPENING LINE – Patriots by 13

RECORD VS. SPREAD – Titans 8-7-1, Patriots 11-5

SERIES RECORD – Patriots lead 24-16-1.

LAST MEETING – Patriots beat Titans 33-16, Dec. 20, 2015

LAST WEEK – Titans beat Chiefs 22-21; Patriots had bye

AP PRO32 RANKING – Titans No. 11, Patriots No. 1

TITANS OFFENSE – OVERALL (23), RUSH (15), PASS (23)

TITANS DEFENSE – OVERALL (13), RUSH (4), PASS (25)

PATRIOTS OFFENSE – OVERALL (3), RUSH (27), PASS (1)

PATRIOTS DEFENSE – OVERALL (6) Casey Cizikas Jersey , RUSH (10), PASS (7)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -Patriots have won six straight against Titans. … This will be third playoff game between franchises who split first two postseason games. … Titans trying to reach AFC championship game for first time since January 2003. … Titans coming off first playoff win since January 2004. … Titans’ rally from 18-point halftime deficit against Chiefs is largest comeback on road in Super Bowl era and tied for second-largest playoff comeback by road team in NFL history. … Counting postseason, Tennessee is 7-1 in games decided by three or fewer points over past two seasons, tied with Pittsburgh for NFL’s best record in such games since start of 2016. … Titans had four sacks vs. Chiefs. … Titans ranked fifth in NFL in regular season in sacks. … Tennessee ranked fourth in NFL and first in AFC in run defense, allowing 88.8 yards per game. … Titans held NFL rushing leader Kareem Hunt to 42 yards on 11 carries in wild-card game. … Titans tied for eighth in NFL allowing 5.02 yards per play this season. … QB Marcus Mariota has five of his nine winning drives this season, last coming in wild-card win over Chiefs. … RB Derrick Henry set franchise postseason record with 191 yards from scrimmage vs. Chiefs. Henry ran for career-high 156 yards. Titans ran for franchise-record 202 yards. … Tennessee’s Mike Mularkey is 0-5 against Patriots and 0-6 against Bill Belichick as head coach. … Titans S Kevin Byard tied for NFL lead with eight interceptions in regular season. Byard led league with 10 takeaways. … Titans second in NFL for fewest penalties during regular season with 85. … Patriots are seeking berth in seventh consecutive conference championship game, which would extend their current record NFL streak. … This marks eighth straight year Patriots are hosting divisional round game, adding to their NFL record. … QB Tom Brady is 11-2 in 13 divisional-round games since 2002. He has completed 316 of 509 passes for 3,700 yards passing and 28 TDs in those games. … New England has 41 players with postseason experience, most of 2017 playoff teams. Fourteen Patriots players have played at least 10 playoff games. That’s more such players than 11 other playoff teams combined (13). … TE Rob Gronkowski has nine TD catches in playoffs, most by tight end in NFL history. … Patriots’ defense allowing 18.5 points per game Authentic Justin Bailey Jersey , ranked eighth in NFL. … Belichick has 9-7 career record against Tennessee. … Brady has 6-1 career record against Titans, throwing for 13 TDs and one interception.

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On the second day of training camp Friday, Miami Dolphins middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan spent much of the morning dropping into pass coverage and chasing tight ends, running backs and even speedy receiver Kenny Stills.

It’ll be different Saturday, when the Dolphins put on pads for the first time and conduct contact drills.

”That’s what middle linebackers live for,” McMillan said with a grin, ”so I’m ready for all of that.”

Especially since McMillan hasn’t had much of a chance to make an impact in the NFL. The 2017 second-round draft pick from Ohio State won raves and a starting job in his first few months as a pro, but on his first play in the first exhibition game, he blew out his right knee covering a punt.

”First injury I’ve had ever – college, high school, little league,” he said.

The torn ACL sidelined McMillan for his entire rookie season. He participated in offseason drills this spring still mindful of his surgically repaired knee http://www.officialislanders.com/authentic-adidas-nick-leddy-jersey , but is now more confident it’ll hold up.

”On the field I don’t really think about it much at all,” he said. ”In OTAs I was still thinking about it. I was still worrying about whether it was strong enough, or if it was ready yet to take every snap. I finally feel like I’m back to where I was.”

That sounds good to coach Adam Gase, who considers his evaluation of McMillan incomplete only because the former Butkus Award finalist has yet to play in an NFL game.

”Everything else tells us he’s exactly what we drafted him to be,” Gase said.

A year ago, McMillan impressed coaches with his aptitude and leadership skills, and he thrived in contact drills.

He’s expected to bolster a defense that needs him after ranking fourth-worst in the league in points allowed last year. The upgrade parallels the return of quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who’s back after suffering a season-ending injury one week before McMillan was hurt.

The veteran QB and rookie linebacker rehabbed together, to the benefit of both.

”They did a good job of pushing each other,” Gase said. ”You hate to say it was good they had each other to go through that with, because it hurt us not to have them. But it was good for those two guys to have that other guy.”

McMillan said Tannehill helped him cope with the frustration and physical challenges of recovery.

”Throughout the whole rehab process, Ryan kind of walked me through what I was going to feel Youth Matt Nieto Jersey , how I was going to feel and some of the pains I was going to have, and how to get through them,” McMillan said.

He began to envision a career as an NFL middle linebacker when he first arrived at Ohio State and discussed his future with head coach Urban Meyer and an assistant coach.

”They sat me to the side and told me that was going to be the best position for me, for my future and for my family,” he said. ”So I took that and ran with it.”

On the night the Dolphins drafted McMillan, he cried tears of joy. Now, after an unlucky interruption, he’s back on track toward fulfilling his potential. Time to put on the pads.

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