Rookie quarterback Cam Ward aims for consecutive wins when Titans visit Raiders

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Tennessee (1-4) at Las Vegas (1-4)

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EDT, FOX.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Raiders by 4 1/2.

Against the spread: Titans 2-3; Raiders 1-4.

Series record: Raiders lead 30-22.

Last meeting: Titans beat Raiders 24-22 in Nashville on Sept. 25, 2022.

Last week: Titans beat Cardinals 22-21; Raiders lost 40-6 to Colts.

Titans offense: overall (31), rush (28t), pass (32), scoring (31t).

Titans defense: overall (25), rush (30), pass (21), scoring (26).

Raiders offense: overall (18), rush (20), pass (16), scoring (30).

Raiders defense: overall (19), rush (13), pass (22), scoring (25).

Turnover differential: Titans plus-1; Raiders minus-6.

QB Cam Ward. The No. 1 overall pick is coming off his first NFL win and his best game yet as a pro. Ward threw for 193 of his 265 yards in the fourth quarter as Tennessee rallied from a 21-6 deficit in the final 15 minutes. The rookie has to start games like he finished last week to give the Titans a chance at consecutive wins.

QB Geno Smith. His nine interceptions lead the NFL and he looks more like the quarterback who struggled in his early years with the New York Jets than the player who resurrected his career in Seattle. Coach Pete Carroll is giving Smith every chance to snap out of his slump.

Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty vs. Titans run defense. Jeanty has shown over the past two games why Las Vegas drafted him sixth overall this year and now he goes against the league's 30th-ranked rush defense. If Jeanty can help establish a consistent running game, that will take pressure off Smith. But if the Titans bottle up the back, they will limit what the Raiders are able to accomplish by forcing Smith to pass his way to victory.

Titans: RT JC Latham has missed four straight games with a strained hip, but finally is working his way back into practice. ... Multiple players did not practice early in the week, including DT Jeffery Simmons (ankle), WR Van Jefferson (ankle), DL James Lynch (shoulder) and K Joey Slye (calf).

Raiders: TE Brock Bowers (knee) is day to day. ... P AJ Cole (low ankle sprain) will not kick until Friday, when he will be re-evaluated. ... CB Eric Stokes (knee) was limited in practice.

This is the teams' first meeting in Las Vegas. ... The Titans have won the past two matchups. Those victories came on the heels of a three-game series winning streak by the Raiders. ... The Raiders are 4-0 in playoff games against the Titans/Houston Oilers, but the most recent one was Jan. 19, 2003. The then-Oakland Raiders won 41-24 to advance to what is their most recent Super Bowl. ... Four of the past five meetings and seven of nine were in Nashville.

There are lot of Titans with Raiders ties. Tennessee coach Brian Callahan was the Raiders' quarterbacks coach in 2018. Offensive coordinator Nick Holz had various responsibilities from 2012-21. QBs coach Bo Hardegree served in the same role in 2022 and was the interim offensive coordinator the second half of 2023. Vice president and adviser Reggie McKenzie was the Raiders' general manager from 2012-18 and assistant general manager Dave Ziegler was the GM in 2022-23. Offensive line coach Bill Callahan coached the Raiders to the Super Bowl for the 2002 season beating the Titans in the AFC championship game in Oakland. ... The Titans have not won consecutive games since Nov. 13 and 17 of 2022, a span of 46 straight games. ... The Titans became the first team to overcome a deficit of 18 points or more and win with a rookie QB since 2019. ... Ward can become the first QB in Titans’ history to start the first six games as a rookie. ... His 193 yards passing in the fourth quarter were the fourth-most by an NFL rookie in a game and most by a rookie in the fourth quarter of a win since the start of the 1978 season. ... Rookie Chimere Dike leads the NFL with 783 all-purpose yards. Dike has two of the NFL’s longest kick returns this season and is averaging 26.6 yards per return. ... WR Calvin Ridley had five catches for a season-high 131 yards receiving last week. ... Simmons had a season-high eight tackles and 1 1/2 sacks last week. ... The Raiders' defensive line has broken up a league-leading nine passes. The next closest defensive lines (Indianapolis and New Orleans) have six each. ... Las Vegas is tied with Washington for second most with 30 tackles for loss. Tampa Bay has 33. ... The Raiders' 240 yards rushing against Chicago on Sept. 28 is the highest total for an NFL team this season. ... DE Maxx Crosby is one of six defensive linemen since 2006 with 150 quarterback hits in his first 100 games. ... Bowers has caught at least two passes in his first 21 games, which ties the longest streak for a tight end to open a career. Detroit’s Sam LaPorta set the record in 2023-24. ... Carroll has 171 victories and can tie Bill Parcells for 17th. ... S Jeremy Chinn needs one sack to become the eighth defensive back since 1982 with six consecutive seasons with at least one.

Raiders defense. Las Vegas faces one of the NFL's most ineffective offenses, and the Raiders' defense often has performed well even when placed in difficult situations. Plus, the defense figures to be motivated after the Colts moved almost at will against it.

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