The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • D4

D4 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2020 LATIMES.COM/SPORTS CIN (1-2-1) at BAL (3-1) a.m. Ravens 30, Bengals 20 TheRavensare thebetter teamall the wayaround, but their defense is vulner- able. JoeBurrow looks excellent so far andcouldhave someearly success beforeBaltimore slams thedoor. JAC (1-3) at HOU (0-4) a.m. Texans 28, Jaguars 24 6.O/U:54.

Teamsoftenget a short-livedboost in the immediate aftermathof firing a coach, and thatprobablywill happen for theTexans.Besides,Houston is a little better thanJacksonville anyway. LV (2-2) at KC (4-0) a.m. Chiefs 35, Raiders 24 2.DirecTV:707. DerekCarr is playingwell, but the young Raidershavemiles to go.TheChiefs, meanwhile, havemore thanarrived. KansasCity is goodenough to toywith teams for awhile, thenpull awayatwill.

BUF (4-0) at TEN (3-0) Tuesday, 4 p.m. Bills 31, Titans 21 2. board.O/U:Off board. This game is under the shadowof a COVIDcloud.TheBills are oneof the best andmost complete teams, andJosh Allen creates all sorts of problems. If they play, gowith the visitors.

CAR (2-2) at ATL (0-4) a.m. Panthers 28, Falcons 24 Carolina is surprisingly goodwithout ChristianMcCaffrey, andTeddyBridge- water canwork themiddle of the field as well as anyone. Falcons arebangedupon offense, and their defense is terrible. ARI (2-2) at NYJ (0-4) a.m. Cardinals 27, Jets 14 by 7.O/U:47.

TheCardinals catchabreak in facing the team, and they should win, but cruis- ing along.Arizonawouldhaveproblems beating a truly good team. PHI (1-2-1) at PIT (3-0) a.m. Steelers 28, Eagles 17 by 7.O/U:44. TheSteelers are comingoff anunexpect- edweekoff, and theyneeded it to get healthy.Their defense comesout strong, andBenRoethlisberger continues to roll against thebruisedEagles. LAR (3-1) at WAS (1-3) a.m.

Rams 23 Even though theywon, theRamsdidnot play to their standards onoffense against theGiants.They return to formagainst old team, especiallywith Washington limpingondefense. MIA (1-3) at SF (2-2) 49ers 27, Dolphins 23 by 9.O/U:501⁄2. The 49ers are on themend, andquarter- back JimmyGaroppolo and running backRaheemMostert areback in the fold.Thatmightbe enough to jump-start this sputtering franchise. IND (3-1) at CLE (3-1) Colts 23, Browns 21 TheColts cannickel-and-dime teams, but shownapropensity for bigplays.TheBrownsare going tomiss NickChubb, especially against this swarming Indianapolis defense. NYG (0-4) at DAL (1-3) Cowboys 31, Giants 27 9.O/U:541⁄2.

Dallas is puttingup ridiculous offensive numbers, but thedefense is absurdly bad. TheGiants havemuch, but as they showedagainst theRams lastweek, they are capable of keeping it DEN (1-3) at NE (2-2) Monday, 2p.m. Patriots 28, Broncos 17 theboard.O/U:Off theboard. If CamNewton is able to return for the shouldbeable to roll at home.Denver,with its rotatingQB struggle tomove theball against thisNewEnglanddefense. MIN (1-3) at SEA (4-0) Sunday, Seahawks 33, Vikings 27 4.

7.O/U:561⁄2. Minnesota is gettingbetter. Justin Jeffer- son is playing thatStefonDiggs role, and DalvinCook is rolling. defense givesupa lot of ground, but this comes down toRussellWilson taking control. LAC (1-3) at NO (2-2) Monday, 5:15 p.m.

Saints 28, Chargers 23 by JustinHerbert looksphenomenal.At 6-6, he stands tall andplays tall. But losing AustinEkeler is a setback.DrewBrees theplayerheoncewas, still plenty good. PICKS The NFLwriter, SamFarmer, examines this Lines according to Pregame.com Last record11-4 season 46-16-1 Using point spreads with the scores Farmer predicted, the record against the spread last week would have been 9-6 season 35-28 Off: Detroit, Green Bay. All times are Pacific. NFL Anthony Lynn spent the last two-plusweeks insisting Tyrod Taylor would return as the starting quarterback.

But threegamesofJustin mind and the di- rection. Before taking any ques- tions Thursday on a video- conference with reporters, Lynn announced Herbert would remain the starter moving forward, be- ginning Monday night in NewOrleans. like to be Lynn said. takemy I want to overreact ini- tially. I wanted this to play out.

seen enough, and I just wanted to go ahead and make it Herbert, the No. 6 overall pick inApril, was thrust into thestarting job inWeek2, af- ter Taylor suffered a punc- tured lung inapregameacci- dent that the NFL Players Assn. is investigating. A member of the Char- medical staff inadvert- ently knocked Taylor from the lineup by puncturing his lungwhile attempting to ad- minister an injection for a previous rib injury. At least in part to the un- usual circumstances, Lynn remainedsteadfast inhisbe- lief that Taylor, when fully healthy, should be given the starting jobback.Adecision had to be made this week with Taylor returning to practice.

was Lynn said of demoting the 10-year veteran, it Lynn explained Taylor not take it when informed of the decision be- cause of his competitiveness and desire to continue guid- ing the Chargers offense. But Lynn praised professionalism and said he expected Taylor to support Herbert and by exam- as the only unanimously selected cap- tain. was difficult under these Lynn said. I just, after three weeks of watching Justin, this is why we brought him here, to be our franchise quarterback. I just feel like In his emergency start against the Chiefs, Herbert completed 22 of 33 for 311 yards and a touchdown as theChargers pushed the de- fendingSuperBowl champi- ons into overtime before los- ing.

Though the Chargers are 0-3 in starts, he has completed of his passes, averaged 310 yards passing and thrown for five touchdowns with three in- terceptions. think this young man is just going to continually said. Iknowwecanwin with him. I believe that. We done it yet.

But I do believe those wins are com- After the draft, the Char- gers planned to gowith Tay- lor as the starter while grooming Herbert to even- tually take over. That plan seemed to make even more sense after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the traditional offseason programand forced thecan- cellation of preseason games. thought it would have been ideal for us to play this year with Tyrod Taylor as the starter and Justin watching and Lynn said. it workout Given the opportunity, Herbert has proved to be a potentially long-term an- swer at quarterback. He has displayeda strongandaccu- rate arm, composure and toughness.

Lynn said he was swayed by the Her- bert offers, noting his men- tal and physical skills and his impact on those around him. He also singled out consistency and how he has handled pres- sure, onandoff the field. has all the physical tools and talent in the Lynn said. I be- lieve playing that quarter- back position is more men- tal and intangibles. I like the way he hasmanaged the huddle.

I like the way his teammates are responding For Taylor, the situation is similar to one he went through two years ago. He was the starter in Cleveland in2018beforesufferingacon- cussion inWeek 3 and being replacedbyNo.1overallpick Baker Mayfield. Taylor did not start again for the Browns, and Lynn saidHer- bert need not worry about losing the job to Taylor now. want to see more of Lynn said of Herbert. not going to be a situa- tion where looking over his shoulder.

our start- ingquarterback.Hemakesa bad play, has a bad game, If Taylor makes it through practice over the backup against the Saints. Etc. TheChargerscontinueto be without receiver Mike Williams (hamstring) and offensive linemenBryanBu- laga (back) and Trai Turner (groin). Defensive end Joey Bosa also missed practice Thursday. Bosa on Monday said miss- ing time the last two weeks has affected his preparation and therefore his play on Sundays.

feeling great he said. have to do a better Running backAustinEkeler (hamstring) said this week onsocialmedia thathehasa Grade 2 strain and will miss nomore than four to sixweeks. In about-face, Herbert named starter Chargers coach ignore how rookie quarterback has performed on field. By Jeff Miller CHARGERS quarterback Justin Herbert is 0-3 as the starter but has completed of his passes and averaged 310 yards passing a game. Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times The Buffalo Bills-Ten- nessee Titans game has beenmoved from Sunday to Tuesday at 4 p.m.

PDT as long as Tennessee has no more positive tests for COVID-19 in the interim. The NFL also is resched- uling Denver Broncos-New England Pa- triots game from Sunday to Monday at 2 p.m. PDT as part of an ESPN double- header. New England had a smaller outbreak of COVID-19. The Kansas City game at Buffalo scheduled for Oct.

15 is moving to next weekend if the Buffalo-Ten- nessee game actually is played Tuesday. No specific day or time has been deter- mined. scheduling deci- sions were made to ensure thehealthandsafetyofplay- ers, coaches and game day personnel and in consulta- tion with medical the NFL said in a statement Thursdaynight. Three games now have been postponed because of the pandemic: Pittsburgh at Tennessee in Week 3 was moved toOct. 25.

The outbreak in- creased to 23 Thursday with tightendMyColePruittand a defensive back from the practicesquadputonthere- list. The Ti- facility remains closed with the team still prohib- ited from any in-person ac- tivities. Tennessee has had 21 positive tests returned since Sept. 29, thoughnow13play- ers are on the COVID-19 list, including four starters anda long snapper. Titans coach Mike Vra- belhastalkedwithreporters only once this week, and he said Tuesday that he stood by the franchise following leagueprotocols.

The investigation by the NFLand the associ- ation into how Tennessee turned into the first COVID-19 outbreak found specific of theTitanspossibly break- ing protocols dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, a person with knowledge of the inquiry told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Also, Tennessee was told players could not gather to- gether for any in-person ac- tivitieseitherat fa- cility or elsewhere a day be- fore several Titans worked outataprivateschool, aper- son familiar with the situa- tion toldAP. The Patriots missed a second straight day of prac- tice after Stephon Gilmore joined quarterback Cam Newton on the COVID-19 list. New England coach Bill Belichick said the team closed its facility for the healthandsafety of the club. Whether the Patriots return to their facility Fridaywill be a medical decision rather than a football one, Beli- chick said.

The Titans also an- nounced that tight end Tommy Hudson, a practice squadmember currently on the list, hasbeensuspendedwithout pay for six games for violat- ing the policy on per- formance-enhancing sub- stances. Etc. TheAtlantaFalconsacti- vated cornerback A.J. Ter- rell to their active roster from the list. Terrell, the first- round pick fromClemson in this draft, hasmissed the past two games.

New YorkGiantsreceiverGolden Tate refused to discuss his postgame fight with Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey last weekend, saying he wants to focus on helping the team finally get awin. AROUND THE LEAGUE 2 games rescheduled in wake of outbreaks associated press.