Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill (ankle) has an "uphill battle" to play Week 16 against the Houston Texans, reports Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Tannehill made a brief exit after injuring his ankle during the first drive of the Titans' Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but he was able to tough it out and finish the game. However, according to Pelissero, rookie Malik Willis is in line for his third career start. Based on prior performance this season, Willis would be a downgrade for the Titans' pass-catchers and overall offense.
Among the 53 quarterbacks with at least 40 drop backs this season, Willis ranks dead last in Passing Net Expected Points per attempt. Tannehill ranks 16th in that group. The Texans are surprisingly allowing the fourth-fewest FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks this season, but their pass defense is No. 22 in numberFire's adjusted teams metrics.
Source: Tom Pelissero, NFL Network