Sports

Mike Tomlin "optimistic" about Jaylen Warren's availability for Week 12

The Steelers may or may not have their starting quarterback for Sunday's game against the Bears. But they should have their top running back.

Via Brooke Pryor of ESPN, head coach Mike Tomlin said in his Tuesday press conference that he's "optimistic" about Jaylen Warren's availability for Week 12 after the running back suffered an ankle injury during Sunday's win over the Bengals. But, Tomlin noted, Warren's practice availability could be limited early in the week.

Warren leads the Steelers with 536 yards rushing, having also rushed for two touchdowns. Additionally, Warren has caught 25 passes for 219 yards with a TD.

Kenneth Gainwell would see the bulk of the carries if Warren is unavailable.

Tomlin also noted that cornerback Darius Slay (concussion) is likely to return this week while edge rusher Alex Highsmith (pectoral) will be limited in practice on Wednesday.

C.J. Stroud remains in concussion protocol, won't play in Thursday's Texans-Bills game

C.J. Stroud will miss at least one more game.

The Houston Texans quarterback remains in concussion protocol and will not play in Thursday's game against the Buffalo Bills. Backup Davis Mills will continue to start at quarterback. Head coach DeMeco Ryans announced the update to reporters Tuesday afternoon.

Stroud hasn't played since sustaining a concussion in Week 9 against the Denver Broncos. He'll miss a third consecutive game Thursday night.

C.J. Stroud will miss a third consecutive game in concussion protocol.
C.J. Stroud will miss a third consecutive game in concussion protocol.
Cooper Neill via Getty Images

The Texans have won their last two games with Mills at quarterback against the Jaguars and Titans to improve to 5-5 and remain in the AFC playoff hunt. Since taking over for Stroud against the Broncos, Mills has completed 60.3% of his passes for 234.3 yards per game with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Houston's offense scored 36 points against the Jaguars and 16 points against the Titans in his two starts.

It's not clear at this point when Stroud will be able to return as the Texans find themselves in a fight down the stretch run of the season to make the playoffs. Houston would be the first team out of the seven-team AFC playoff field if the postseason started this week, a game behind the 6-4 Jaguars that they own a tiebreaker against because of their Week 10 win over Jacksonville.

Houston has a difficult schedule remaining with four games out of seven against projected playoff teams and another against the Kansas City Chiefs. After playing the Bills, the Texans face the Colts, Chiefs, Cardinals, Raiders and Chargers before concluding their season with another game against the AFC South-leading Colts. 

Bears are first in the NFC North standings, but third in the betting odds to win the division

The Bears took over sole possession of first place in the NFC North on Sunday, improving their record to 7-3, half a game ahead of the 6-3-1 Packers and a full game ahead of the 6-4 Lions. But that doesn't make the Bears the division favorites.

In fact, the betting odds have the Bears a distant third in the division.

The Lions, despite being in third place, are currently the betting favorites with +130 odds to win the division at DraftKings.com. The Packers are just behind them at +135. The Bears, despite being in first place, are significant underdogs to win the division at +390. The 4-6 Vikings are in last place and have by far the longest odds, at +9000.

A big reason the gambling community isn't high on the Bears is that they're winning, but they're usually just squeaking by their opponents. Usually, the best teams are the ones that blow out their opponents. The Bears' point differential is -6, while the Lions' point differential is +76 and the Packers' point differential is +44. Point differential is usually a better predictor of a team's future performance than win-loss record.

The NFC North is likely to go down to the wire, as the Bears play the Packers twice in December, and the Bears and Lions meet to conclude the season in Week 18. The Bears will have their chances down the stretch to prove the oddsmakers wrong.

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