Colts try to rebound and keep fading playoff hopes alive when they face struggling Titans

Tennessee (3-11) at Indianapolis (6-8)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS

BetMGM NFL Odds: Colts by 3 1/2

Against the spread: Titans 2-12, Colts 8-6

Series record: Colts lead 38-22

Last meeting: Colts beat Titans 20-17 on Oct. 13 at Nashville, Tennessee.

Last week: Titans lost to Bengals 37-27; Colts lost to Broncos 31-13.

Titans offense: overall (27), rush (19), pass (26), scoring (27).

Titans defense: overall (2), rush (12), pass (3), scoring (T-29).

Colts offense: overall (21), rush (13), pass (27), scoring (23).

Colts defense: overall (28), rush (30), pass (23), scoring (21).

QB Mason Rudolph. The Titans opted to keep Will Levis on the bench in favor of Rudolph, who will make his fourth start of the season. His numbers have been underwhelming — 63% completion rate, 1,015 yards, six TDs and five interceptions. Rudolph may be a better short-term option than Levis, but Rudolph could use this game as an audition for his 2025 landing spot.

RB Jonathan Taylor. Taylor mostly played well last week, getting his first 100-yard game in five games and averaging 4.86 yards per carry. But it will be remembered for his embarrassing gaffe — dropping the ball before the goal line, taking a touchdown off the board and giving the ball back to Denver. It may wind up costing Indy a playoff spot. Now people want to see how Taylor responds this week against one of the league's top defenses.

Titans RB Tony Pollard vs. Colts run defense. Pollard has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise bleak season for Tennessee. He is dealing with an injured ankle but needs 18 yards rushing for his third straight 1,000-yard season. The quarterback change suggests Pollard needs to play a more pivotal role against an Indy defense that has struggled against the run most of this season.

Titans: K Nick Folk (abdominal injury) will be a game-time decision with Brayden Narveson elevated from the practice squad as insurance. LB Kenneth Murray (hamstring) also is a game-time decision. RB Tony Pollard is questionable with an injured ankle that kept him from practicing all week. Starting LB Luke Gifford is still in the concussion protocol. CB Roger McCreary is set to return after missing two straight games with an injured shoulder.

Colts: WR Alec Pierce will miss the game with a concussion, along with LB E.J. Speed (knee). Indy is more hopeful that Pro Bowl C Ryan Kelly and CB JuJu Brents can return from knee injury now they're off injured reserve, with both questionable.

The Colts have won three straight against Tennessee after snapping a five-game losing streak in the series last season. ... A win Sunday would give Indy the 12th season sweep since these teams became AFC South rivals in 2002. The Titans have only two season sweeps. ... The teams have met once in the playoffs. Tennessee won 19-16 at Indianapolis in January 2000. It was the first playoff game ever played in Indy and a big road win as Tennessee reached the lone Super Bowl in its franchise history.

Tennessee has lost three straight and five of its past six under first-year coach Brian Callahan. ... One more loss would match the franchise's third-highest single-season loss total since the Titans left Houston in the 1990s. ... This starts a three-game swing through the AFC South to finish the season for Tennessee. ... The Titans turned it over six times last week in a loss that featured 10 total turnovers and 26 combined penalties. ... The Titans' defense has had at least one interception in four straight games and had a season-high four takeaways last week. ... Folk has made an NFL-record 85 consecutive field goals on attempts from less than 40 yards. ... He ranks 14th in NFL history with 403 field goals. ... TE Chig Okonkwo had a team-high and career-best eight catches as he finished with 59 yards last week. ... Indianapolis has lost four of its past six and is on the cusp of falling out of the AFC playoff mix. ... The Colts have scored 44 points on their opening possessions, fifth in the NFL, and are tied for second in the league with 34 points and four TDs in the last two minutes of a game. ... An injured right hip kept Colts QB Anthony Richardson out of the October matchup with Tennessee and he was knocked out of last year's home game against the Titans with an injured throwing shoulder that ended his rookie season. ... Taylor has seven games with 100 or more yards from scrimmage this season, tied for No. 7 in the league. ... WR Michael Pittman Jr. has been targeted at least seven times and has caught at least five passes in four consecutive games. ... Indy's defense has allowed the sixth-fewest plays of 20 or more yards (45) and has a league-best 15 forced fumbles this season. ... LB Zaire Franklin (144), LB E.J. Speed (130) and S Nick Cross (129) are all ranked among the NFL's top five in tackles.

Taylor probably has the most upside this week. The safer play may be the Titans' defense against a team that committed five turnovers last week and has scored 20 or fewer points in eight of its past nine games.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) runs for a first down during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan reacts during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph (11) throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) looks on from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Indianapolis Colts' DeForest Buckner sacks Denver Broncos' Bo Nix in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos' Kris Abrams-Draine breaks iup a pass intended for Indianapolis Colts' Alec Pierce during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor runs for what would have been a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. Taylor dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Indianapolis Colts' Anthony Richardson gets away from Denver Broncos' John Franklin-Myers during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

PARIS (AP) — France’s anti-terrorism court on Friday convicted eight people of involvement in the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty outside his school near Paris four years ago, a horrific death that shocked the country.

Paty, 47, was killed by an Islamic extremist outside his school on Oct. 16, 2020, days after showing his class cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a debate on free expression. The assailant, an 18-year-old Russian of Chechen origin, was shot to death by police.

Those who have been on trial on terrorism charges at a special court in Paris since the end of November were accused, in some cases, of providing assistance to the perpetrator and, in others, of organizing a hate campaign online before the murder took place.

The 540-seat courtroom was packed for the verdict, which marked the final chapter of the Paty trial. Heavy surveillance was in place, with more than 50 police officers guarding the proceedings.

Seated in the front row was Samuel Paty’s 9-year-old son, accompanied by family members. As the lead judge, delivered sentences one after the other, emotions in the room ran high.

“I am moved, and I am relieved,” said Gaëlle Paty, Samuel Paty’s sister, as she addressed a crowd of reporters after the verdict. “Hearing the word ‘guilty’ — that’s what I needed."

"I spent this week listening to a lot of rewriting of what happened, and it was hard to hear, but now the judge has stated what really happened, and it feels good,” she added, her voice breaking as tears filled her eyes.

Families of the accused reacted with gasps, cries, shouts, and ironic clapping, prompting the judge to pause multiple times and call for silence.

“They lied about my brother,” shouted one relative. Another woman, sobbing, exclaimed, “They took my baby from me,” before being escorted out by police officers.

The judge met or went above most of the terms requested by prosecutors, citing “the exceptional gravity of the facts.”

Naïm Boudaoud, 22, and Azim Epsirkhanov, 23, friends of the attacker, were convicted of complicity in murder and sentenced to 16 years in prison each. Boudaoud was accused of driving the attacker to the school, while Epsirkhanov helped him procure weapons.

Brahim Chnina, 52, the Muslim father of the schoolgirl whose lies sparked the events leading to Paty’s death, was sentenced to 13 years for association with a terrorist enterprise. Prosecutors had sought 10 years for him.

Abdelhakim Sefrioui, a Muslim preacher, was given 15 years for organizing a hate campaign online against Paty.

The shocking death of the 47-year-old teacher left an indelible mark on France, with several schools now named after him.

The trial had begun in late November. The defendants were accused of assisting a perpetrator or organizing a hate campaign online in lead-up to the murder.

At the time of the attack, there were protests in many Muslim countries and calls online for violence targeting France and the satirical French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The newspaper had republished its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad a few weeks before Paty’s death to mark the opening of the trial over deadly 2015 attacks on its newsroom by Islamic extremists.

The cartoon images deeply offended many Muslims, who saw them as sacrilegious. But the fallout from Paty’s killing reinforced the French state’s commitment to freedom of expression and its firm attachment to secularism in public life.

Chnina's daughter, who was 13 at the time, claimed that she had been excluded from Paty’s class when he showed the caricatures on Oct. 5, 2020.

Chnina sent a series of messages to his contacts denouncing Paty, saying that “this sick man” needed to be fired, along with the address of the school in the Paris suburb of Conflans Saint-Honorine. In reality, Chnina’s daughter had lied to him and had never attended the lesson in question.

Paty was teaching a class mandated by the National Education Ministry on freedom of expression. He discussed the caricatures in this context, saying students who did not wish to see them could temporarily leave the classroom.

An online campaign against Paty snowballed, and 11 days after the lesson, Anzorov attacked the teacher with a knife as he walked home, and displayed the teacher’s head in a post on social media. Police later fatally shot Anzorov as he advanced toward them, armed.

Chnina's daughter was tried last year in a juvenile court and given an 18-month suspended sentence. Four other students at Paty’s school were found guilty of involvement and given suspended sentences; a fifth, who pointed out Paty to Anzorov in exchange for money, was given a 6-month term with an electronic bracelet.

Sefrioui, the preacher on trial, had presented himself as a spokesperson for Imams of France although he had been dismissed from that role. He had filmed a video in front of the school with the father of the student. He referred to the teacher as a “thug” multiple times and sought to pressure the school administration via social media.

Some of the defendants expressed regrets and claimed their innocence on the eve of the verdict. They did not convince Paty's family.

“It’s something that really shocks the family,” lawyer Virginie Le Roy said. “You get the feeling that those in the box are absolutely unwilling to admit any responsibility whatsoever."

“Apologies are pointless, they won’t bring Samuel back, but explanations are precious to us,” Le Roy said. "We haven’t had many explanations of the facts.”

Petrequin reported from London.

FILE - People hold a photo of the history teacher Samuel Paty , who was beheaded last week, during a memorial march in homage to him, Tuesday, Oct.20, 2020 in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, northwest of Paris. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File)

FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron leaves after paying his respects by the coffin of slain teacher Samuel Paty in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)

FILE - A Republican Guard holds a portrait of Samuel Paty in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university during a national memorial event, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020 in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)