Tennessee at Indianapolis Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

Posted by Kenny Bell on Friday,November 18, 2016 8:47, EDT in

NFL News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

Don’t look now, but the Tennessee Titans (5-5) are contending the AFC South as they are just two games behind first-place Houston and the Texans are favored in the NFL odds to lose Monday night against Oakland. The surging Titans travel to Indianapolis on Sunday with the Colts off their bye and slight favorites.

Tennessee at Indianapolis Odds, Betting Pick & TV Info

The #Titans defense is ready to take care of business in Indianapolis.

Let’s hear from them: pic.twitter.com/LWUycizF8b

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 18, 2016

When: Sunday, Nov. 20, 1 PM ET
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV: CBS
Radio: Tennessee / Indianapolis
Stream Option: NFL Live
Opening NFL Lines: Colts -3 (52.5)

Why Bet on Tennessee?

The Titans won for the fourth time in six game last week, clobbering Green Bay 47-25. The Packers allowed the Titans to become the first team in the NFL this season to score touchdowns on each of their first four drives to start a game. The last team to do that was the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16 of the 2014 season. It was the first time the Titans scored touchdowns on their first four drives of a game in the last 15 seasons.

The Packers came in with the NFL’s No. 1 run defense, allowing just 75.8 yards per game on the ground. Titans running back DeMarco Murray essentially equaled that on his first carry with a 75-yard touchdown run. Murray not only rushed for a 75-yard touchdown, he also threw a 10-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. Murray is the first non-quarterback since Hall of Famer John Henry Johnson in 1960 (December 11, 1960) to have a 75+ yard touchdown run and a touchdown pass in the same game. Murray is only 70 yards away from his third 1,000-yard rushing season. Murray will take a five-game touchdown streak into Sunday’s contest at Indianapolis

Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 73.1 percent of his passes (19 of 26) for 295 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 149.8 passer rating in the Titans’ win over Green Bay. Mariota is the first quarterback in NFL history to have three games with a 70.0+ completion percentage, at least four touchdown passes and no interceptions in his first two seasons. Since entering the league in 2015, Mariota has never thrown a red-zone interception. He’s thrown for 30 touchdowns in the red zone with a 116.3 quarterback rating and a 65.4 completion percentage.

Why Bet on Indianapolis?

The Colts (4-5) also last played Green Bay, winning 31-26 at Lambeau Field in Week 9. Frank Gore rushed for two touchdowns, and Jordan Todman had a tone-setting 99-yard return on the opening kickoff. Andrew Luck shook off two interceptions in the first quarter to finish with 281 yards passing and a touchdown. The Colts, who had allowed an NFL-worst 31 sacks coming into the game, gave their quarterback decent protection.

With 108 rushing yards against Tennessee on Sunday, Gore would pass Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett for the eighth most rushing yards in NFL history. The Colts have won 10 straight over the Titans and stretching that to 11 would keep them in the serious discussion for challenging the Texans at the top of the division.

The Colts won at Tennessee 34-26 in Week 7. Luck threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jack Doyle with 1:55 left to put Indianapolis ahead to stay. Luck has never lost to Tennessee, and he improved to 8-0 against the Titans with yet another comeback win. He finished with 353 yards passing and three TDs, the last after Tennessee went up 23-20. The defense, which slowed down the Titans’ Murray in the second half, then did its turn in finishing off the Colts’ first road win of 2016.

The inactive list that afternoon for Indy included Dwayne Allen, Henry Anderson, Phillip Dorsett, Jack Mewhort and Donte Moncrief. It’s a real possibility the Colts have all those guys on Sunday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium.