Getty
The Indianapolis Colts pay a visit to Nissan Stadium when they take on their divisional rivals, the Tennessee Titans.
Both teams had promising starts to their 2019 season. The Colts came out on the losing end against the Los Angeles Chargers in a 33-27 defeat in overtime. However, if it weren’t for kicker Adam Vinatieri’s three misses, the Colts would have won the game.
As far as the Titans were concerned, the completely trounced the upstart Cleveland Browns by a score of 43-13 after entering the game as 5.5-point underdogs.
What can you expect from this matchup between familiar foes? Which team should you place your money on?
Indianapolis Colts (0-1) at Tennessee Titans (1-0)
Sunday, September 15 at 1:00 PM ET
Nissan Stadium
Coverage: CBS
*All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by Intertops
- Colts vs. Titans (-3.5)
- Over/Under: 43.5
Indianapolis Colts
BALL. HAWK. 😨 #INDvsLAC
Despite coming out of Week 1 with a 0-1 record, the Colts have to be one of the better 0-1 teams in the NFL. Although it’s only one week in, Indianapolis didn’t look as if they missed Andrew Luck. Jacoby Brissett threw two touchdowns and zero interceptions while Marlon Mack ran for 174 yards and a touchdown.
In other words, the Colts had a balanced offensive attack. And although the defense allowed 435 total yards, they forced two turnovers against one of the league’s best teams in the Chargers. They also won the turnover battle with the offense not turning the ball over a single time.
As I mentioned earlier, if not for two missed field goals and a missed extra point by Super Bowl legend Vinatieri, the Colts would be 1-0 right now.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans may have had the most surprising win of Week 1 when they completely exposed the Cleveland Browns. They picked off promising young quarterback Baker Mayfield on three occasions in the fourth quarter alone, including returning one for a touchdown.
The ineptitude of the Browns — they had an NFL-high 18 penalties for 182 yards in Week 1 — made life easy for Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota had a sweet stat line of 248 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, but one of those came on a 75-yard screen pass to Derrick Henry.
Furthermore, Mariota’s 58.3 completion percentage and the Titans’ 2-of-10 efficiency on third down conversions leave a lot to be desired.
Trends and Prediction
The Indianapolis Colts are:
- The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Indianapolis’ last 10 games.
- Indianapolis are 10-3 SU in their last 13 games.
- Indianapolis are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games against Tennessee.
- Indianapolis are 13-2 SU in their last 15 games against Tennessee.
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indianapolis’ last 8 games against an opponent in the AFC conference.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indianapolis’ last 5 games against an opponent in the AFC South division.
The Tennessee Titans are:
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tennessee’s last 7 games.
- Tennessee are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games.
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tennessee’s last 5 games at home.
- Tennessee are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games when playing at home against Indianapolis.
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tennessee’s last 5 games against an opponent in the AFC conference.
- Tennessee are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against an opponent in the AFC South division.
This is going to be a close game and the Colts and Titans are two evenly-matched teams with young quarterbacks and solid runners. The key to this game will likely come down to turnovers — whoever wins the turnover battle likely wins this game.
The Colts have superior talent on the offensive end, but the Titans are more ferocious on defense, led by head coach and former Super Bowl linebacker Mike Vrabel.
With all of that said, the Colts are more desperate for a victory, which means they should cover the spread.
With the low over/under of 43.5, I also say these teams go over for this divisional matchup.
Pick: Colts (+3.5), Over (43.5)