Ravens vs. Titans Pick
Will the Tennessee Titans take a step toward controlling the AFC South when they play host to the Baltimore Ravens today at 1PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Tennessee is favored at home, as the Titans are getting odds of -3.5 points against the Ravens. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 43 points. The home team has won two straight meetings in this series, and the Titans are 5-2 against the spread in the last seven encounters. The public betting in this one has Tennessee getting 64 percent of the wagers at home. Today’s game takes place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. The contest will air live on CBS.
The Titans are coming off a 12-9 OT win over the Browns in Week 7 before taking their bye. Tennessee is 4-3 on the season and 3-4 against the spread. Given the ACL injury to Deshaun Watson at Houston and the Colts putting Andrew Luck on IR, the AFC South seems to be wide open for the Titans. Tennessee has had its offensive struggles this season, averaging just 22.6 points and 333.6 yards per game. Marcus Mariota has been battling a hamstring injury over recent weeks but is believed to have healed up in the bye week. He has thrown for 1,301 yards and four touchdowns this year while also rushing for 124 yards and three scores. Mariota is hopeful to get first-round pick Corey Davis in the lineup this week. He has appeared in just two games this year because of a hamstring injury. Tight end Delanie Walker may not play because of an ankle injury. However, DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry are both healthy in the backfield. The two have combined for over 700 rushing yards. Defensively, Tennessee is giving up 24.7 points and 340.1 yards per game.
The Ravens are coming off a 40-0 thrashing of the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 to improve to 4-4 on the season. Baltimore is 4-4 against the spread as well, going 2-2 ATS on the road. The Ravens haven’t been able to move the ball much this year as well, averaging just 295.1 yards and 21.3 points per game. Joe Flacco suffered a concussion on a nasty hit last week, but is expected to play today. He has 1,290 passing yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions. Alex Collins is leading the offense with 478 rushing yards while Javorius Allen has 356 yards on the ground. Defensively, Baltimore is holding opponents to 18.5 points and 331.1 yards per game. However, they are allowing 132.8 rushing yards per contest. The unit has 19 sacks and 12 interceptions this season.
At some point the Titans have to get on track, don’t they? Tennessee seems to have too much talent to not take a step forward. Mariota seems to be healthy and should be able to use his arms and his legs against Baltimore. That should also help their duo of impressive backs. Baltimore doesn’t have an offense that can consistently move the ball, so the Titans won’t need many scores to cover. The Titans have covered in six of their last seven at home and I think they do it again today.
NFL WEEK 9 PREDICTION: TENNESSEE TITANS -3.5