Titans vs. Steelers Prediction
Will the Pittsburgh Steelers cover the point spread tonight when they host fellow playoff contender the Tennessee Titans at 8:25 p.m. ET?
Who Oddsmakers Like: Pittsburgh. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Steelers are now 7-point home favorites versus the Titans, who opened as 6.5-point road underdogs. As for the total, the number hit the board at 43.5 but has been bet up slightly to 44.
Who the Public Likes: Tennessee. Public bettors are backing the road underdog that has won three straight and is 6-3 on the year. As of Thursday morning, 54% of tickets are on the Titans to cover the spread.
Who the Trends Like: Tennessee and the over. The Titans have covered in five of their last seven games versus the Steelers and the underdog has cashed in six of the last seven meetings. The over, meanwhile, is sitting at 8-3 in the last 11 meetings in Pittsburgh.
Who We Like: Pittsburgh. I’m not surprised to see the public aligning with the Titans tonight. Tennessee has won three straight games, is currently tied for first place with Jacksonville in the AFC South, and is facing a Pittsburgh squad that isn’t scoring at the same clip this year as in year’s past. Why not take the touchdown in what should be a competitive game?
Here’s the problem I have with the Titans. Let’s go back to Week 7 when they beat the winless Browns 12-9 in Cleveland. They were actually out-gained in that game 284-269. The following week the Titans had a bye week to prepare for the offensively-challenged Ravens in Week 9. What happened? Tennessee won by a field goal after being out-gained again, this time 341-257.
Fast-forward to last week and the Titans weren’t out-gained by the Bengals. In fact, they smoked Cincinnati 416-308 in the yardage department. So then why did they win by only four points? Because while they generated two turnovers, they also turned the ball over twice themselves.
Look, Pittsburgh hasn’t looked great. They beat the Colts by a last-minute field goal last week and were out-gained themselves by the Lions in a 20-15 victory in Week 8. Their offense is averaging only 20.8 points per game this season, which is 19th in the league. That’s a far cry from where they were from 2013 to 2016, when they averaged just over 25 points per game. But I trust them to play well at home, score enough to cover, and hold a one-dimensional Titans team that hasn’t been as good as you’d think in check tonight.
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