The Tennessee Titans kept their playoff hopes alive with a bold win over Kansas City Chiefs last week. Now they need to find a way to avoid a letdown this week as they travel for the second week in a row when they face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon. The Jaguars will be playing their first game since firing head coach Gus Bradley.
Moneyline: Titans -220
Handicap/Spread Odds: Titans -4
Total O/U: 43.5
Last 5 Meetings: (Road/Home – Spread/Total)
| 10/27/16 | JAC 22 – TEN 36 | TEN -3 | O 43.5 |
| 12/06/15 | JAC 39 – TEN 42 | Push -3.0 | O 43.5 |
| 11/19/15 | TEN 13 – JAC 19 | JAC -3 | U 41.5 |
| 12/18/14 | TEN 13 – JAC 21 | JAC -4 | U 39 |
| 10/12/14 | JAC 14 – TEN 16 | JAC 4 | U 42.5 |
On The Titans Side of the Ball (8-6 Record, 6-8 ATS)
The Titans extended their win streak to three with a 19-17 win over the Chiefs as Ryan Succop kicked a 53-yard field goal with no time left to prevail in the dying seconds. In fact, Succop actually missed his first attempt at the game-winning field goal but Andy Reid had called timeout to bail him out and he made no mistake on the second opportunity. The field goal kept Tennessee alive in the AFC as they enter this week just one game back of the Miami Dolphins for the final Wild Card spot. Marcus Mariota owns the second-best QBR in the NFL since Week 8 and while he wasn’t outstanding last week he did make two big third down completions to put the Titans in field goal range in the final minute. Mariota completed 19-of-33 pass attempts for 241 yards with an interception but his numbers will likely look a lot better in Jacksonville on Sunday. Meanwhile, Tennessee will continue to lean on the running back tandem of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry to move the ball on the ground after those two combined for 147 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win. As long as they’re rolling, the Titans will be in great shape here.
Last 5 Results:
| 12/18/16 | @KC | W 19-17 | W 6 | U 43 |
| 12/11/16 | DEN | W 13-10 | W -2 | U 44 |
| 11/27/16 | @CHI | W 27-21 | L -6.5 | O 41.5 |
| 11/20/16 | @IND | L 17-24 | L 3 | U 53.5 |
| 11/13/16 | GB | W 47-25 | W 3 | O 48.5 |
On The Jaguars Side of the Ball (2-12 Record, 6-8 ATS)
Jacksonville’s slide continued with a 21-20 loss to the Houston Texans last week as they have now dropped nine in a row to fall to 2-12 on the season. The Jaguars have been right there in a number of their games with five losses by one score during their slide but they haven’t been able to do enough to pull out the wins. Gus Bradley paid for it as he was fired following last week’s loss. Doug Marrone takes over as the interim coach this week but it might not be enough of a spark to hang with a Titans team that beat Jacksonville by 14 in their first meeting. Blake Bortles threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions in that game and the Jaguars still couldn’t win in part because Mariota completed 18-of-22 passes with two touchdowns against them and in part because Murray and Henry combined for 183 yards and two scores against them. Bortles has since regressed significantly while the Titans – as a team – have improved. The Jaguars will have to put forth their best effort of the season to pull this one off – even though the line is so short.
Last 5 Results:
| 12/18/16 | @HOU | L 20-21 | W 3.5 | O 39.5 |
| 12/11/16 | MIN | L 16-25 | L 3 | O 38 |
| 12/04/16 | DEN | L 10-20 | L 3.5 | U 38.5 |
| 11/27/16 | @BUF | L 21-28 | W 8.5 | O 43.5 |
| 11/20/16 | @DET | L 19-26 | L 5.5 | U 47 |
Quick Analysis
Tennessee is just 3-4 against the spread on the road this season but they won and covered in Kansas City last week and they are only four-point favorites against a team they beat by 14 in their first meeting this week. Meanwhile, the Jaguars have kept a number of games close as they are 6-8 against the spread compared to 2-12 straight up.
Prediction
While Jacksonville made a coaching change, they are still just 2-12 on the season and playing for nothing more than pride against the Titans this week. Meanwhile, Tennessee is playing for its season as they need a win to stay alive in the AFC playoff race so we are fully expecting another lopsided win like we saw in the first meeting between these teams.
Pick: Titans -4
Note: The betting odds are subject to change throughout the week leading up to kick-off, so please be aware of the possibility of line movements.
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