In this Week 17 regular season finale, the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts play at LP Field. This game will feature the NFL’s third-leading passer, Andrew Luck (4,601 yards, 38 TDs), and fifth-leading receiver, T.Y. Hilton (1,345 yards, 7 TDs). Indianapolis (10-5) and Tennessee (2-13) enter this week’s game headed opposite ways. The game starts at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and will air on CBS.
The Colts smashed the Titans 41-17 in their last meeting. That Week 4 game marked six straight wins for Indianapolis against Tennessee, going back to the 2011 season. Delanie Walker had a great outing in the last game against the Colts, pulling in five receptions for 84 yards and one TD. Luck had a big performance throwing the ball for Indianapolis, connecting on 29 of 41 pass attempts for 393 yards, four TDs and one interception. Reggie Wayne had a big day as well, contributing 119 yards and a TD on seven catches.
Indianapolis is a substantial seven-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 47 points. The Titans enter the game with records of 2-13 Straight Up (SU) and 3-11-1 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In the past five games, Tennessee has struggled with a 0-5 record SU and ATS. The Titans have a strong passing game with an average of 11.8 yards per pass, good enough for fifth in the league. As for the Tennessee defense, a few key matchups could decide this game. A crucial part of the game will be if the Colts can protect their quarterback from Tennessee’s hungry defense. It averages the third-most sacks at home with 3.4 per home game.
On the other side, the Colts have 10-5 SU and 9-5-1 ATS records this season. The Colts went 4-1 SU and 2-2-1 ATS over the last five games. Offensively, they are a fun team to watch with an average of 28.7 points per game, the fifth-ranked scoring team in the league. Odds are Indianapolis will continue to rely on its passing attack, where its 305.3 passing yards per game ranks first in the league. Shifting to the other side of the ball, the Indianapolis defense can dominate if they take advantage of some favorable matchups. The Colts may be able to focus their attention on other areas because Tennessee’s run game has not been reliable this year. The Titans rank 28th in the league with 87 rushing yards per game. The Titans need to recognize the importance of securing the ball against the fumble-minded Colts. They’re third in the league in fumbles recovered with 0.9 per game. The Colts could take advantage of Tennessee’s reputation as a slow starter on defense. They are 30th in the NFL in first-quarter points allowed with 6.5. Indianapolis tends to control the time of possession during games, averaging a time of 32:47 for fourth in the league.
Predictions: SU Winner – IND, ATS Winner – IND, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indianapolis’s last 5 games.
Indianapolis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
Indianapolis is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Indianapolis’s last 13 games on the road.
Indianapolis is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games on the road.
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Indianapolis’s last 19 games when playing Tennessee.
Indianapolis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Tennessee.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Indianapolis’s last 9 games when playing on the road against Tennessee.
Indianapolis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Tennessee.
Indianapolis is 9-1 SU when leading at the half this season. Tennessee is 2-5 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
This season, Indianapolis is 3-1 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and 5-3 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Indianapolis defense has forced an average of 2.1 turnovers per game this season, but Tennessee is 7-2 SU when turning the ball over at least 2 times in a game.
When it comes to passing this year, Indianapolis is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its first-ranked passing attack will face the 11th-ranked pass defense of Tennessee, while its 18th-ranked pass defense will look to limit the 20th-ranked passing game of the Titans.
Tennessee has allowed 25.4 points per game at home this year, which is ranked only 28th in the league. Indianapolis has scored 29.6 points per contest on the road (ranked second overall).
