The Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans will battle at Lucas Oil Stadium to wrap up the regular season. In recent weeks, Indianapolis has lost one of its last four. The game will begin Sunday, Jan 3 at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on CBS.
In a Week 3 meeting between these two teams, the Colts secured a close victory over the Titans 35-33. Indianapolis has won five straight against Tennessee, dating back to the 2013 season. Frank Gore had a big performance on the ground in the last game, rushing for 86 yards and two TDs on 14 carries. Marcus Mariota had a great outing passing the ball for Tennessee, completing 27 of 44 passes for 367 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. Kendall Wright had a big game as well, totaling 95 yards and a TD on seven receptions.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment.
The Colts enter the game with a current record of 7-8 Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In the past five games, Indianapolis is 2-3 for both SU and ATS. The Colts defense should be ready for Tennessee, who leads the league with 2.1 turnovers committed per game. On special teams, Tennessee may give up some big plays to the Colts in the return game. The Titans have allowed 106.6 return yards per road game, making them one of the worst in the NFL.
As for their opponent, the Titans have a record of 4-10-1 ATS and 3-12 SU. The Titans went 1-4 SU and 0-4-1 ATS over the last five games. When playing at home, the Indianapolis run game is particularly bad this year. Their 77.9 rushing yards per game rank worst in the league. The Colts need to keep their QB away from pressure against the formidable defensive line of the Titans. The defense ranks fourth in the league in sacks with 2.9 per road game. The Titans can take advantage of Indianapolis’s susceptibility to starting the second half slowly. They allow an average of 6.9 points during the third quarter, ranking 31st in the NFL. Penalties don’t happen often when the Titans play. They average the third-fewest penalties in the NFL with 5.8 per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ten, ATS Winner – Ten
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Indianapolis’s last 22 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Indianapolis’s last 9 games at home.
Indianapolis is 14-6 SU in its last 20 games at home.
Indianapolis is 15-7-1 ATS in its last 23 games at home.
Indianapolis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Tennessee.
The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Indianapolis’s last 21 games when playing Tennessee.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Indianapolis’s last 6 games when playing Tennessee.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Indianapolis’s last 10 games when playing at home against Tennessee.
Indianapolis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Tennessee.
Tennessee is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Indianapolis.
Tennessee is 2-3 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Indianapolis is 3-1 SU when leading at the end of the third quarter.
Indianapolis is only 1-5) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 5-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
Indianapolis has provoked an average of 8.5 penalties on opponents this season. Tennessee is an even 2-2 SU when penalized eight or more times in a game.
According to overall NFL pass rankings, Tennessee is rated higher on both sides of the ball. Its 24th-ranked offensive passing game will face the 28th-ranked pass defense of Indianapolis, while its eighth-ranked pass defense will look to limit the 21st-ranked aerial attack of the Colts.
