Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts open week 10 of the NFL this Thursday night, at 10:20 pm, in Nashville, broadcast by ESPN, in the traditional ‘Thursday Night Football’. A divisional classic that can keep things interesting at AFC South. The Titans lead the group with six wins and two losses, while the Colts try to rehabilitate themselves after stumbling over the Balimore Ravens over the weekend. The Indiana franchise appears with five wins in eight games.
Still, the team led by seasoned quarterback Phillip Rivers has won three of its last four games against the Titans and could pose a threat to Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry.
This will be the first of two meetings between these teams in the next three weeks and a lot will be at stake. One of the matchups, without a doubt, will be the battle for the trenches. After all, the Colts’ defense is third best against the running game and will be tested by a duel with Derrick Henry. Indianapolis, when faced with a consistent Baltimore defense, failed to score, with Rivers leaving the field with just 25 of 43 completed passes, for 227 yards, no TD connected and even an intercept, the QB’s seventh of the season, while released for 10 TDs.
Against the Titans, Rivers has a record of seven wins and two losses, shooting for over 2,400 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. The quarterback can take advantage of a certain weakness in the defense of Tennessee, the league’s 27th against passing, allowing an average of 275 yards per game. To make the Colts’ offense work too, the team has running back Jonathan Taylor, who has already run for 416 yards this season. Last week, however, the team’s ground-based attack managed just 27 yards.
With Jaguars and Texans not posing a threat to the division, Thursday’s game is of the utmost importance for the Colts and Titans. Tennessee is coming off a good win at Nissan Stadium over the Chicago Bears, but has allowed 375 total yards for the Illinois franchise. Much of tonight’s match will depend on how much the Titans’ attack can produce against one of the NFL’s tough defenses.
To ease Derrick Henry’s job, the Titans are also relying on Ryan Tannehill to find loopholes with accurate passes. Against the Bears, he had just 158 yards passed, but connected two touchdowns and was not intercepted. In the season, the Tennessee quarterback gets 19 TD passes and just three interceptions.
The bet
`The game tends to be very balanced, but most betting sites point to a victory for the Titans at home, opening up in the AFC’s southern division and getting an easier passage to the Playoffs, unlike the Wild Card spot conquered by team last season. The Football Power Index, ESPN’s North American projection engine, still points Tennessee with a 56.2% probability of winning.
game sheet
Tennessee Titans x Indianapolis Colts
NFL Week 10
Date: Thursday (12), 22:20
Local: Nissan Stadium, em Nashville
Where to See: ESPN, ESPN Play, and NFL Game Pass
.
