NFL Week 17 – Tennessee vs Houston
The Tennessee Titans, with an ever-so-slim Playoff possibility meet the struggling but already safe Houston Texans on Sunday to close out their Regular season.
Tennessee Titans (8-7) at Houston Texans (10-5)
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 1, 2012
Where: Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
Broadcast: CBS
Titans vs. Texans Betting Lines from betonline.com
Spread: Titans -1.5
Moneyline: Titans -155: Texans +135
Over/Under: 40 points
The Titans need a ton of help to reach the postseason however – Tennessee needs a win and Baltimore needs to defeat Cincinnati firstly. Then a victory by the New York Jets coupled with a loss by either Oakland or Denver, or a loss by the Jets paired with victories by Oakland and Denver would give Tennessee the last wild card. Confusing? You bet!
The Titans, despite Chris Johnson’s disappearance from prominence have played very well at times this season on both sides of the ball. The offense gained 407 yards last week in a win over Jacksonville and the defense continued its solid unspectacular play. Tennessee had a very difficult time in the teams’ first meeting of the season on the way to getting outgained 518 yards to just 148.
The Titans will go with Matt Hasselbeck although it would not be much of a surprise to see Jake Locker enter the game at some point. Truth be told, Locker is not much of a step down from Hasselbeck. With Nate Washington and Damian Williams playing well and Jared Cook exploding for 169 yards receiving last week, the 12th ranked pass offense of the Titans should be a good match against Houston’s #2 rated pass defense.
Tennessee’s running game is 31st in the NFL. Chris Johnson gained just 56 yards on 15 carries last week against Jacksonville’s porous run defense. Houston ranks 4th against the run so don’t expect a whole lot from Tennessee’s rushing game.
The Titans defense will have to deal with one of the more balanced attacks in the NFL Houston on Sunday. Tennessee currently owns the league’s 16th ranked pass defense and the 24th rated run defense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Houston Texans have lost two games in a row – the TJ Yates honeymoon is over. The good news is that Andre Johnson should return for at least part of the game on Sunday to significantly bolster a passing offense that has been stymied the last couple of games. TJ Yates passed for only 132 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions last week for the league’s 19th ranked pass defense. It will clearly be up to Arian Foster and Ben Tate in this one!
Houston’s offense has centered around the run all season long. They are second in the NFL with an average of 153 yards per game on the ground. Arian Foster is coming off a game in which he rumbled for 158 yards and a score. He may rest a little in this game leaving the bulk of the work in Ben Tate’s more-than-capable hands.
The Texans defense may get a huge boost on Sunday – Defensive Coordinator Wade Philips may be back after kidney surgery. This unit has been stellar all season long – 4th against the pass and 2nd against the run. The Texans are 4th in points against with an average of just 17 allowed per game.
Betting Prediction: The Tennessee Titans are 2-3-1 ATS in their last six games. In their last 12 games on the road they are just 3-9 SU and 4-7-1 ATS. Against Houston, the Titans are 2-4 SU in their last six but 9-4 in their last 13 games. The Titans are 4-2 SU and 2-4 ATS in their last six trips to Reliant Stadium. The Houston Texans are 7-2 SU in their last nine games and are 6-2 SU in their last eight at home.
It is true that the Tennessee Titans have a lot more to play for than the Texans on Sunday. But with the return of Andre Johnson and perhaps Wade Philips, Houston will be looking to gain back a little momentum that they have lost the last couple of weeks. The Texans running game alone should be enough for them to secure victory. Take the home team to knock the Titans out of playoff contention and to enter the playoffs on a high.
Pick: Houston Texans +1 ½
