Tennessee | Woods Recruiting

This Thursday the Tennessee Titans will go on the road to take on the Indianapolis Colts in a AFC South showdown between two teams fighting for their playoff lives. The Titans lost 17-6 at home against the division-leading Jaguars last week, and have now lost five straight games since starting the season 5-2. The Colts are also headed in the wrong direction, as they dropped their third straight game in a 38-35 overtime loss to the Cowboys. Both teams still have a chance to win the division and make the playoffs, but have to start playing better. If you are thinking about placing a wager on the game, the current NFL odds have the Colts favored by 3.5-points over the Titans on the road.

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Indianapolis (6-6): As bad as things have been for Peyton Manning over the last three games, the Colts still have a legit shot at making the postseason if they can win on the road at Tennessee this week. Manning is coming off his worst stretch of his career, throwing 11 interceptions in his last three games. The thing is other than the blowout loss against the Chargers, the Colts have actually had a chance to win two of those games late.

There is no question that Manning is trying to do too much right now, but with the injuries this team has suffered he really doesn’t have a choice but to try and make the big play and keep his team in the game.

Indianapolis has fell behind early in each of their last three losses, but should have a much better chance on defense this week against a Titans offense that has really struggled lately. Tennessee has managed just 39 points in their last four games. The Colts biggest concern has to be running back Chris Johnson, if the Colts can keep Johnson from having a huge day on the ground, I think they have a legit shot at winning this game.

Tennessee (5-7): I really thought the Titans offense was going to take off when they added wide receiver Randy Moss, but instead Tennessee hasn’t won a single game with Moss in the lineup. In fact Moss has just five catches for 62 yards in four games with Tennessee. The Titans are hoping they will get back wide out Kenny Britt this week, which could spark some life into a offense that has looked lost the past few weeks.

Running back Chris Johnson has rushed for just 58 yards in the last two games, but should be primed for a big game against the Colts. Indianapolis comes into the game ranked 29th in the league, allowing 143 yards a game on the ground. If Johnson struggles, so will the Titans. Tennessee is just 1-5 this season when Johnson fails to rush for over a 100 yards.

The Titans pass defense comes in giving up just under 240 yards a game through the air, but are tied for eighth in the league with 15 interceptions. I believe the Titans have to start strong and force Manning into making more mistakes, if they allow the Colts to start fast, it will take away their advantage in the running game and keep Manning from having to make those aggressive throws that have hurt him so much lately.

Looking at the Odds: I believe you have to take the Colts at -3 in this game. Peyton Manning is simply too good of a quarterback to keep playing the way he has. Look for Manning and the Colts to get right back in the playoff hunt with a big win on Thursday. My final score prediction is Indianapolis 27, Tennessee 17.

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