NFL Thursday Night: Indianapolis Colts at Tennesee Titans
Indianapolis Colts (5-3) vs Tennessee Titans (6-2)
Line: Titans (-2)
Over/Under: 48.5
Week 10 of the 2020 NFL brings us multiple divisional match-ups including this key AFC South contest between the Colts and Titans. A win by Indianapolis would even the teams at 6-3 and make for an exciting finish within the division.
Last week Tennessee slugged out a 24-17 win against Chicago while Indianapolis was humbled by Baltimore 24-10. The Colts offense struggled to create chunk plays against a stingy Ravens’ defense that held Philip Rivers to just 227 yards on 25-of-43 attempts without a touchdown. Rivers was also intercepted once and managed a paltry 5.3 yards-per-attempt.
Tennessee held off a late rally by Chicago who put up 17 points in the fourth quarter. Ryan Tannehill did just enough despite completing less than 50% of his passes (10/21) with two touchdowns through the air.
It will be a battle of wills between the 6th ranked rushing attack of the Titans versus the 2nd ranked run defense of the Colts. Tennessee running back Derrick Henry managed just 68 yards on 21 carries against Chicago and the lack of explosive weapons outside of wide receiver A.J. Brown (4 rec, 101 yards, TD vs Bears) are a concern.
Philip Rivers and the Colts offense are not much better and are struggling to find continuity in the running game in particular. The three-headed backfield of Jonathan Taylor, Jordan Wilkins, and Nyheim Hines average less than four yards-per-carry collectively. Rivers is not at the point in his career where he can be expected to carry an under-performing offense.
This could be another low scoring, competitive divisional match-up that may not be decided until late in the fourth quarter. Look for both defenses to set the tone, whichever team can hit one or two big plays and win the turnover battle should prevail in this one.
I expect the Colts to focus on taking Derrick Henry out of the game and making Tannehill beat them. Indianapolis allows the fewest yards per game on defense and matches up well with Tennessee in the secondary.
My outlook is for the Colts to bounce back and even the race at the top of the AFC South.
Prediction: Colts 27 Titans 24
-- by Tyler Robinson
