The Colts hope facing an AFC South rival can provide a remedy for their early season ills when they visit the Titans in Marcus Mariota’s home debut. The Colts have won 13 straight games over division foes and will need to perform much better than the mistake-filled first two outings to continue their run. Tennessee can get a leg up in the division by beating the Colts for the first time in their last eight meetings.
ODDS
Indianapolis opened as a 5.5-point favorite with the total at 45.5. The spread has seen a steady decline, wagered to its current -3. Though the Colts have started slowly this season, they can fall back on their 13-0 SU and 12-0-1 ATS record against divisional opponents, as well as their 7-0 SU and ATS mark against the Titans.
KEY INJURIES
Darius Butler – Injured his hip in last week’s game against the Jets and has yet to practice. He is questionable for the Tennessee game. Fellow cornerback Vontae Davis passed the concussion protocol and has been cleared to play on Sunday.
Chance Warmack – Suffered a sprained MCL last weekend and will not play Sunday against Indy. Jamon Meredith stepped in at right tackle and will stay there this week, according to coach Ken Whisenhunt.
KEY MISMATCH
The Colts’ offensive line has not been a major priority for the team since drafting Andrew Luck in 2012. They’re paying for it now. Injuries and lack of performance have played a part in the constant shuffle and now the Colts have three new starters up front. Jack Mewhort has moved from his guard spot to right tackle and journeyman Lance Louis is starting at left guard. And 32-year-old Todd Herremans is now manning the right guard spot. Opposing defenses have no respect for the line that started 11 different combinations last season. Buffalo’s Rex Ryan and New York’s Todd Bowles didn’t try to hide their blitzes, lining up players at the line of scrimmage waiting for Luck to get the snap. Luck has been blitzed on 48 percent of his drop-backs this season, the third-highest rate in the NFL and four of his five picks have come against the blitz. The Titans are fourth in the league in defense and can make things difficult for opposing quarterbacks. They’re tied for sixth in the NFL with six sacks.
KEY STAT
-7 – Indianapolis’ league worst turnover margin. The Colts have turned the ball over a whopping eight times with five of those Andrew Luck interceptions. The Titans have two picks so far this season.
BETTING ANGLE
The Colts have dominated the AFC South recently, but the Titans know Indianapolis could be ripe for the picking. The Colts may be 0-2, but Titans players also know that Indy has won 13 straight games inside the division and has beaten Tennessee seven consecutive times, the last six with Andrew Luck quarterbacking the division rival. The Colts have looked nothing like the contending team they were projected to be, getting thoroughly outplayed in losses at Buffalo and against the Jets last Monday. And this is a big deal for the Titans not only to get the monkey of losing to the Colts off their backs, but as crazy as it sounds, to take control of the division in the early going. Don’t count the Colts out just yet, though. Indy lost its first two games last season and wound up playing in the AFC Championship game.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Before we go saying the sky is falling, keep in mind the Colts started with a pair of losses last season and still rallied to win 11 of 14 to take the division and advance to the AFC Championship Game. The Titans have to feel good about their chances, though, against a struggling team in the home opener. There will be plenty of excitement in Nashville and the emotions could carry the Titans for a while. But in the end the Colts will make big plays in the passing game against a group that allowed several last week to the Browns. The Colts maligned O-line will hold up and Luck will step up, rather than scoot around the pocket in the face of danger. You knew it wasn’t Indy’s night on Monday when Adam Vinatieri missed a 29-yard field goal. That won’t happen again.
Indianapolis 24, Tennessee 20
BookMaker opened the spread for this Sunday game at -5.5 in favor of the Colts. The NFL online odds total surfaced at 45.5. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device or tablet at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans will square off Sunday, September 27, 2015, at 1 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium. The matchup will be televised live on CBS.
