The Tennessee Titans haven’t won any beauty contests in their wins this season, but nonetheless find themselves atop the AFC South with a 7-4 record on the season. They will be favored to remain there as they host the struggling Houston Texans in Week 13 of the regular season.
Houston looked like the divisional favorite when star quarterback Deshaun Watson was leading the way, but he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and the Texans have been lost without him ever since. The Titans aren’t as good as their record would suggest but it’s easy to see why they are sizable favorites to take care of business in this game at home.
While the Jaguars have been more impressive on the season, Tennessee is trying to hold them off for AFC supremacy.
Watch this regular season Week 13 matchup live on Sunday, December 3, 2017, at 1 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Houston Texans +6.5
Tennessee Titans -6.5
Over/Under 43
Odds Analysis
The Titans are nearly touchdown favorites, but this is an interesting spread as a win by seven points would result in a cover. Tennessee is getting slightly more action at this line, with 52 percent of the money heading the Titans’ way.
The scoring total is pretty low, which isn’t a surprise. Houston is struggling to score without Watson while the Titans prefer to run the ball and play low-scoring affairs. The betting public believes the line is too low, though, as 83 percent of the action thus far has jumped on the “over.”
Injury Report
Will Fuller — The Texans speedster has been dealing with a ribs issue that has kept him out of the past couple of games. Keep an eye on his status, as Fuller’s big-play ability would be a welcome boost to an offense that has to rely way too much on star receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Chris Clark - The Houston offensive tackle left the team’s game on Monday night against the Ravens with an ankle injury. He didn’t return, and it would be a big loss if he cannot play in this one. Clark has filled in well after Duane Brown held out and then was subsequently traded this year.
Rishard Matthews - The Titans wide receiver is dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of Week 12. That was too bad, as he was coming off a monster performance of six catches, 113 yards and a touchdown in Tennessee’s previous game against the Steelers. He hopes to be back for this one.
Last Meeting
The Texans dropped 57 points the first time these two teams met back in early October, but that was when Watson was still running the offense.
Watson threw four touchdowns in the win and also scored one with his legs so it will be a whole new game plan for Houston’s offense this time around against the Titans. The Texans have gone 1-3 since losing Watson.
Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota struggled early in the first matchup against Houston, throwing two interceptions before leaving the game early with hamstring injury. Matt Cassel came in for Mariota and threw two more interceptions as the the Titans finished with just 109 passing yards in the loss.
Free ATS Pick
This game is not going to look anything like the first matchup. The Texans don’t have nearly the same offensive capacity as they did under Watson, and there have been questions as to whether Houston should bench quarterback Tom Savage.
Tennessee has the better team, but it hasn’t been great on the year. The Titans should be able to win this game, but the spread is a bit too high. Take the Texans to cover this spread, while the “under” is the call on the total.
NFL Odds: Titans 20, Texans 17
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