Backup quarterback Brandon Weeden is in position to lead a team to the playoffs after all. He was booed out of Dallas after failing to get a win when taking over for Tony Romo. Now, Weeden can direct the Texans to a division title as the third-stringer. Houston has been close to a sure thing when taking on the Titans, posting an 8-1 ATS record in the last nine meetings.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Tennessee Titans N/A
Houston Texans N/A
Over/Under N/A
ODDS ANALYSIS
Uncertainty surrounding Houston’s quarterback situation has kept the spread and total off the board. Texans backup T.J. Yates hurt his knee last week starting in place of Brian Hoyer and is done for the season.
KEY INJURIES
T.J. Yates – Suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Sunday and is through for the season. Yates started at quarterback in place of Hoyer, who has yet to be cleared from the league’s concussion protocol. If Hoyer isn’t cleared, Brandon Weeden would start against the Titans. Houston signed B.J. Daniels off the Seattle practice squad to work as the backup.
Marcus Mariota – The Titans also are down a quarterback after Mariota injured his knee Sunday. Though not deemed serious, it is enough to keep him out against Houston. Zach Mettenberger will get the call with Mike Kafka likely signed off the practice squad to be the backup.
KEY MISMATCH
If Houston goes on to win the AFC South, its defense never can get too much credit. On Sunday in Lucas Oil Stadium – a venue in which they had never won – the Texans limited the Colts to 190 yards – yes, 190 yards. That averaged to 3.5 yards per play and the Colts managed only 50 rushing yards on 19 carries with the longest run being just 12 yards. While most of the attention is focused on J.J. Watt, and deservedly so, as his 13.5 sacks are the second-most in the NFL, the recent play of Jadeveon Clowney has been more exciting. Tennessee’s offensive line nearly got Mariota seriously maimed last week, allowing the prized rookie to get sacked three times and surrendering five sacks overall. The Titans have allowed the most sacks in the NFL with 49 and benched starting center Andy Gallick for Sunday’s game.
KEY STAT
49.0 – Tennessee is tied with San Francisco for allowing the most quarterback sacks. The Titans’ O-line will be challenged against Watt and Co., who have amassed 36 sacks this season.
BETTING ANGLE
With Mariota out for Sunday’s game, the Titans turn to Mettenberger, who will start for the ninth time in his young NFL career. The former LSU star is quite familiar with the Texans and defensive end J.J. Watt, however. Mettenberger will make his fourth start in two seasons against the AFC South rival and he has an ongoing feud with Watt that stems back to when Watt criticized him for posting a selfie on Twitter just hours before he was to make his first NFL start. Since then, the two have stirred the pot with comments. It was a hit from Watt last year that injured Mettenberger’s shoulder, ending his season prematurely. Earlier this season, Watt and the Texans sacked Mettenberger seven times and hit him seven other times, prompting ownership to fire Ken Whisenhunt two days later. Now it’s time for Mettenberger to extract some revenge.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Now out of the fish bowl he was in while with the Cowboys, the pressure is off Weeden, who likely gets a start with Hoyer yet to be cleared from the concussion protocol and Yates done with a torn ACL. The difference between now and then is that Weeden won’t be stepping in for the face of the franchise. The Texans are not about offense, which is a good thing for Weeden because he simply hasn’t been able to win games. Houston’s defense completely shut down the Colts last week and faces a Titans squad that allowed Mariota to get abused and knocked out against the Patriots. Mettenberger will be gun shy against Watt, Clowney, Bernardrick McKinney, etc. After all, he was brought down seven times when he started against Houston in Week 8, a 20-6 Texans win. This game won’t be pretty. It’ll be a battle of defenses facing backup quarterbacks running lethargic offenses. The total will be low when it hits the board, but given what we have, the under will be a safe bet.
Houston 18, Tennessee 12
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