NFL Picks: Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills
Tennessee probably didn’t deserve to win in Week 12 but good teams find a way to win bad games.
The Titans outscored Tampa Bay 13-0 in the final frame to come away with a 23-17 win. The margin of victory was enough to cover the NFL spread as 3-point favorites.
It was a sloppy game from both contestants. A steady downpour aided in 11 combined turnovers. The Titans accounted for six of those and one of Matt Hasselbeck’s two interceptions was returned for a touchdown.
Hasselbeck wasn’t really affected by the elbow injury he suffered in Week 11. He attempted 34 passes and wasn’t efficient, but that probably had more to do with the rain than his elbow.
Chris Johnson got back on track with his best performance of the season (190 yards, 8.3 ypc). But that was expected against one of the league’s worst run defenses. We’re still seeing a disinterested CJ2K toting the rock. He’s not running with purpose like he used to.
The defense was sound and held Tampa Bay on four straight red-zone downs at the end to stave off a potential game-tying touchdown. The Bucs only managed to convert 2 of 10 third-down opportunities.
Tennessee trails the Texans by two games in the AFC South race but there is hope now that Houston is on its third-string quarterback. Three of the Titans next four games come against losing teams.
The first matchup is against a Buffalo team that has dropped four in a row. The Bills were most recently beaten in New York, 28-24, where they covered the NFL spread as 9.5-point pups.
The rapid decline in Buffalo has a lot to do with injuries. Since the start of the season, a total of eight starters have been placed on injured reserve. The latest casualty was workhorse Fred Jackson.
But after being outscored by 80 points the previous three weeks, the Bills offense finally found its footing against the Jets. That group registered 336 yards and 21 first downs versus a stout New York defense.
The defense is still bleeding however. It put up a good fight in the first quarter but allowed 28 the rest of the way. It’s not a good day at the office when Mark Sanchez throws for four touchdowns.
"It's embarrassing," linebacker Chris Kelsay recently said of the defensive effort. "We've literally been getting beat up. We aren't executing. We've got to find some answers. I don't know what those are. I don't think anybody does at this point."
Buffalo has given up an average of 33.5 points per game during its losing streak.
The NFL spread for this contest was first available at BetSBG sportsbook and the Bills surfaced as 1.5-point chalk. The over/under opened at 43.5. The Titans have played to the under in five straight and are 4-1 ATS in that stretch.
