The Tennessee Titans will take on the Houston Texans on Sunday as small home favorites following a 42-16 rout of the previously unbeaten Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. The Titans stayed perfect with the easy victory after missing the previous week due to COVID-19 and also covered the spread for the first time this season as 3-point home underdogs.
- Date/Time: October 18, 1 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Nissan Stadium
- TV Coverage: CBS
- Sportsbook Odds: Titans -4.5 | O/U 55 (Line History)
- Texans vs Titans Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The point spread has dropped to Tennessee -3 in early betting action despite the team’s domination of a Buffalo squad that had looked like a Super Bowl contender in the first four weeks.
The main concern for bettors looking to back the Titans in this spot is how they will play on short rest following a rare Tuesday game and after dealing with COVID-19. Meanwhile, Houston may have found new life with a new head coach in Romeo Crennel.
Houston News & Notes
The Texans played as many expected them to heading into the season, blowing out the Jacksonville Jaguars 30-14 as 6.5-point home favorites last Sunday for their first win of 2020. Houston played very well on both sides of the ball and managed to put Jacksonville away in the fourth quarter after its opponent pulled within a touchdown at 20-14 with 10:18 remaining.
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson seems to have found a new favorite target in wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who hauled in eight catches for 161 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown for the final score of the game. Running back David Johnson also turned in his best performance in a Houston uniform with 96 rushing yards on 17 carries.
If the Texans can continue to get that kind of balance offensively and limit turnovers (Watson did have two interceptions), they should be able to keep this one close.
Tennessee News & Notes
Few could have predicted how well Tennessee would play on Tuesday night after everything the team had to deal with over the past few weeks. The defense picked off Bills quarterback Josh Allen twice and held the Buffalo running game to just 95 yards on 22 carries.
On offense, Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw for three touchdowns on 21-of-28 passing and also ran four times for 42 yards, including a 10-yard scoring run. In addition, running back Derrick Henry had two touchdowns and totaled 57 rushing yards on 19 carries against a tough Bills defense.
Overall, it was a fine effort considering the circumstances, and now Tennessee will try to improve to 5-0, which would be an amazing accomplishment for everyone involved.
Betting Pick: OVER 54
The OVER has cashed in the last three games for the Titans, who are averaging more than 35 points per game during that stretch. The total has dropped one point from the opener, so this is a good number to take advantage of in this situation.
Tennessee’s defense did play well on Tuesday, but the team’s recovery time on short rest will be tested. Houston can definitely score points too, so look for a high-scoring AFC South matchup.
- The OVER is 4-1 in Tennessee’s last 5 games vs divisional opponents.
- Houston is 1-5 SU and ATS in its last 6 games.
- Tennessee is 0-4 ATS in its last 4 early afternoon games.
