Colts vs. Titans: Preview, score prediction for Week 6
By Nick Sparrow
Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans will host the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football in Week 6 on the NFL season. The Colts are now 2-3 after their 26-23 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.
Meanwhile, the Titans are also 2-3 after their 16-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins, the second consecutive game in which Tennessee failed to score more than 14 points. However, they didn’t have starting quarterback Marcus Mariota for the game against Miami.
With questions abound for each AFC South team, who will have the edge in this matchup in primetime?
Keys to Victory
The Titans need to find a way to improve their offense in this game. Tennessee enters this game with the 27th ranked passing offense. Having Mariota back from injury will help, but he remains questionable to play in this game. If backup quarterback Matt Cassel is called upon to play that could be trouble for the Titans as they face a Colts team that looked good last week.
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In Week 5, Cassel threw for just 141 yards, completing 21 of his 32 attempts. That means Cassel was averaging less than seven yards per completion in his first start with Tennessee. If that style of play continues it allows the opposing defense to focus on short passes and the deep threat is seemingly neutralized by the offense not taking shots. The Colts defense isn’t great, but it is certainly good enough to defend short passes if they know its coming.
Last week, the Colts seemingly found something in rookie running back Marlon Mack. Mack had 91 yards on just nine carries in Week 5, also finding the end zone once. Week 5 was the first time Mack had played since Week 2 when he rushed six times for a loss of three yards. It seems that there is a decent chance Mack might earn more touches than veteran running back Frank Gore, who has broken over 50 yards rushing just once this season despite averaging 15 attempts per game.
If Mack’s Week 5 wasn’t a fluke then the Colts might have found the first explosive back they have had in years. With Brissett proving to be one of the better backups in the league, this offense could start to look better each week.
Betting Odds
There are currently no available odds on this game due to the uncertainty of Marcus Mariota playing or not.
Next: NFL 2017: Picks against the spread for Week 6
Prediction
Both of these teams are in a three-way tie along with the Houston Texans at the bottom of the AFC South, one game behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. It is hard to know what to expect from this Tennessee offense without knowing if Mariota will be healthy or not. Even without Mariota, Tennessee has the more talented roster. The Colts have defeated the Titans the last 11 times, dating back to 2011. However, this is an improving Titans team compared to recent years and at home, they should be able to get this win.
Final Score: Indianapolis Colts: 17, Tennessee Titans: 27