Kirsten Schmitt/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA

Indianapolis Colts vs Tennessee Titans: Who wins the AFC South battle?

The Indianapolis Colts are visiting the Tennessee Titans at  Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

The Colts are yet to win on the road

The Indianapolis Colts are second in the AFC South with a 2-3 record. After Anthony Richardson’s injury, the Colts had to bring in the 39-year-old Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback. Flacco led the Colts to a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4 but his amazing performance was not enough to avoid a 37-34 loss to Jacksonville Jaguars in the last one. Flacco completed 33 of 44 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Right guard Will Fries broke his right leg in the third quarter and was carted off the field.

The wake-up of the Titans

The Tennessee Titans are third in the AFC South with a 1-3 record. The Titans went to Miami after three losses to start the season and responded well with a 31-12 win over the Dolphins. Will Lewis was hotly injured in that one, and Mason Rudolph stepped in. He led seven scoring drives, threw for 85 yards, and completed 9 of 17 passes. Nick Folk helped the Titans with five field goals made, and Brian Callahan won his first game as the Titans head coach. Now Tennessee is third in the AFC South with a 1-3 record.

Betting Trends

The Titans are 2-6 SU in their last 8 games, 1-5 SU in their last 6 home games and 3-9 SU in their last 12 home games against the Colts. They are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games overall, 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games against teams from the AFC and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against teams from the AFC South. Tennessee has played under the total point line in 4 of their last 6 games against the Colts and 7 of their last 8 games in October. The Colts are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games overall, 2-5 SU in their last 7 games against the Titans, and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games on the road. They are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 8-4 ATS in their last 12 games played on Sunday. Indianapolis has played over the total point line in 8 of their last 12 games overall, 7 of their last 8 games against teams from the AFC and 4 of their last 5 games against teams from the AFC South.

Prediction and Conclusion

There are plenty of reasons for the Tennessee Titans to be optimistic about the near future. They delivered first-year coach Brian Callahan his first NFL victory, and they are coming off their bye week. The Titans overcame the Miami Dolphins 31–12 on the road after starting off strong. The fact that they lost quarterback Will Levis in the first quarter and were without standout defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons makes that victory even more remarkable. The Titans will almost certainly have both of them back for their game against the Colts after they had an extra week to heal. Levis was fully present at practice on Wednesday and made it known that he intended to play, while Simmons was only able to participate in part. Injuries also befell the Indianapolis Colts, who were forced to play without quarterback Anthony Richardson and running back Jonathan Taylor. However, unlike the players for the Titans, these two are likely to miss the next game. Despite the team’s slow start, the Titans’ defense has been their greatest asset. In terms of pass defense (124.0 yards per game) and total defense (243.8 yards allowed per game), Tennessee leads the league. The Colts, on the other hand, rank 29th against the pass (262.2 yards per game), second-to-last against the run (157.0 yards per game), and last in total defense (419.2 yards allowed per game). It makes sense to predict the Titans to win this one so we go against the odds.