Tennessee Titans at Cincinnati Bengals
Spread: TEN -4
Total: 50.5
Odds ? 5dimes
The Tennessee Titans have only built on the winning ways it established last year under the guidance of veteran QB Ryan Tannehill. Thought to be a bust, Tannehill has replaced vaunted prospect Marcus Mariota and guided the Titans to respectability. This week the Titans face the Cincinnati Bengals. The Titans are 4-point favorites on the road against Cincy, with the over-under placed at 50.5 total points.
TEN
Tennessee suffered its first “L” of the season last week when it fell 24-27 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Titans scored the final 17 points of the game but had fallen behind 7-27 before that. Tannehill completed 18 of 30 for 220 yards and two passing TDs. He was sacked twice for a total loss of 10 yards, and he did not rush that well either, picking up just five yards on his two rushing attempts. Wide receiver AJ Brown had a huge game with six catches for 153 yards, including a touchdown. Corey Davis added another TD and six total catches.
On the season, Tannehill has completed 68.5 percent of his passes and has 1,590 total passing yards. He has 15 TDs with just two picks. Tannehill also has a passer rating of 112.3.
In the backfield, Derick Henry has been the workhorse. He has 143 carries for 663 yards and seven touchdowns. He has also rushed for first down 33 times. The rest of the team collectively has just 43 rushing attempts, with Tannehill and Jeremy McNichols accounting for over three-fourths of those attempts.
AJ Brown, Jonnu Smith, Corey Davis, and Adam Humphries all 200-plus receiving yards on the season. Brown leads the way with 332 on 32 catches, while Smith leads the team in TDs with five. Anthony Firsker and Kalif Raymond round out Tennessee’s best receiving options and both have 170 yards or more. The Titans are a different football team with BOTH a quality offensive line and a seasoned quarterback, but few expected the leap to success to be so seamless for the Titans, who had lingered in mediocrity for a half-decade. Now 5-1, the team is making its steps towards the ultimate goal, a Superbowl appearance complete with a title.
CIN
The Cincinnati Bengals enter this week’s affair on a 3-game losing skid. The Bengals have only won in Week 4 when it defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cincy is 1-5-1 and in the cellar of the AFC North, probably remaining there considering the three teams ahead of it all boast winning records.
Despite the struggles, the Bengals do have some reason for optimism. Joe Burrow, at least so far, looks like he will fulfill some of his expectations. He is throwing 66 percent for completion with over 2,000 yards passing, nine TDs, but five picks and he has been sacked FOUR (!) times per game for a total massive loss of 203 yards.
The ground game, though, has been fairly dreadful. Joe Mixon manages just 3.6 yards-per-carry, and Burrow is not any better at 3.8 on his 32 attempts. Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins have carried the load at WR, with the pair combining to have caught 75 passes for 917 yards and five touchdowns. The Bengals rank No. 12 in passing yards, but its rush is the No. 26 in the NFL…overall, it equates to a weak offense that manages just 23.3 points per game and it allows 27.7.
That is going be a lot of losses and the Bengals doubtfully escape the cellar of its division standings. With Burrow, the Bengals have one position covered with a future stud, but it is troubling the number of times he gets sacked, and it is mostly a dearth of talent on the OL, rather than the poor decisions of Burrow. His interceptions can be chalked up to it as well: he feels rushed and is not playing his best football, and even so, he has still looked rather decent thus far.
