Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans Betting Preview
The Sunday night feature game figured to be a key matchup at the outset of the season. Since then, things have gone in entirely different directions for the Colts & Titans. Indianapolis is unbeaten and has the chance to drive a nail into the coffin of their winless rivals. Tennessee is in must-win mode and playing as a 3-1/2 point home dog. Must-win and will-win are two different things though, and over 90% of bettors at Sportsbook.com were backing the Colts to put the Titans away at last check.
The Titans have dropped seven of their L8 games overall and with games against Indy and New England up next, and face going into their bye week at 0-6. The Colts' bye is next week, and they have been strong in that scenario, going 9-1 ATS in their L10 pre-bye week road games. However, they are just 3-9 ATS in their L12 divisional road games. HC Jeff Fisher's club has lost its last four games vs. AFC South foes, but owns a 5-1 ATS mark vs. Indianapolis in the L6 head-to-head games.
Strong safety Bob Sanders hasn't stepped on the field all season as he continues to rehab from knee surgery, third-year wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez played but a few minutes before going down in the opener with a knee injury and defensive end Dwight Freeney is nursing a strained quadriceps, yet the Colts can put themselves in position to run away and hide in the AFC South if they can knock off the Titans and stretch their winning streak out of the gate to five.
The Colts are certainly no strangers to fast starts as this marks the fifth time in the last seven seasons they won at least their first four. They drew national attention in 2005 when they opened 13-0, and they won their first nine the following year and went on to beat Chicago in the Super Bowl. Indianapolis was also 5-0 in '03 and 7-0 in '07, and there's no telling when loss No. 1 is going to come this year although Tennessee would like it to be sometime before midnight eastern time on Sunday.
The Colts are playing their third road game under the lights in five weeks and Peyton Manning was nothing short of lights-out in the first two and the Titans, coming off an ugly 37-17 loss in Jacksonville, know what to expect. Manning led a Week 2 victory on Monday night in Miami by throwing for 303 yards and two touchdowns, including a 48-yard scoring toss to Pierre Garcon, in a game that saw him take only 35 snaps. Manning then carved apart Arizona on Sunday night in Week 3, throwing four touchdown passes in a 31-10 romp. He hasn't been too shabby in day games, either, with 301 yards in the opener against Jacksonville and 353 and four touchdowns last week in a 34-17 victory over Seattle.
Manning made just a cameo appearance in the regular-season finale against Tennessee a year ago as the Colts had no chance of leapfrogging the Titans for the division title and already secured a wild-card spot. He went 7-for-7 for 95 yards and a touchdown, and Indianapolis went on for a 23-0 win to avenge a 31-21 road loss in Week 8. It marked the third consecutive year these teams split their season series.
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Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
