Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans Spread
The 7-3 NFC West leading Arizona Cardinals take on the red hot Tennessee Titans Sunday in a Week 12 non-conference clash. Last week, the Titans defeated Houston 20-17 for their fourth straight win since starting 0-6. The Cardinals improved to 5-0 on the road this season with a 21-13 win over St. Louis. These teams have not met since 2005 when Arizona defeated Tennessee 20-10 for its fifth win in eight all-time meetings. NFL lines makers have listed the Tennessee Titans as a 3-point favorite with the total set at 46.
The Titans are now 4-0 since Vince Young took over as starting quarterback and 8-0 in his last eight regular season starts. The Titans have also won six straight games against the NFC. If Vince Young continues to make plays with his legs to keep drives going and if he continues to make few mistakes, the Titans could win their fifth straight game since starting 0-6.
Pro Bowl corner Cortland Finnegan was a big key in last week’s win over the Texans, helping limit Andre Johnson to just four catches for 78 yards. He’ll have to be up to the challenge again this week against the best wide receiver corps in the NFL, led by Larry Fitzgerald. It is worth noting that the Titans are an impressive 15-5-1 ATS in their last 21 games as a home favorite of 3.0 points or less.
The knock on the Cardinals in recent years has been how poor of a team they are on the road, but that cannot be said this year as the Cardinals franchise is off to its first 5-0 road start since 1948.
We all know what Kurt Warner and his talented group of wide receivers are capable of, but imagine what they could do if Arizona was able to get its running game going consistently to keep opposing defenses honest. Rookie running back Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower continue to improve and they are slowly starting to help the Cards achieve the offensive balance they have been working for. In fact, Arizona has rushed for over 120 yards in each of its last three games, racking up over 180 yards in two of those contests.
Defensively, Arizona must be able to stop Chris Johnson, who has been on an absolute tear. He has helped the Titans average 201 rushing yards per game on 6.1 yards per carry at home this season. The Arizona defense is much improved this year and it is actually only allowing 81 rushing yards per game on the road this season. If the Cards can slow down Tennessee’s running game to make Young beat them through the air, you have to like their chances. it is worth noting that the Cardinals are a perfect 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog.
