Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans NFL Odds & Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on November 22, 2009

The Tennessee Titans go for their fourth consecutive win, since starting 0-6, when they take on division rival Houston on ESPN’s Monday Night Football to close out Week 11. Last week, Tennessee crushed Buffalo 41-17 while Houston was idle. These teams have already met once this season with Matt Schaub throwing four touchdown strikes to edge out the Tennessee 34-31, but the Titans have won seven of the last nine meetings and hold an 11-4 advantage in the all-time series. NFL odds makers have listed the Houston Texans as a 4-point favorite with the total set at 48.

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The Titans certainly won’t be lacking any confidence when they take the field in Houston Monday night when you consider that they are 5-2 all-time at Houston. Tennessee has also won two if its last three Monday Night Football contests so I don’t expect playing in prime time affair to present much of an issue. Also, Tennessee is a dangerous team right now in that it its playing with nothing to lose following such a poor start.

Offensively, the Titans must continue to pound running back Chris Johnson. Johnson has already rushed for 1091 yards and eight touchdowns this season on a ridiculous 6.4 yards per carry average. He is also an asset as a receiver out of the backfield and torched the Texans for 284 yards from scrimmage in this season’s earlier meeting.

Tennessee has already seen that it can get a monster game from Johnson and still lose if the defense doesn’t play well, which has been the case often enough this season. In the season’s first meeting, a huge day through the air by Texans QB Matt Schaub was too much to overcome. Schaub threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns. 149 of those yards and two of those touchdowns went to star wide receiver Andre Johnson. In that game, Pro Bowl corner Cortland Finnegan was eaten alive by Johnson. Finnegan has been bothered by a hamstring injury this season but he now appears healthy. If he can do a better job on Johnson, the Titans just might be able to pull off the upset. It is worth noting that the Titans are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0 points. If you like Tennessee to avenge its earlier season loss to Houston Monday, bet the Titans at +4 at Sportsbook.com.

Over the last couple seasons, the Texans have been a very inconsistent football team. But they managed to win three straight games before falling to division rival Indianapolis 20-17 back on November 8th. The big question now is how the Texans will respond coming off a bye week. Will the extra rest and preparation allow them to continue their solid play or will the time off cause a little rust to form? If the former is the answer, the 5-4 Texans could be on their way to making the postseason for the first time in team history. The numbers say that Houston should be okay this week when you consider the home team is 6-0 straight up and 5-1 against the spread in Houston’s post-bye week games since 2003. It is also worth noting that the Texans are a perfect 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up loss. If you like Houston to win a third straight over Tennessee and to cover the number in the process, bet the Texans at -4 at Sportsbook.com.

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