Colts Visit Titans On Thursday Night Football

The Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts meet on Thursday Night Football.

The Indianapolis Colts travel south to Music City Thursday night for an AFC South showdown with the Tennessee Titans.

This week’s edition of Thursday Night Football comes live from LP Field in Nashville, Tenn., with kickoff scheduled for shortly after 8:25 p.m. ET.

Currently leading the division, Indianapolis (6-3, 3-1 road) will look to rebound from last Sunday’s disappointing (and emphatic) loss to the St. Louis Rams.

The Colts found themselves unable to cope with rookie Tavon Austin as the Rams built an insurmountable 38-0 lead. Austin tallied three touchdowns, including a 98-yard punt return and touchdown receptions of 57 and 81 yards. The Colts also allowed a fumble recovery for a touchdown while Andrew Luck threw three interceptions.

Tennessee (4-5, 2-3 home) will also be looking to bounce back after becoming the first team this season to lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday.

The Titans lost quarterback Jake Locker for the rest of the season early in the game. Locker, who missed two games earlier this season, injured his foot and left the game. It was confirmed Monday that he would need season-ending surgery.

As he had previously, Ryan Fitzpatrick replaced Locker in the lineup but he was unable to guide the side to victory. Fitzpatrick threw an interception and lost a fumble which went back for a touchdown, just two of the four turnovers that proved costly for the Nashville side.

The loss prevented the Titans from moving within one-game of the Colts at the top of the division standings. That will be the prize on the line when the two teams take to the field Thursday.

Thursday night’s game is the first of two between the sides over the next 17 days. The Colts will host the Titans at Lucas Oil Field on December 1.

With Locker out, Tennessee has begun revamping its game plan to better suit Fitzpatrick. Meanwhile, Indianapolis will look to shrug off Sunday’s loss as an anomaly. They’ll be up against a backup quarterback for the third straight week, which is good news but the fact that the team is playing on a short week means just about anything could happen. You need only look at the last two games played on a Thursday night – both wins for the underdog – to see that.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans odds for 11/14/2013

Indianapolis (-150) opened as the favorite over Tennessee (+130) on the moneyline, something that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise for those that have followed this divisional rivalry in recent years.

The Colts have won three straight meetings against the Titans and eight of the last nine. Tennessee’s lone victory came during Indianapolis’ miserable 2-14 season two years ago, the season that led to the Colts drafting Andrew Luck. Luck is 2-0 against the Titans.

This rivalry started way back in 1970, when the Colts were still in Baltimore and the Titans were still the Houston Oilers. The Colts, who were victorious in that first ever meeting, own a 23-14 all-time against the Titans. That includes a 16-7 record since the Oilers swapped states.

The spread opened at 1 in favor of the Titans but has subsequently gone on to favor the Colts. At time of writing it sits at 3.

Both Indianapolis (5-4-0 ATS) and Tennessee (5-3-1 ATS) have covered the spread five times this season, although neither was successful against the spread in losses this past Sunday.

The Titans have struggled against the spread at home this season, posting a 1-3-1 ATS record at LP Field. However, the team has gone 5-2-0 ATS in its last five home games against the Colts.

The over/under opened at 43, where it stays with some sportsbooks. Other odds makers have nudged that figure down to 42.5.

Both Tennessee (6-3-0) and Indianapolis (5-4-0) have favored the over this season. The Titans have seen the total go over in three straight and five of the last six while the Colts have seen the total go over in three straight and four of five.

While the over might seem somewhat tempting, be sure to consider this: the total has gone under in 13 of the last 16 meetings between the sides and six of the last eight played in Nashville.

Thursday Night Special: On Thursday Night Football this season, the favorite has gone 7-3-0 SU and 5-5-0 ATS. The total has gone over in seven games (including six of the last seven) and under in three games.

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