Tennessee Titans vs Indianapolis Colts Pick and Game Analysis

Tennessee (13-2), on the strength of its 31-14 victory over Pittsburgh last Sunday, has clinched the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs. The Titans know they’ll receive a bye next week, giving them a chance to rest before they host a divisional round game Jan. 10 or 11.

Indianapolis (11-4), meanwhile, clinched an AFC wild card playoff berth after defeating Jacksonville 31-24 last Thursday. The Colts know they’ll be the #5 seed in the AFC playoffs as the first wild card team, and they’ll play at either Denver or San Diego in the wild card round of the playoffs Jan. 3 or 4.

The Indianapolis Colts have won eight straight games since losing to Tennessee Oct. 27, a win streak that is currently the best in the NFL. As a 4-point favorite, Tennessee defeated the Colts 31-21 in Nashville on Monday Night Football in late October, sending Indianapolis, at the time, to a 3-4 record. The Colts outgained Tennessee 317-281 in the game, but two Indianapolis turnovers versus zero for the Titans figured greatly in the outcome. Indianapolis led 14-6 late in the third quarter, but the Titans rallied for 25 unanswered points to put away the victory. Check out diamond sportsbook for this weeks line and nfl playoff future bets.

The loss pushed Indy below .500 at least seven games into a season for the first time since 1998. Since that loss, however, the Colts have played great football. The Tennessee Titans, meanwhile, opened the season 10-0, before losing two of four games. However, the dominating win against a strong Pittsburgh team, which likely will be the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs, showed the Titans remain the team to beat in the AFC.

The Colts are 3-1-1 over their last five games against the spread, while the Titans are 3-2 ATS in the same time frame. Tennessee is 12-3 ATS this season, which is the NFL’s best mark. Indianapolis is 7-7-1 ATS this season.

With both teams essentially having nothing to play for, it’s difficult to know how much they’ll play their starters Sunday. It would be reasonable to think that the Titans will play their starters a little longer than the Colts, because Tennessee will have a week off during the wild card round of the playoffs, while Indianapolis must play a road game. But there are no guarantees what will happen, get our inside info free on how each team will approach this game.

During its last trip to Indianapolis, the Titans won 16-10 in the final game of the 2007 regular season. However, the Colts had already clinched a first-round playoff bye before the game, and they rested many regulars in that game, much as both teams will likely do on Sunday. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning played only until midway through the second quarter in last season’s meeting in Indianapolis, which represents the only Titans win in Indianapolis since 2002.

The Colts went through a similar situation at the end of the 2006 season, having clinched the AFC South title with a few weeks to play. However, the Colts played their starters the entire game on the final day of the regular season in 2006, and they defeated Miami, 27-22. In that season, where the Colts went on to win the Super Bowl, they were looking to regain some momentum against Miami after losing four of six games leading up to the regular-season finale. In 2005, Manning threw just two passes before heading to the bench in Indianapolis’ regular-season finale against Arizona, as the Colts had already wrapped up the division title. However, Indianapolis still managed to defeat the Cardinals, 17-13.

It is possible that we could see a Titans-Colts rematch in the divisional round of the playoffs, should Indianapolis win its wild card round game and should the #3 seed defeat the #6 seed in the other AFC wild card round game. If the Tennessee-Indianapolis rematch occurs in January, you can count on seeing the starters for the full four quarters.