Tennessee Titans (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS) vs. Detroit Lions (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS)
Week 2 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday, September 18, 2016 at 1PM EST
Where: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
TV: CBS
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Betting Odds: TEN +5.5/DET -5.5
Over/Under Total: 47
The Tennessee Titans come to Nashville to face the Detroit Lions in week two action from Ford Field. Detroit opens up at home after scoring an impressive opening week road win at Indianapolis, 39-35. Having won 6 of 8 to close last season, Detroit is slowly earning the respect they deserve and are favored to go to 2-0 against the Titans. Tennessee showed some life in week one by taking a 10-0 halftime lead against the Vikings, but Minnesota came back with 25 second-half points to win going away, 25-16. Tennessee will be gunning hard to avoid an 0-2 start.
The Titans did well on defense on Sunday, holding Adrian Peterson to 31 yards on 19 carries, while keeping Shaun Hill from connecting aerially with any touchdowns. But their offense was to blame for the bulk of Minnesota's points, as an interception and fumble were returned for touchdowns. In the span of less than half a quarter, the game got upside-down for the Titans after a positive start. The offense pretty much melted away and Minnesota took over.
DeMarco Murray was a mixed bag in his Tennessee debut, losing a fumble, while only gaining 42 yards on the ground. He did, however, catch two TD passes. Draft pick Derrick Henry only had 3 yards on the ground and 42 yards receiving. Rookie Tajae Sharpe made his presence felt with 7 catches, as he made a nice initial connection with Tennessee QB Marcus Mariota. The 2nd-year QB was 25-for-41 with 271 yards and a pair of TD throws, but that pick-six proved to be costly, in addition to a couple botched handoffs to Murray. The line wasn't terribly effective, with the Titans unable to create a run-game and with Mariota under pressure for much of the game.
Defensively, the Titans were pretty solid on Sunday, They kept the Vikings off the board for all of the first half, Peterson was a non-factor, and Minnesota wasn't able to sustain many scoring drives. Shaun Hill was able to move the ball some for the Vikes, but didn't make much of an impact. The "D" wasn't that adept at rushing the passer, though they did stop the run adroitly. They didn't have any sacks or turnovers, which isn't good, but shows they are a good defense—just very solid overall, able to succeed without any real big plays. They should give Detroit some things to think about in this game.
The Lions have latched onto something with 7 wins in their last 9 games dating back to last season. At his former coaching home in Indy, Jim Caldwell led the Lions into Indy and they were able to overcome a gutty Colts effort to win 39-35 in a squeaker. At one point, the Lions led 21-3, but the Colts wouldn't go away, with Andrew Luck leading them almost all the way back and even taking the lead with 34 seconds left. A few plays later, Detroit set up Matt Prater for the go-ahead 43-yard field goal. When the offense needed a play, Matthew Stafford and Company got it. Stafford was excellent on the day, going 31-for-39 with three TD throws and no picks.
The cast members Stafford will rely on this year all reared their heads in week one. Golden Tate caught 7 balls. TE Eric Ebron caught 5 balls and a TD. Leading the way was key acquisition WR Marvin Jones, who may be in a spot where he can thrive in Detroit. While the run-game wasn't explosive, Theo Reddick and Ameer Abdullah did combine for 108 yards, while each caught five balls including a touchdown. Veteran receiver Anquan Boldin made his Detroit debut with 3 catches.
Most impressive was the way Detroit got after it when things started to go sideways. Usually when a team has a big lead and the other team turns the tables, it's really hard to recapture the momentum. But as Indy mounted one scoring drive after the next, Detroit didn't go into safety-mode, nor did they panic. Three separate scoring drives in the 4th quarter salvaged victory amidst the furious late Indy onslaught. The Colts were hungering to open at home with a win, now with their star QB back in the fold. Detroit was not in the mood for any sentimentality and emerged with the type of win that can have a galvanizing affect on this team and add validation to their second-half spurt of last season.
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Detroit will certainly not rejoice in the loss of Calvin Johnson, one of the more uniquely-gifted players in league history. Sometimes, however, there is a flip-side of the coin in what first appears to be a terrible setback. Johnson's contributions will be missed, but it may force Detroit to become more multi-dimensional in how they create production. In week one, we saw a vast cast of different players chipping into the team cause offensively. Granted, the defense didn't play terribly well. Andrew Luck was approaching 400 yards and even aging back Frank Gore was effective in spots. But giving up 35 points to an Andrew Luck-led Indy home team is no disgrace.
It's important, however, to remember that one game is one game. Week one is all we have to go on, but it's still one game at the end of the day. We know that one-game windows of evaluation can set us far off-course, so we should reserve any over-abundance of enthusiasm with Detroit, while being hesitant to write-off the Tennessee upsurge we were supposed to see this season based on one bad performance. The Titans actually match up nicely in many ways with the Lions. I envision a tight game that comes down to the wire, with the Titans covering the spread.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the Tennessee Titans plus 5.5 points. Did you know... that you could be wagering on the Tennessee vs. Detroit game at discounted odds? There's a better than good chance that you're laying -110 odds (or more) with your book. Stop overpaying TODAY by making the switch to 5Dimes Sportsbook! You will be so glad that you did!
