It took forever for a line to show up on this game and, in many places, it’s still not even on the board. Regardless, we’re picking it as the Indianapolis Colts (1-4) travel to Nissan Stadium in Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans (2-3) on Monday Night Football.
This MNF game will be presented for pleasure by ESPN at 8:30 p.m. I’ll be live blogging it right here at GetMoreSports.com and, trust me, you’ll want the sideshow with this trainwreck. We can get through this together.
The Game: Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans (-5.5)
O/U: N/A
The History
The Colts and Titans have met 45 times since 1970 (with Tennessee as the Houston Oilers and the Colts playing out of Baltimore). Indianapolis/Baltimore holds a 31-14 advantage.
Indianapolis is currently riding an 11 game win streak over the Titans, beginning with a 19-13 overtime win in October, 2012.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (1-4)
Once again Andrew Luck teased both the fans and ESPN programming executives by practicing this week. Yet, here we sit with one of the best quarterbacks in the league still listed as out for this game. With the Titans seemingly on the upswing and a Luck-led Colts, I’m sure this seemed like an easy sell for the MNF audience. Now, Jon Gruden is really going to have to work overtime to make this one entertaining.
Jacoby Brissett will be back under center for the Colts and as bad as that is, it gets worse as starting guard Jack Mewhort just went to injured reserve with a knee injury. Inside linebacker Anthony Walker is also out and Jon Bostic is questionable with a calf injury.
Last week the Colts battled back to take a 26-23 overtime win over the hapless San Francisco 49ers. Brissett completed 22 of 34 passing for 314 yards and an interception. Rookie running back Marlon Mack did most of the damage on the ground, rolling up 91 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Brissett, at least, knows who to target when he throws the ball. Receiver T.Y. Hilton caught seven passes for 177 yards. Nobody else had more than 38 yards.
Defensively, the Colts were a set of swinging saloon doors in the defensive backfield. Brian Hoyer completed 29 of 46 passing for 353 yards and two touchdowns. If the 49ers had gotten any running game going of their own, they would have probably stolen this one.
TENNESSEE TITANS (2-3)
The reason this line took so long to show up (and hasn’t in some places), is no one knows yet if Marcus Mariota is going to play. He’s still listed as a game time decision after being held out last Sunday with a hamstring injury. The good news is he’s practiced all week and I think he plays.
Last week, without Mariota, the Titans offense slowed down to a clunking halt. DeMarco Murray never got going, carrying the ball 14 times for 58 yards against the Miami Dolphins in a 16-10 loss. Back up quarterback Matt Cassel finished 21 of 32 for 141 yards and a touchdown. It just wasn’t enough and in the fourth quarter Tennessee was held completely scoreless.
The defense wasn’t much help. They sacked Jay Cutler just one time, though they did get six stops in the backfield. Miami was able to convert 5-of-15 on third downs, which sounds good but in a game where Tennessee was just 2-for-13 on third downs, it wasn’t nearly good enough.
If Mariota does play, there’s a question about how effective he can be. I think he runs best when it’s his last option on a pass play. I generally don’t like a called run for the quarterback, unless it’s kind of a trick or in the red zone. Mariota, though, will have to keep the defense honest to open up lanes for Murray and Derek Henry.
The Pick
No one is more nervous about picking Mike Mularkey to win a game with a banged up quarterback than I am. On the positive side, he’s going against Chuck Pagano, a fellow coach that should be fired at (or before) the end of the season. These two men are about to play a chess match with four checkers and a handful of lugnuts. It’s going to be ugly. Titans 16, Colts 13
This week
Straight up: 0-1
Against the spread: 0-1
Last week
Straight up: 6-8
Against the spread: 6-8
Season
Straight up: 43-34
Against the spread: 38-39
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