Remember the Titans? Not the Denzel Washington flick but the team that went 3-13 last season. Tennessee fans who bet on NFL cannot be faulted for trying to forget them, but sadly head coach Mike Mularkey and the rest of the organization are doing their damnedest to keep the memory as fresh as possible. Will the week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins help change that? Here are the NFL betting online odds for the game at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, October 9th:
Titans +3½ (-110) 43½ (-105)
Dolphins -3½ (-110) 43½ (-115)
The Titans went 1-3 with a week 4 loss to the Houston Texans. Mularkey’s plan for the game was to focus on receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and the Titans did a good job of it, keeping him to one reception and four yards. The only problem was, they did such a great job of shutting down Hopkins that they completely forgot about receiver Will Fuller, who returned a 67-yard punt to put the final 27-20 on the scoreboard. Tennessee was driving with less than two minutes left, but QB Marcus Mariota’s pass to former Texan wide receiver Andre Johnson on fourth down was broken up to secure Houston’s victory.
The Dolphins were without running back, tight end Jordan Cameron, and two offensive linemen against the Cincinnati Bengals, and this dearth of offensive weaponry showed clearly in the 22-7 final score. Miami QB Ryan Tannehill finished 15 of 25 for 189 yards with one TD pass to wide receiver Kenny Stills, but the Dolphins were otherwise nil on offense. Miami is 1-3 after experiencing a bit of a reprieve with a week 4 win over the Cleveland Browns. Then again, it was the Browns, so it never really meant a lot to begin with.
The Titans’ running offense was about the team’s only highlight on Sunday for fans who bet on NFL. Running back DeMarco Murray rushed for 95 yards on 25 carries with two TDs, and Mariota added 20 yards on 4 carries. On the other hand, the second-year QB completed only 13 of 29 attempted passes for a career-low 44.8%, and his intercepted pass was his seven TO in four games.
Mariota improved on his passer rating from a week prior, but it was still his second-worse rating. On defense, the Titans gave Brock Osweiler way too much freedom. That being said, Ryan Tannehill is not necessarily Brock Osweiler, but he does have a 63.8 completion percentage and has thrown six TD passes (Tannehill has also thrown 5 interceptions, which is almost half as many as he did in 2015).
Here are a few assorted facts for the benefit of people who bet on NFL; the titans are averaging 15.5 points and 348.0 total yards (221 passing and 127 rushing) per game against opposing teams, and are allowing 21 points and 350.8 total yards (240.8 passing and 110.0 rushing) per game. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are averaging 17.8 points and 329.8 total yards (252.0 passing and 77.8 rushing) per game, and yielding 22.2 points and 401.8 total yards (272 passing and 129.8 rushing) per game.