The two teams that brought us the Music City Miracle playoff game square off tonight on Monday Night Football. The Buffalo Bills are 4-1 on the season and are coming off of a dominant victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Tennessee Titans are 3-2 and put a whipping on the Jacksonville Jaguars last week.
Though the Bills are the road team, oddsmakers still list them as a five and a half point favorite over the Titans. The total is currently sitting at 54 points. Here’s a preview of each team and a Best Bet for this great Monday Night matchup.
Bills Offense vs. Titans Defense
Bills QB Josh Allen is playing like a legitimate MVP candidate through the first five weeks of the season. The former Wyoming star gunslinger has thrown for 1,370 yards and 12 touchdowns. Allen is the main reason why Buffalo has won four straight ball games. This Bills offense ranks 1st in the NFL in points per game (34.4).
The Titans’ defense has improved a tiny bit over last year’s squad, but this unit is still one of the worst in the AFC. Tennessee is giving up 4.5 yards per rush, which ranks 26th in the league (teamrankings.com). The secondary also seems to get burned by the big play, as they’re allowing 7.9 yards per pass (28th in the league). The one bright spot for this unit has been linebacker Harold Landry, who has 4.5 sacks.
Titans Offense vs. Bills Defense
Ryan Tannehill is an efficient QB but don’t be fooled, this offense still revolves around RB Derrick Henry. The former Heisman Trophy winner has already found the end zone seven times while racking up 640 rushing yards. The Titans offense as a whole ranks 7th in the league in yards per rush (4.9) and averages 167.8 rushing yards per game. Tannehill’s favorite target so far has been WR Julio Jones, who has 204 receiving yards but is listed as questionable to play with a hamstring injury.
This Bills defense is one of the best in the NFL, as they rank 1st in nine different statistical categories. This unit is only allowing 12.8 points per game and 4.3 yards per play so it’s difficult to move the football against them. Rookie defensive end Gregory Rousseau leads the team in sacks with three. Safety Micah Hyde leads the Bills secondary with three interceptions.
Our Pick: Bills Team Total Over 30
We aren’t crazy about laying five and a half points on the road in a Monday Night game. Downtown Nashville will be rocking and the Bills could suffer a bit of a letdown after blowing out the Chiefs last week on Sunday Night Football. However, we love the current form of the Bills offense.
Josh Allen is playing lights out and we expect him to have plenty of success against this subpar Titans secondary. Though we’re not sure the Bills cover the spread, we love them to at least reach 31 points.