Titans vs. Bills Odds, Picks & Prediction for Monday Night Football

by Nick Galaida (nickgalaida) Last Updated 2022-09-19 18:06:51

Monday Night Football Preview: Titans vs. Bills Odds

The second edition of Monday Night Football in 2022 will feature Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. In Week 1, the Titans led 13-0 at the half against the New York Giants, but crumbled in the latter portion of the contest in an eventual 21-20 loss. The Bills opened the new campaign with a dominating 31-10 victory over the defending Super Bowl champions, and they enter play this evening on extended rest. Oddsmakers are expecting Buffalo to roll in this matchup, pricing the Bills as 10 point home favorites game on the spread.

Let’s take a deeper look at the matchup to see where NFL bettors can find value at sportsbooks in this contest.

Tennessee Titans

Despite an embarrassing 13-point second half collapse at home to open the year, there is reason to be optimistic about Tennessee going forward. Against the New York Giants, Tennessee won the time of possession battle, only committed one turnover, and protected quarterback Ryan Tannehill well – resulting in only a 2.9 percent sack rate for the afternoon. The Titans converted only 3-of-11 third-downs in Week 1, which unquestionably contributed to the offensive struggles down the stretch. Head Coach Mike Vrabel likely emphasized this area during the week at practice, which should translate to better results on Monday.

Losing Harold Landry to a season-ending injury certainly diminished the overall talent level on the Titans’ defensive front, but this unit is far from decimated. In Week 1, Jeffery Simmons totaled seven pressures – five hurries and two sacks, per Pro Football Focus. Outside of allowing a 65-yard completion to Sterling Shepard, the secondary also played well against New York. Rookie cornerback Roger McCreary was sensational in his NFL debut, and figures to make a positive impact again tonight.

Buffalo Bills

In their season opener, the Bills took advantage of the Los Angeles Rams, who appeared to be still hungover from their Super Bowl celebrations. Buffalo dominated the line of scrimmage, rushing for 121 yards on 25 carries while sacking Matthew Stafford seven times. Still, there are plenty of reasons to think that their 21-point performance to open the campaign will be an aberration rather than a norm in 2022.

First and foremost, the Bills won by 21 points, but they only won the time of possession battle by just over a minute. The offense was also an incredulous 9-for-10 on third down – a rate of conversion that is unsustainable for even the best offenses in league history. Josh Allen was excellent from a clean pocket, 24-for-29 for 279 passing yards, but figures to see more pressure in Week 2 against a Tennessee defense that sacked Daniel Jones five times last Sunday. Despite good surface-level metrics against the Rams, the Bills’ offensive line still has major holes with Rodger Saffold at left guard, Ryan Bates at right guard, and Spencer Brown at right tackle. Expect the offense to have a much tougher time moving the football in this one.

Defensively, Buffalo has already ruled out Ed Oliver on the defensive line, with Tim Settle listed as doubtful. Cornerback Dane Jackson appears ready to go after logging a full practice on Friday, but carried a questionable tag into the weekend with a knee injury. Von Miller is undeniably elite on the edge, but he will have a much more difficult time getting into the opposing backfield tonight compared to Week 1 – facing a Tennessee offensive line that is much stronger than the one Los Angeles sent to the field. This unit is also still without star cornerback Tre’Davious White. Relying on rookie Christian Benford for a starter’s workload could create problems.

Titans vs. Bills Pick & Prediction

This line is an overreaction to what bettors witnessed in Week 1. The Buffalo Bills thrashed the defending Super Bowl champions in the second half of the season opener on national television, which left an indelible impact in the minds of football fans. The Tennessee Titans collapsed against a seemingly inferior opponent in the New York Giants, leading many pundits to believe that Tennessee is suddenly a bad football team. Both teams have had extended rest and preparation time heading into this contest. Tennessee should be extra motivated to get a bad taste out of their mouth, following an embarrassing defeat. Take the first half points for the road underdogs in this spot.

• PICK: Titans +6 – First Half (-120, DraftKings)

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