Steelers vs Titans Betting Preview TNF Week 6 10-11-2012

Pittsburgh Steelers -5.5 at Tennessee Titans OvUn 42.5 8:20 PM – Thursday Night Football October 11th, 2012

The Steelers will head into Tennessee to face the Titans this Thursday Night on the NFL Network.

The Steelers won a hard fought game at Heinz Field on Sunday against the Eagles. It was a crucial win for the Steelers, who would have fallen to 1-3 with a loss. The Steelers led nearly all game but found themselves down by three points with 2 minutes left in regulation. Luckily, Roethlisberger drove the Steelers’ offense down the field, and Shaun Suisham hit a game winning 34 yard field goal as time expired.

While, the victory was significant for the Steelers – they again lost Pro Bowl safety, Troy Polamalu. He has missed most of this season with a leg injury and once again re-aggravated it early into the contest with the Eagles. Lamar Woodley was also injured in the win, and both will likely not play in Thursday night’s game.

The Titans have been downright awful this season. Tennessee fell to 1-4 after a drubbing at the hands of the Vikings last week. Matt Hassellbeck should draw another start at quarterback this week for the injured Jake Locker – he looked rusty last Sunday – throwing for just 200 yards, a touchdown and interception, and had a QB rating of just 32.7.

The Titans haven’t gotten much help in the running game either. Chris Johnson rushed for just 15 yards on 24 attempts in the loss to Minnesota and has not been himself this season. The Titans offense will likely have a hard time moving the ball against a Steelers’ defense which is ranked 5th in total defense.

The Line

Opened at Pittsburgh -5.5 and has moved to -6 at some shops. The total opened at 43 and has moved to 42.5 everywhere online.

The Play

The Titans sure don’t look like they have a chance on paper, but remember the Steelers’ defense is one of the oldest in football, and will likely be without some of their top playmakers. Four days rest with an aging defense certainly is not a comforting thought to prospective Steelers’ backers.

Of course, the Titans’ chances do look bleak, but they’ve averaged 28.5 points per game at home this season, and could prove to be a spoiler in primetime.

We think the over has the most value in this matchup; the Steelers’ defense on short rest could be problematic – especially with another rash of injuries. The Titans have been horrible defensively, as well. Big Ben should put up solid numbers, but we think both offenses will be in the red zone often.

We’ve gone for the Overs of 42.5 available at the leading US betting site – www.topbet.eu