With the way the Tennessee Titans have played these last five weeks, and combined with all of the injuries, head coach Mike Vrabel’s team finds itself as heavy home underdogs to the Dallas Cowboys going into Week 17.
The Titans likely would’ve been home underdogs to one of the best teams in the NFL no matter what, but the team’s play of late in the absence of quarterback Ryan Tannehill has helped push the spread higher.
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Titans are 10-point underdogs to Dallas going into Week 17, and chances are there won’t be any experts picking Tennessee to win this game.
Stacking the deck further against Tennessee’s chances of winning is the fact that the team might opt to sit key players who are banged-up but otherwise might’ve played.
With all that in mind, it’s time for our staff to make its picks for the Titans’ Week 17 game against the Cowboys.
Tyler Rowland
The Titans need to choose whether they want to try and win or they want to try and lose. I do not believe the Titans can lay down and die purposefully against the Cowboys and then somehow flip an imaginary switch to beat Jacksonville, who has been playing playoff football for months.
Trying to lose won’t lead to winning. I don’t think the Titans win regardless, but they need to play their healthy players and try. Titans keep it close until the mid-third quarter and the wheels fall off.
Final score: Cowboys 27, Titans 13
Ryan Sikes
Micah Parsons lined up against Dennis Daley spells bad news for the Titans’ backfield. Without Ryan Tannehill and the injuries continuing to pile up, I don’t see this going particularly well. Hopefully, Malik Willis can show something in the passing game.
Final score: Cowboys 30, Titans 7
Shaun Calderon
I expect the Titans to be shorthanded in this one. Therefore, I believe the Cowboys should walk away with a relatively easy win as Micah Parsons has one of the best outings of his entire career.
Final score: Cowboys 19, Titans 10
Mike Moraitis
I’m going to write this prediction assuming the Titans will play their key guys even though this game is meaningless in terms of the AFC South.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter either way for the Titans’ hopes of winning this game and gaining some momentum going into Week 18.
The Titans simply aren’t a good team, especially with all the injuries on both sides of the ball. They once again proved that last week with a loss to the worst team in the NFL, the Houston Texans.
Now, Tennessee’s offense, which is the weakest link by a mile, has a matchup with Micah Parsons and an elite Dallas Cowboys defense that can really get after the quarterback. That will only further impede this offense on top of everything else.
Forget points, the Titans are going to struggle to simply sustain drives, which will only put more stress on the defense. The Titans will find a way to muster up a few field goals, but that’s about it.
Final score: Cowboys 27, Titans 6
