Despite losing to the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night, the Atlanta Falcons’ first six weeks under rookie head coach Dan Quinn have been a major success. The same cannot be said for Marcus Mariota in Tennessee, as the Titans have fallen into a four-game losing skid with their rookie quarterback stuck in a rut. Can Quinn and his Falcons defense help deal a fifth-straight defeat to Mariota and the free-falling Titans?
Get a complete breakdown of this Falcons-Titans matchup with our preview below. Meanwhile, get ready for more great NFL Week 7 action with our previews of the Saints vs. Colts and Ravens vs. Cardinals.
[sc:Football ]Atlanta Falcons vs. Tennessee Titans Preview
Where: Nissan Stadium, Nashville
When: Sunday, October 25, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Atlanta Falcons (-4) at Tennessee Titans (+4); total 48.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the Atlanta Falcons (5-1)
The Atlanta Falcons’ perfect start to the season finally came to an end on Thursday night as they fell, 31-21, to the New Orleans Saints. Costly turnovers (three lost fumbles, two in the red zone), poor third down conversion (just 3-of-12) and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown were largely to blame as the Falcons failed to cover the spread for the second game in a row. They are 4-2 ATS on the season.
[sc:NFL240banner ]On the bright side for the Falcons, Devonta Freeman is still pretty much unstoppable. The second-year running back had 156 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) against the Saints to stretch his impressive streak to four-straight games of 150-plus yards from scrimmage.
Freeman should be favored to further that streak against a struggling Titans run defense that has been giving up 139 rushing yards on nearly five yards per carry in the last four games.
Julio Jones also had a much better game (six catches, 93 receiving yards) in New Orleans despite battling a bad hamstring for the past few weeks. The extra three days’ rest should also help him return closer to full strength in time for their visit to Tennessee.
The Falcons defense has been one of the best at forcing turnovers this season, with 10 takeaways already to their name. Look for them to ratchet up the pressure on rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota, who has been a turnover machine in the last four games (five INTs, four lost fumbles).
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Betting on the Tennessee Titans (1-4)
After a dream start to his NFL career, Marcus Mariota’s last four games have turned into something of a nightmare. The Titans have lost all four games, including their heaviest loss of the year – a 38-10 drubbing at the hands of the Dolphins – as they returned from their bye on Sunday.
Mariota took a low hit in the first half of that game, and was visibly limited with a knee injury. He also wasn’t helped by his struggling offensive line, which allowed him to get sacked five times in the first half alone. Mariota has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL, but has not been completely ruled out for Sunday.
Apart from the Cowboys, no one has run the ball with much consistency against the Falcons. The Titans haven’t been too great running the ball in the last three games either (just 82 yards per game), so the offense will remain squarely on Mariota’s shoulders.
However, Mariota isn’t exactly inspiring much confidence lately, especially since he’s thrown three fourth quarter interceptions in each of his last three games, two of which were in one-possession games. The Titans offense has scored just 14 points or less in three of their last four games.
It also doesn’t inspire much confidence that dating back to last season, the Titans are just 1-10 (2-8-1 ATS) in their last 11 home games.
Writer’s Predictions
The Falcons feast on the Titans’ terrible defense, as they roll to a 38-13 win in Tennessee.
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