Two of the hottest teams right now in the NFL will meet head-on this coming weekend, as the streaking Pittsburgh Steelers take on the also undefeated Tennessee Titans. Will the Steelers be the first team to put a dent in Tennessee’s record? Or will the Titans keep on rolling?
The Steelers’ defense is elite. They added more proof for that when they dismantled the Cleveland Browns last Sunday, 38-7. Pittsburgh allowed just 220 total yards to the Browns and a single third-down conversion on 12 attempts. Baker Mayfield was sacked by Pittsburgh a total of four times, resulting in 20 lost yards for Cleveland. The Steelers enter Week 7 ranked third in the NFL with just 18.8 points given up per contest. Their pass rush is the heart of their stop unit, as Pittsburgh has 24 sacks on the season, the most in the NFL. That will be crucial in stopping Ryan Tannehill and the Titans’ offense that is averaging 264.2 passing yards per game, good for 11th overall. But even if the Titans elect to run the ball more, they’ll be met by the Steelers’ defense that is second in the league with just 66.2 rushing yards allowed per contest. Conversely, Ben Roethlisberger can have success passing the ball against the Titans, who just allowed Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson rack up 335 passing yards and four touchdowns without an interception last week.
The Steelers are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games overall.
The Titans came out on top of an entertaining back-and-forth battle against the Houston Texans last week. With their offense humming, the Titans scored a 42-36 win in overtime against Watson and company to extend Tennessee’s win streak to five games. Ryan Tannehill passed for 364 yards and four touchdowns with one interception on 30-of-41 completions, while Derrick Henry played like a Greek God and rambled for 212 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, including a 94-rushing yard touchdown that broke the internet. Despite the Steelers’ tough run defense, Henry is just too physically gifted and surrounded by a solid run-blocking line not to have any form of significant success against Pittsburgh this weekend. Tennessee is fifth in the NFL with 157.8 rushing yards per game and ninth with 4.8 rushing yards per carry, which are direct effects of having a monster running back like Henry, who can break multiple tackles on any given rushing attempt. Tannehill also has confidence in his protection unit that has given up only four sacks to date this season.
The Titans are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 home games.
