Back the Titans as a field-goal favorite on the road at Jacksonville.

I can’t remember the last time an 0-3 team playing its second straight road game was favored against a divisional rival. Well, the respect the oddsmakers are giving Tennessee is justified, because the Titans are an 0-3 team in record only – and certainly, they’ve got miles more talent than the Jaguars.

Get baseball lines Bet on pro football games! Bet on college football games!

Yes, I lost a big 30 Dime play on Tennessee last week when it fell 24-17 at the Jets. But the Titans battled back from a 14-0 hole to take a 17-14 third-quarter lead, and the fact is, if not for a rookie return man fumbling a kickoff in the first quarter and a punt in the fourth quarter – both of which led to easy New York touchdowns, Tennessee would’ve won last week. And had the Titans won that game – and the Jaguars not rallied to beat the overrated Texans on the road – Tennessee would be laying nearly six points in this one.

In addition to line value with the road team here, we’ve got a fundamental mismatch. That Titans have the better running game, the better passing game and the better defense. In fact, if you just focus on the rushing numbers for both teams, you’ll see that Tennessee is outrushing its opponents 151-61 on average, and while Jacksonville is putting up a solid 130 rushing ypg, it is also allowing 100 ypg on defense. Overall, the Jags are getting torched for 381.7 yards per contest, while the Titans, despite losing all three games, are giving up just 335.3 total ypg.

Two weeks ago in their home opener, the Jaguars got pushed around by Arizona in a 31-17 loss that was worse than even the score shows – and the Cardinals are a team that traditionally doesn’t travel well to the East Coast. Jacksonville has now dropped six of its last seven home games both SU and ATS, and that includes a 24-14 defeat to these Titans as a one-point ‘dog last November. Tennessee swept last year’s season series SU and ATS, yielding just 257 and 189 TOTAL yards in the victories, and Jeff Fisher’s squad is 4-1 SU and ATS in the last five meetings.

The Titans (7-2 ATS last nine as a road favorite; 12-4 ATS last 16 against AFC South rivals) are beyond desperate right now for a win, and they’ll get it comfortably today against the overmatched Jags.

5♦ TENNESSEE

(based on a 1♦ to a 10♦ Rating)

Bet on football now at Sportsbook.com and take advantage of Reduced Juice Fridays (-105).

Previous sports wager stories

Dodgers on the run line