Titans Open as Favorites Against the Colts

The Tennessee Titans -- fresh off their 28-26 win against the Cleveland Browns -- have opened as 2.5 point favorites against divisional foe Indianapolis. The Colts amazingly blew a 14 point lead last night to the Texans, allowing Houston to take control of the division. Now the Colts will have another road game, this time visiting the Titans.

If you'll think back to last season with me, you'll probably recall the Colts' visit to Nashville. The Titans blew that one, which ended up starting the downward spiral of the 2015 team. Andrew Luck led a furious comeback, scoring two late touchdowns to take the lead.

Marcus Mariota led a touchdown drive of his own, but a failed two point conversion finished the Titans off.

All of this to say, the Titans can hang with the Colts. Indy probably played their best game on the road last night in Houston, however. Does the offense have enough firepower to hang with that offense? Two weeks ago I wouldn't have given them a chance, but Mariota seems to be turning a corner. Now he'll get another bad defense at home. There's no reason why he can't continue his hot streak.

The Titans haven't beaten the Colts since 2011, when Indianapolis rolled out Curtis Painter as Peyton Manning was nursing his neck back to full strength. Tennessee has been competitive in most of these contests, but they just can't close the deal.

Now all of the sudden, this game means a whole lot. The Titans have both battled back to 3-3. The Colts sit at 2-4 and don't have much more wiggle room if they plan on getting to the post season. Houston plays at Denver next week on Monday night and are currently listed as seven point underdogs.

The Titans have a chance to bury the Colts and tie the Texans atop the division, but home games have been an issue in recent years.

Maybe the win yesterday helps get the Titans back on track at home. They dominated the Browns for the most part, but gave up two scores at the end and let the Browns get close (and cover the spread.) It wasn't all that flashy, but they took care of business for two weeks in a row. That's the first two wins in a row since 2013.

We'll figure out if these Titans are ready to take another step forward next week. If they find a way to win, there's no reason why we can't start to at least think about the playoffs.