2017 AFC Playoff Odds and Betting Preview of the Saturday night game where the Tennessee Titans visit the New England Patriots.
2017 AFC Playoff Odds – Preview the Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans did something last week that only two previous teams in NFL history had done, which was come back from a halftime deficit of at least 18 points to win. It was improbable, but they were able to make it happen on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs. Now they will take to the road for a much tougher assignment, as they tackle the New England Patriots in a game that begins at 8:15 PM ET on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. CBS will televise it nationwide, and VietBet customers have the opportunity to place wagers even after the opening kickoff as they access the state-of-the-art software from Live Betting Ultra.
2017 AFC Playoff Odds – Titans vs Patriots:
In the AFC playoff odds posted on this game at VietBet, the Titans are getting almost two touchdowns:
New England Patriots -13
Tennessee Titans +13
Over 48 points -110
Under 48 points -110
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The Titans didn’t necessarily “back into” the playoffs, as they did win their season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars – who are still alive and face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. But they had lost their previous three games before that, and it did not look like a healthy situation. It still isn’t, literally speaking, DeMarco Murray, the former NFL rushing champion, will be missing another game with his MCL injury, and it was feared by some that Derrick Henry, the former Heisman Trophy winner, would not be able to shoulder all of the burden in the backfield.
Well, Henry dispelled that notion a big way, rambling for 156 yards against the Chiefs. And yes, it did not hurt that they got a little luck, as Marcus Mariota was able to retrieve a pass he threw that was batted down and ran it into the end zone. In effect, he caught his own touchdown pass.
We are not sure we can make much of a case for Tennessee winning this game outright, but it is quite possible that the Titans (10-7 straight-up, 8-8-1 ATS) can stay within shouting distance. With the way they like to do business on offense, there is a chance they can “shorten” this game, especially if Henry, who had 744 rushing yards this season, can come even remotely close to emulating last week’s form. And we have to keep in mind that the Patriots did allow 4.7 yards per carry this season, which was next-to-last in the NFL, and that they allowed more yards per drive than any other team. So it’s not as if Tennessee won’t be able to move the football.
In the event they get really close, they have a quarterback who doesn’t give the ball away. Mariota, over the course of his career, has thrown 40 touchdown passes in the red zone and has not been intercepted even once. That’s relatively amazing. And he contributes to the running game as well (312 yards on the ground this season). This is a team that does not beat itself a whole lot with penalties (only 85 on the season), and Tom Brady did not necessarily finish the season well, throwing five interceptions (to go with six touchdown passes) over his last five games. This Tennessee defense may not be of “elite” level, but they can get the job done, allowing just 6.8 yards per pass attempt and 3.6 yards per rush. They might just have what it takes to be competitive well into the fourth quarter.
2017 AFC Playoff Odds – Preview the New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are in a very familiar spot, as they have a first-round playoff bye the eighth straight season. And after a rather slow start defensively, they have come on strong. This is a team that makes money for its backers, and they will try to do it again on Saturday night as they play host to the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs, kicking off at 8:15 PM ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. This will be televised by CBS, and while Vietbet customers are watching it, they can place wagers in real time using the state-of-the-art software from Live Betting Ultra.
The Patriots finished with a record of 13-3 straight-up and a sizzling 11-5 against the football point spread. Pittsburgh also had a 13-3 record, but the Patriots won the tiebreaker for the #1 seed by virtue of their head-to-head victory over the Steelers. Of course, the Pats won another Super Bowl last season, coming back from a 28-3 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons to force overtime and then win AND cover on top of that. But they got off to kind of a strange start in 2017, as not only did they give up 32 points per game over their first four contests, they allowed all four quarterbacks they faced to reach at least 300 yards.
But then, as he has so often done in the past, head coach Bill Belichick rallied his defensive troops to the point where New England allowed an average of only 14 points over their last twelve games. And of course, Tom Brady had another banner season, with 32 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions. Tight end Rob Gronkowski is healthy, which wasn’t the case last season during the playoffs. And that allows them to execute their familiar two-tight end sets.
Brady and the offense produced two 1000-yard receivers; there was Gronk and there was also Brandin Cooks, who provided New England with the deep threat that in some ways it was lacking last season. And if that wasn’t enough t make this attack more potent, running backs James White, Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis combined for 118 receptions. And the Pats rolled to this top seed even without Julian Edelman, who was Brady’s favorite target among the wide receiver corps but missed this season with an injury. Speaking of injuries, the Pats are expecting to have the aforementioned White back after missing some time with an ankle injury. These guys simply know how to improvise and move forward.
And they also know how to get off to a quick start when they hit the field; the Patriots have scored 16.9 first-half points per game, and that might put the Titans in a spot where they have to play from behind again (having been down 21-3 at the half against Kansas City), and this time around the climb back into the game would be a lot tougher.
Here is an amazing statistic to ponder – the Patriots have allowed more yardage per drive than any team in the NFL, but they are sixth-best in POINTS allowed per drive. So Tennessee will have the pressure on them as they try to convert drives into scoring chances. The Titans have been outscored and outgained by opponents this season, and a team like that isn’t going to beat the Patriots in Foxborough in a playoff atmosphere. And New England is on a nice point spread roll too, going 27-8 against the number in their last 35 games.
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By Charles Jay
