Buccaneers Titans Line

Written by Steve Janus - Google +

The Tennessee Titans will look to keep their hopes alive in the AFC South when they host the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Titans fell 17-23 at Atlanta last week to fall to 5-5 on the season, but are just two games back of Houston in their division. The Buccaneers gave the undefeated Packers all they could handle in a 26-35 loss at Green Bay, but it was their fourth straight losing effort and are now just 4-6 on the year.

Taking a look at the week 12 lines, oddsmakers currently have the Titans favored by 3-points over the Buccaneers with the total set at 43 points.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

It’s do or die time for the Buccaneers, who trail the Saints by three games in the NFC South. They are also two games back of Atlanta, who are on the outside looking in at the playoffs at 6-4. Tampa Bay has played a brutal stretch of games over the last six weeks, but after Tennessee they get the Panthers at home and go on the road to face the Jaguars. If they can win those three games and get to 7-6, they will have a chance to make some noise over the final four weeks of the season.

Tampa Bay had their chances to knock of the Packers, but couldn’t make the defensive stops when they needed to late in the game. Josh Freeman went 28 of 38 for a season-high 342 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw his 14th and 15th interceptions of the season. It was a step in the right direction for the young quarterback, but he has to stop making those mistakes and giving the ball to the other team.

The Bucs also got a nice game out of LaGarrette Blount, who rushed for 107 yards on 18 attempts, including an impressive 54 yard touchdown run that got the Buccaneers offense going in the second quarter. It was just the second time this season that Blount rushed for over 100 yards, but maybe this game will get him going.

Kellen Winslow and Mike Williams each had one of the better games against the Packers, and it would really help this team if they can build off their performances. Winslow caught nine passes for a game-high 132 yards, while Williams hauled in seven passes for 83 yards and a score.

The Titans have been hit or miss defensively this year. They have held opposing offenses to 14 points or less in their five wins, while giving up at least 23 points in each of their last four losses. They are 16th against the pass (233.4 ypg) and 22nd against the run (124.3 ypg).

Tennessee Titans:

While the Titans defense has struggled in their losses, the offense hasn’t been much better. Tennessee is just 1-5 when they score 17 points or fewer. In their last game against Atlanta they were down 23-3 late in the third quarter before the offense finally got rolling with two late touchdowns.

The big question coming into their game against Tampa Bay is who will be the starting quarterback. Matt Hasselbeck injured his elbow and was forced to leave last week’s game. That opened the door for rookie Jake Locker to showcase his abilities, and he went 9 of 19 for 140 yards with two touchdown passes to Nate Washington, who finished with nine grabs for 115 yards. Hasselbeck is listed as probable on the injury report, but who knows if he will start or be able to finish the game.

Just one game after breaking out of a slump with 130 rushing yards and a touchdown against Carolina, Chris Johnson went right back to not being able to do anything on the ground. Johnson managed a whopping 13 yards on 12 attempts against the Falcons.

Statistically the Buccaneers defense is one of the worst in the league. They are 29th against the pass (265.4 ypg) and 26th against the run (133.5 ypg). Some of that is due to poor play and some is due to the level of competition they have played over their first 10 games.