Titans Steelers Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to avoid starting the season 2-3 when they host the upstart 3-1 Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The Steelers come in off a tough 10-17 loss at Houston, while the Titans dominated Cleveland on the road 31-13 for their third consecutive win. Pittsburgh has won three of the last four in the series, including a 19-11 win at Tennessee a year ago.

Taking a look at the week 5 NFL spreads, oddsmakers currently have the Steelers favored by 5-points over the Titans with the total set at 40 points.

Tennessee Titans:

The Titans have been one of the biggest surprises to start the 2011 season, and it all started with an impressive 26-13 win over the Ravens in week 2. Tennessee still has a lot to prove before they are considered a legit threat in the AFC, as they have played just one team that currently has a winning record.

The big surprise of the season has been the outstanding play of starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. No one really expected Hasselbeck to put up big numbers when he was added in the offseason, but he 8th in the league with 1,152 passing yards to go along with eight touchdowns to just three interceptions.

That high-powered passing attack figured to take a hit last week against the Browns, as the Titans loss star wide out Kenny Britt for the season in their week 3 win over Denver. Instead Hasselbeck threw continued to make plays, throwing for 220 yards and three touchdowns.

What really has to have Tennessee excited going forward is they finally got a big game out of running back Chris Johnson, who carried it 23 times for 101 yards in the win over Cleveland. Johnson had rushed for just 98 yards combined in the first three games.

Tennessee will take on a Pittsburgh defense that has seems to have lost a step. The Steelers have been known for their ability to completely shutdown the running game, but are currently ranked 22nd against the run, allowing 119.5 ypg. Pittsburgh does lead the league against the pass, holding opposing offenses to an average of just 157.5 passing yards a game. However, the pass defense figures to take a step back, as the Steelers will be without star outside linebacker James Harrison for several weeks.

Pittsburgh Steelers:

The Steelers have had to deal with a lot of injuries early in the season, and it looked like they were going to be without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after he injured his foot in the loss to Houston. The injury wasn’t as bad as it appeared, and Roethlisberger is expected to be back in action this week.

Whether or not Roethlisberger is able to stay in the lineup will depend on the play of an offensive line that has had deal with a bunch of injuries. Roethlisberger has been sacked 14 times in four games. The struggles up front could continue this week, as starting left tackle Jonathan Scott and starting right guard Doug Legursky are both listed as questionable.

The instability upfront has the offense struggling to move the ball. Roethlisberger has thrown for 1,148 yards, but has just three touchdowns to five interceptions. The running game hasn’t been a whole lot better, as the Steelers come in averaging just 93.8 yards a game on the ground.

Pittsburgh will be without backup running back Mewelde Moore and starting running back Rashard Mendenhall is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. The Steelers offense could be in for a long day against the Titans, who come in 7th against the pass (212ypg) and 8th against the run (87,8 ypg).

Betting Trends:

Tennessee is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a SU win of more than 14 points.

Pittsburgh is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss.

Be sure to stop back and check out what Steve Janus has picked to win in week 5 of the NFL.

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