Thursday Night Football pits the Tennessee Titans up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thus far the point spread and moneyline odds have moved in opposite directions for this game. The current NFL Spread sits at Titans +6 Steelers -6 which has come in a half point the Titans way from the opener of +6.5. Tennessee's moneyline odds have however been drifting outward, from an opening of +185 ($2.85) they are now trading between +210 ($3.10) up to +225 ($3.25) while the Steelers are priced between-263 ($1.38) up to -253 ($1.40), after opening at -225 ($1.44). The over under total is out half a point from the opener of O/U 43 with most sportsbooks running a line of O/U 43.5.
Going by ESPN's Power Rankings we have the 28th ranked Titans up against the 10th ranked Steelers. Comparing some of their stats we see Pittsburgh have averaged 347.8 total yards per game compared with 305 yards for Tennessee, with the Steelers averaging 268.2 passing yards and 79.5 rushing yards while the Titans have averaged 239.6 passing and 65.4 rushing. Quarterback stats see Ben Roethlisberger with a 65.8% completion rate, 281 passing yards per game for 9 touchdowns while Matt Hasselbeck has a 62% completion rate for 3 touchdowns and an average of 145 yards per game.
The Titans are 1-4 for the season having averaged 17.6 points per game on offense while conceding 36.2 points on defense for a points differential of -18.60. In NFL wagering results they are 1-4 (-$305) against the closing point spread, 1-4 (-$265) against the moneyline odds and they are 3-2 in over under betting having gone U, O, O, O, U.
Pittsburgh are 2-2 having had wins against DEN (19-31) and PHI (16-14) while their losses have come against NYJ (27-10) and OAK (31-34). In wagering results the Steelers are 2-2 (-$101) against the closing moneyline odds, 2-2 in over under betting and they have a 1-3 (-$205) record against the point spread.
Recent regular season history between Tennessee and Pittsburgh has seen the Steelers hold the advantage 3-1. The home team has won 3-1 and the favorite v underdog record is 2-2. Over under results is 2-2 with the average game total being 36.5 points. Last season the Steelers got the win (38-17) as -181 ($1.55) home favorites, easily covering the -3 spread by 18 points.
The Verdict - Our handicapping numbers came up with no vig odds of Tennessee +247 ($3.47) and Pittsburgh -250 ($1.40) with a point spread of +/- 6.5 to 7. With our numbers in agreement with the sporstbooks we don't see any value either way to make a wager.