Can Seahawks Avoid Letdown at Tennessee?
Seahawks vs Titans Betting Sees Seahawks as Small Favorites
The Seattle Seahawks pulled off the upset against Philadelphia Monday night. Now they travel to Tennessee to face a Titans team that has been eliminated from the playoffs. Traveling cross-country on short rest and playing in a 1 p.m. ET game isn’t an easy situation. As a result, the Seahawks vs Titans betting line has Seattle favored by 2.5 points (-115) with a total of 41.5 points.
Geno Smith has been a full participant in practice so far this week. Will Levis missed practice Wednesday, but was hopeful of playing. The Titans will start Ryan Tannehill if Levis is unable to go.
Seahawks vs Titans 
Day/Time:
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Line: Seattle -2.5 (-115)
Total: 41.5
Streaming: CBS
Seahawks Return to Favorite Role
After being an underdog in each of its last five games, the Seahawks are now favored. It’s not as though Seattle has been bad the last five weeks. At least not for bettors. Despite a 1-4 straight-up record, the Seahawks were 4-1 against the NFL point spreads.
That was a brutal stretch for Seattle, which saw San Francisco, Dallas, San Francisco again, and the Eagles in consecutive games. Tennessee is definitely a step down in class after the past four games.
Seattle doesn’t run the ball particularly well. That’s why the return of Smith would be huge for the Seahawks. Seattle averages 4.0 yards per carry and 92.6 rushing yards per game. Through the air, the Seahawks are averaging 230.1 yards and 6.7 yards per pass attempt.
Defensively, the Seahawks have been pretty average. Seattle allows 23.9 points to teams averaging 23.5 points. The Seahawks allow 5.6 yards per play and 363.7 total yards to teams averaging 345.2 total yards.
Titans Still Tough at Home
Despite a 5-9 record, Tennessee still plays people tough at home, where it’s gone 4-2 straight-up and against the point spread. The Titan offense hasn’t been particularly effective, averaging 18.4 points against NFL teams allowing 21.5.
But part of that was to be expected, with Levis being named the starter. He’s taken some lumps this season, trying to learn the NFL game as a rookie. Tennessee is averaging 104 rushing yards per game and 4.0 yards per carry. The passing game hasn’t done much, and he is gaining 189.7 yards per game.
The Tennessee defense is allowing 21.5 points to teams averaging 22.2 points a game. The run defense allows 3.9 yards a carry, while the pass defense is giving up 6.9 yards per pass attempt. The Titans are a little better against the run and have better numbers when the team is at home.
What to Expect
The NFL standings have the Seahawks sneaking into the playoffs right now as the No. 8 seed from the NFC. But the NFL playoffs schedule can quickly change depending on the next three games. Seattle has nothing locked up, and there’s a lot of competition for two of the three wild card berths.
Seattle should come looking to throw a little more than usual. The Titans are better at stopping the run, and Seattle’s strength is the passing game, especially if Smith is the quarterback.
The Titans will probably look to get the ground game going first. Seattle isn’t the best team at stopping the run. But if Tennessee can run the ball, it will take a bit of heat off whoever the quarterback is. Seattle’s pass defense isn’t bad, but teams have more success when the defense is guessing run or pass.
Who to Bet On?
The Seahawks vs Titans betting line of Seattle -2.5 (-115) is a little bit cheap. But there’s a good reason for that. Seattle is just 2-5 straight-up on the road this NFL season, losing the last five games away from home. This is far from an easy game for Seattle.
The Seahawks vs Titans betting odds on the total are pretty much spot on. It’s hard to make a decent case for the over or under here, so it’s a strong number by the sportsbook.
The public will likely be on the Seahawks after upsetting Philadelphia last week. But the Titans appear to be the side you want to be on in this NFL game. Take Tennessee +2.5 (-105) to cover the spread in this one.
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