TNF: Dallas Cowboys vs Tennessee Titans Betting Odds and Preview

As the losers of five-straight games, the Tennessee Titans have now slipped into second place in the AFC South behind the Jacksonville Jaguars. So, Mike Vrabel’s team likely needs to win its final two NFL games of the season and get a loss or two from the Jaguars in order to make the postseason.

It won’t be easy for the Titans to hold up their end of the bargain, as they host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. Dallas hasn’t looked great lately but the Cowboys vs Titans Betting Odds heavily favor the Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys only opened as a three-point favorite but, due to the uncertainty surrounding the NFL injury status of Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry (as well as seemingly Tennessee’s entire defensive front-seven), the Cowboys are now favored by 10 points with some sportsbooks.

Dallas also went from -160 on the moneyline to a wildly one-sided -470. The over/under has plummeted from 44.5 points at the open to 40.5 points now, indicating that Vegas thinks Dallas’ star-laden defense should shut down a Titans offense that has been brutally bad during this recent skid.

So, the Cowboys and Titans are who plays on Thursday night football in Week 17 and it’s a mid-week game with major playoff implications for both teams. Dallas probably can’t catch the Philadelphia Eagles at this point but the Cowboys do have the pole position for the No. 5 seed in the AFC.

They haven’t played so hot as of late but still have the banked wins and offensive firepower to be a very scary postseason opponent.

Dallas Is Vulnerable

Even though the Cowboys have won five of their last six games, Dallas’ play hasn’t been particularly inspiring. The Cowboys barely beat the Gardner Minshew-led Eagles last weekend, sneaking by in a 40-34 nail-biter that should not have been that close.

Dallas blew a 14-point halftime lead to lose to the Jaguars in overtime, and, the week prior – the Cowboys needed a late flurry to beat the lowly Houston Texans.

So, while the Cowboys vs Titans Betting Odds are heavily tilted toward Dallas, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Tennessee was able handle the Cowboys outright. Of course, potentially not having playmakers on both sides of the ball in Henry, Jeffrey Simmons, Bud Dupree and others would hurt the Titans’ chances but with Tennessee’s elite rush defense — top-two in every major category — and its propensity to bend without breaking, the Titans have a shot.

The Tennessee Titans are just 23rd in yardage defense but they are 11th in scoring defense and have the NFL’s No. 1 defense on third downs, allowing just a 31.8% conversion rate.

CeeDee Lamb Needs More Touches

CeeDee Lamb has turned into a bona fide superstar wide receiver and he is a major reason why Dallas has been able to thrive on offense even with Dak Prescott’s turnover issues. While Lamb has put up big numbers all season — he has 91 catches for 1,207 yards with eight touchdowns — he has compiled 7+ targets only three times since Week 6.

Of course, he is usually matched up with the opposing team’s top cornerback but Dak, and the Dallas offense, needs to do a much better job getting the ball in his hands.

The pass-catching drop off from Lamb to the rest of the Cowboys’ options is significant, even with Noah Brown and Michael Gallup being solid contributors and Dalton Schultz (off the line) and Tony Pollard (out of the backfield) being legitimate pass-game weapons as well.

The Cowboys have had major issues down the stretch of games when they go away from Lamb and try to rely on other guys for production. If they’re going to finish on top in the NFL scores this weekend, Dallas has to get Lamb 10+ targets against a Tennessee pass defense that has allowed the second-most yards through the air in the NFL.

Can Malik Willis Step Up?

If Tannehill is not able to play this weekend — which is looking more and more like it will be the case — then the reins of the Titans’ offense will likely be given to rookie Malik Willis. Willis played the entire game in Tennessee’s loss to the Texans last weekend and he struggled mightily, throwing for just 99 yards with two interceptions.

He has a ton of talent and is very mobile — he rushed for 43 yards — but isn’t there yet on the passing front.

It makes sense why the Cowboys vs Titans Betting Odds are low on Willis and don’t think he’ll be able to do much against Dallas’ strong passing defense. Plus, the Cowboys have forced a league-high 30 turnovers this season, which will make Willis’ job even harder.

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