The Tennessee Titans played themselves out of first place in the AFC South and possibly out of the playoff picture all together by losing five consecutive games. Breaking out of their slump won’t be easy when the Dallas Cowboys visit for the Week 17 Thursday Night Football matchup. Dallas kept its slim hopes for a NFC East title alive with a 40-34 comeback win over the Eagles last week for their fifth win in six games. Given the direction both teams are headed the Boys opened as a double-digit favorite.
The Week 17 Thursday Night Football contest between the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans will take place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN at 8:15 p.m. ET on December 29, 2022 and will air on Prime Video.
Cowboys vs Titans Odds
Dallas Cowboys -10 ( -490 )
Tennessee Titans +10 ( +377 )
Over/Under 42
Odds Analysis
With wins in five of their last six games and 11 victories overall, the Cowboys are a clear favorite against the sliding Titans. Dallas rebounded from a tough loss to Jacksonville with a comeback victory over division and conference leader Philadelphia to make things interesting down the stretch. Dallas covered the line in the 40-34 victory snapping a 2-game ATS skid. The Boys hit the board as a 10-point favorite in this one. They’ve been a double-digit favorite in four previous games going 4-0 SU and 2-2 ATS. They’ve also scored at least 40 points in four of their past eight games cashing the OVER seven times in that span. The Titans struggled over the last five games going 0-5 SU and 0-4-1 ATS.
Dallas Cowboys
After leading the NFL in scoring last season, the Cowboys have turned it up a notch since Dak Prescott returned from an injury absence. Prescott threw for 347 yards and three TDs in the 40-34 win over Philadelphia, the fourth time in eight games the Boys scored at least 40 points. Over that stretch Prescott has 19 scoring passes and Dallas averages 37.5 points. While the end result has been good with seven wins in nine games since Dak returned, there have been some anxious moments. They needed a late touchdown to beat Houston, 27-23, in Week 14 as a 17-point favorite and they lost to Jacksonville 40-34 in OT laying 4-points the following week.
Prescott tossed a pick-six in OT in the Jags game and was victimized by the Eagles on Saturday, though he was able to work around that early theft orchestrating a comeback after trailing by double-digits. Prescott has thrown at least one pick in five straight games and in seven of the last eight. His 12 interceptions are the third-most in the NFL in far fewer pass attempts than the QBs around him. The defense has more than made up for Dak’s miscues with a league-leading 30 takeaways and plus-12 turnover margin. They recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pair of passes last week giving them 14 takeaways in the last four games.
Tennessee Titans
The Titans need to turn a corner in a hurry if they want to return to the AFC playoffs. Last year’s top seed is on the verge of having its three-year playoff run end thanks to a five-game slide that dropped them under .500 and behind Jacksonville in a tie-break for the division lead. With a matchup against the Jags in the season finale, the Titans still have a shot at winning the division, but the offense needs to rally around Malik Willis. Starting in place of injured Ryan Tannehill last week, Willis threw for just 99 yards and was intercepted twice. And it doesn’t look like Tannehill is returning anytime soon. In his brief appearances Willis has struggled completing just 50.8 percent of his throws with three picks and no TDs.
If not for Derrick Henry the club would be in worse shape. Henry accounted for nearly half of Tennessee’s yards last week rushing for 127 and a TD on 23 carries. The Titans totaled just 272 for the game. He’s gone over 100 yards in three straight and is second to Josh Jacobs with 1,429 rushing yards for the year. The defense hasn’t been bad during the skid allowing less than 20 points in the last two games, but the Titans just haven’t been able to get the offense going.
Cowboys vs Titans Prediction
The Titans are still in the thick of the division and playoff picture despite their sub-.500 record. And Mike Vrabel is the ultimate competitor challenging his team to do better. But when the talent is lacking there isn’t much he can do. Willis has struggled and the offense has been bad most of the season with a NFL high 54 three and outs. Catching 10 points at home, though, is a lot against a turnover-prone Cowboys squad.
Prediction: Tennessee Titans +10 and OVER 42
