The Los Angeles Chargers, coming off a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, head to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans, who also are coming off a loss; their’s came against the Broncos.
The story this week for Tennessee is that starting quarterback Marcus Mariota was benched in the third quarter last week. Ryan Tannehill was called into action, with more of the same results.
Meanwhile, the story out of Los Angeles was the loss to a third-string quarterback a week after losing to a previously winless team.
Between L.A. and Tennessee, the Chargers lead all-time series 27-14-1 and have won both of the past two.
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers passed for 320 yards with a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions last week. It was his 66th career 300-yard game, which is the fourth-most all-time.
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota has a 90-plus quarterback rating in two of his past three games on road. He’s passed for 550 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions, plus a 90.4 rating in two career games against the Chargers. However, Mariota will not get the nod on Sunday as the starting duties go to Ryan Tannehill, who completed 13 of 16 passes (81.3%) for 144 yards last week. He passed for 240 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 130.6 rating in his last game vs. the Chargers (11/13/16 with Miami).
Chargers running back Melvin Gordon had a career-high 261 scrimmage yards plus a rushing touchdown in his only career game against Tennessee (11/6/16). Meanwhile, running back Austin Ekeler aims for his third road game in a row with at least 120 scrimmage yards
Tennessee running back Derrick Henry aims for his third game in a row at home with a rushing touchdown and 75 or more rushing yards. He has a rushing touchdown in six of his past seven games at home, and he had a rushing touchdown in his last meeting against the Chargers. Since Week 14 of 2018, Henry leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,001) and rushing touchdowns (11).
Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen aims for his eighth game in a row on the road with at least four catches. He had five catches for 72 yards in the last meeting between the two teams.
Fellow receiver Mike Williams aims for his third game in a row with at least five catches and over 70 receiving yards. He has a touchdown catch in two of his past three games on the road. He also had a 55-yard touchdown catch in the teams’ last meeting.
Titans wide receiver Adam Humphries had a team-high six catches for 47 yards last week, while A.J. Brown is tied for second among AFC rookies in touchdown catches (two) and third in receiving yards (273).
Chargers tight end Hunter Henry set career-highs in catches (eight), receiving yards (100) and receiving touchdowns (two) in Week 6.
Titans tight end Delanie Walker had three catches for 43 yards last week. He hauled in a touchdown pass in his last game versus the Chargers (11/6/16).
Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa has 23 tackles, including five for a loss, and three sacks in his past four games against AFC South opponents while defensive end Melvin Ingram had two pass deflections and a sack in his last meeting against Tennessee. Chargers safety Rayshawn Jenkins had his second interception of the season last week.
Titans linebacker Wesley Woodyard had his first sack of the season in Week 6. He has a sack in two of his past three games against AFC West opponents. Linebacker Rashaan Evans had a team-high 10 tackles last week. Titans safety Kevin Byard aims for his third game in a row with an interception and fifth in a row with at least five tackles. Cornerback Logan Ryan has a sack in two of his past three games at home.
Game Info
Date: October 20, 2019
Start time: 4:05 p.m. EST
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Stadium: Nissan Stadium
TV Info: CBS
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Chargers +1.5
Over/Under: 40.5
The visiting Chargers are favored by a point and a half over the Titans.
Prediction
The Chargers lost to a third-string quarterback last week and they have been burned by the run game for the last two weeks, which bodes well for Derrick Henry in this game.
The Titans’ defense is similar to the Steelers’ defense, and the Chargers didn’t have much success against Pittsburgh, so I expect a similar outcome.
Final Score: Titans 24 Chargers 17
