Denver Broncos vs. Tennessee Titans: Spread and Predictions

The Denver Broncos are taking their game to Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans in an AFC West vs. AFC South Week 3 clash.

Matt Hasselbeck will be looking for his second straight big game and is coming off a great win over the Baltimore Ravens. Chris Johnson is looking to actually start earning the paycheck he held out for this offseason by breaking out against Denver.

The Broncos are hoping to be healthy enough to hang with the Titans after a scary-close game that came down to the final drive against the Bengals.

Brandon Lloyd, Champ Bailey, Elvis Dumervil and Knowshon Moreno were all out of action last week and the team is hoping to get a few of them back for this coming Sunday.

Let’s take a closer look at this battle and predict who is going to come out ahead.

Where: LP Field; Nashville, TN

When: 1:00 p.m. EDT, Sept. 25th, 2011.

Watch: CBS

Over/Under: 42.5

Over. In the past three seasons in games where the total is between 38.5 and 42 points, the Titans have gone over six times and never once under.

The Denver defense is atrocious and Chris Johnson should gash them for major yardage in his breakout game this season. There is no way he will be contained for a third week in a row and the Titans will ride the momentum of their big win last week over the Ravens.

I expect a lot of points to be put on the board from Tennessee and for the Broncos to chip in quite a few as well. This should go way over.

Spread: Denver (+6.5) over Titans

I love the Broncos getting 6.5 points in this matchup. One of the trends that immediately caught my eye is that Tennessee is 1-5 over the past three seasons as a home favorite between 3.5 and 7 points.

Denver is also 1-0 straight up and against the spread in the past three seasons and I like them to cover again on Sunday.

Getting 6.5 means a lot of points for one of these two relatively even teams. It really depends on the injury report, so keep an eye on that before making your play.

Key Injuries:

RB Knowshon Moreno—QST (hamstring)—Knowshon missed last week’s game against the Bengals, but should be back against the Titans. He practiced this week and looks ready to rejoin the backfield.

WR Brandon Lloyd—QST (groin)—The Denver Post says Lloyd is "closest to full speed" of the four injured Broncos. He should play on Sunday.

CB Champ Bailey—OUT (hamstring)—He is not expected to play with a Grade 2 hamstring injury. This is bad news as Kenny Britt is looking like an All-Pro.

DE Elvis Dumervil—QST (shoulder)—The star pass-rusher’s status is not known for the game on Sunday.

RB Chris Johnson—PRB (ribs)—Missed practice with soreness in his ribs, but is ready for a breakout game.

Fantasy Big Plays

Chris Johnson—This guy just signed a historically large deal for a running back and has played terribly ever since. There is no way he does this for a third straight week; the Broncos’ weak rush defense is the perfect team to get back on the right track against.

Eric Decker—This kid is a sleeper and put himself on the map with a big game against the Bengals last week. He had five catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns against them and could be primed for another huge game with Eddie Royal possibly out.

Kenny Britt—With his play over the first two games, he is a must-start and top-end No. 1 wide receiver option for fantasy. Who would have expected that in the offseason?

Keys to Broncos Win

Play fundamental football. The Ravens lost last week because of stupid turnovers, an inability to convert third downs, low time of possession and bad rushing yardage against this Titans team.

If the Broncos stick to their game plan and play tough football, they will win this game and definitely cover the spread.

Keys to Titans Win

Force mistakes. They did a great job of this against the Ravens last week and rattled them away from their game plan. Matt Hasselbeck did a great job slinging the rock, throwing for 358 yards and a touchdown. If they can get that same type of performance, the Titans have a really good shot at winning.

Prediction

Broncos over Titans, 35-27.