For the nightcap of the first Monday Night Football of the new season we’ll be heading to Denver to see the Broncos battle the Titans. The two teams look like they’ll each be competitive this season, but only one will come out of Denver with a win.
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos Preview
In 2019 the Tennessee Titans fell to 2-4 after being shutout by the Denver Broncos in a 16-0 game. This turned out to be Marcus Mariota’s final start as a Titan as his backup, Ryan Tannehill, took over as starting quarterback and finished the regular season 7-3 to sneak into the playoffs. Once there the Titans scored a pair of monumental upsets on the road, taking down the heavily favored New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens before falling short in the AFC Championship game against the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. After locking up Tannehill and Henry for four years and adding star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney the Titans look like front runners for the AFC South.
On the other hand, the Denver Broncos are entering into this season after missing the playoffs for four straight seasons. This is Drew Lock’s first full season as starting quarterback for the Broncos after he missed all but 5 games of his rookie season with a thumb injury. After adding Melvin Gordon, A.J. Bouye, and former Titan Jurrell Casey, the Broncos looked good, but they took a big hit with defensive cornerstone Von Miller now done for the season with a dislocated tendon in his ankle. Despite the big hole to fill on defense the Broncos are still hoping to contend for the first time since Peyton Manning’s retirement.
This looks like a very even matchup as both teams have very good defenses, but the Titans offense has more explosiveness and experience than the Broncos offense does, although the backfield duo of Phillip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon combined with receivers Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy does have a lot of potential.
The biggest key to the game for me is Derrick Henry, as his production will completely dictate how much or little Tannehill will have to throw the ball. While Tannehill played phenomenally as a passer down the stretch last season, he only attempted a total of 29 passes during the Titans two playoff wins due to Derrick Henry combining to rush for 377 total yards during the two games. If Henry rushes for 100 yards or more and a touchdown, the Titans will get a comfortable win to begin their season.
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos Key Stats
- Ryan Tannehill completed 68.5% of his passes during his 15 total games last season.
- The Broncos are 18-2 in their last 20 home openers.
- Derrick Henry had 18 total touchdowns last season.
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos Betting Lines
- The O/U for this game is 41
- The Titans are 2.5 point favorites on DraftKings
- The Titans are -141 on the ML, Broncos +117
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos Spread Prediction
I think the Tennessee Titans will take this game convincingly to begin their season on a high note. The Titans got a big boost with the recent signing of Clowney to their already elite defense, and their offense is well-balanced with Tannehill having deep threats in Corey Davis and A.J. Brown and a workhorse in Derrick Henry. The Broncos won’t have a full week to put their defensive game plan together without Von Miller, which should benefit the Titans immensely. While I don’t think this will be a high-scoring shootout, I do think that the Titans will win by more than 3 points.
Pick: Titans -2.5
