Two teams coming off close losses in Week 1 will get after it in Nashville with the Titans playing host to the Chargers. NFL odds has Tennessee as an underdog for a second straight week coming in at +3, while the total for the game comes in at 45. The teams met somewhat recently, with the Chargers edging out a 17-14 victory in mid-December of last season. Week 2 NFL odds promises this game to be exciting no matter which way you slice it.
These teams played in dramatically different games in Week 1 as the Chargers are coming off the highest-scoring game of the week where they combined for 70 points with the Dolphins, while the Titans and Saints put up a combined 31 points.
Let’s dig into what we saw from the teams in Week 1 and I’ll provide my free NFL picks and predictions for Chargers vs. Titans on September 17.
Chargers vs Titans odds
Chargers vs Titans predictions
The Los Angeles Chargers loss to the Dolphins on Sunday seemed to sum up the entire existence of a franchise that always seems to be on the wrong end of dramatic games where each team makes a handful of mistakes. The Chargers won almost everything, except for the game itself, including winning time of possession and the turnover battle, while having leads at multiple points in the game, but they were ultimately done in by Miami’s explosive pass attack that racked up 466 yards.
It must also be disheartening for LA that they failed to record one sack vs. a poor offensive line that was missing its top player, Terron Armstead. Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack were practically invisible, combining for just three tackles, while cornerback J.C. Jackson committed a senseless pass interference penalty that led to the Dolphins getting a field goal to end the first half.
It wasn’t all a disaster for the Chargers though. They were elite on the ground, posting 234 rushing yards, while they also dominated on 3rd down where they converted on 60% of attempts. They also protected the football by not committing a single turnover.
While the Chargers played a true heartpounder in Week 1, the Tennessee Titans’ performance would be a great cure for insomnia if you have the replay available. They didn’t score a single touchdown with all 15 of their points coming by Nick Folk field goals, while Ryan Tannehill could already be on the hot seat after throwing three interceptions and converting less than half of his passes.
Tennessee had a lot of trouble moving the ball in the game and was especially bad on third down and in the red zone. They converted just two of 12 third down attempts and failed to score a touchdown on three separate trips to the red zone.
They had a respectable effort on the defensive side, allowing just 16 points and holding the Saints to just 2.6 yards per rush. Due to the defense that allowed zero points in the final quarter, we also saw the continuation of a pretty insane trend that’s seen them go Under the 4th quarter total in 16 of their last 17 games, and that’s the direction I’m going in for my best bet for this game with the 4th quarter total sitting at 13.5 points.
This is a good pairing for a low-scoring 4th quarter as the teams finished dead-last and 25th in 4th quarter scoring last season. It also flies under the radar that Justin Herbert gets worse as a game goes on as his QB rating in the 2nd half was about 14 points shy of his first-half mark in 2022. This is a pattern we saw continue in the Dolphins game with his QB rating dropping a handful of points every quarter.
My best bet: Fourth-quarter Under 13.5 (-115 at DraftKings)
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Chargers vs Titans same-game parlay
4Q Under 13.5 pointsUnder 5.5 combined touchdowns
+194 at bet365
Let’s pair that 4th quarter Under with Under 5.5 combined touchdowns. While the Chargers got absolutely lit up by the Dolphins in Week 1, they’ll face a radically different offense in the Titans who, as mentioned above, failed to score a touchdown in Week 1. Struggling to get into the endzone is nothing new for Tennessee, as they averaged just two touchdowns per game last season.
While the Chargers defense might have an easier time, that probably won’t be the case for their offense. The Titans defense put together a four-sack performance in Week 1 and limited the Saints to just one touchdown on four red zone trips.
When these teams met in December last season, they combined for four total touchdowns.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Chargers vs Titans spread and Over/Under analysis
While the Chargers being favored here is justified, the Titans have made a habit out of playing up to the competition under Mike Vrabel. In their last 21 games as an underdog, they’ve gone 14-6-1 ATS with outright wins in 11 of the games. As seen last week, they play ugly, and this often leads to unlikely outcomes for them. Specific to being a home dog, they’re on a stretch that’s seen them go 11-5 ATS since November 13, 2016.
The total has dipped down from 46.5 to 45 which is a total they easily went Under in last season’s Week 15 matchup when they combined for 31 points. Tennessee is on a stretch of very low-scoring games, with their last five games going back to last season all failing to top 40 points. These five games had an average combined score of just 34.2.
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