You know things are a bit abnormal when the 13-2 Indianapolis ColtsWagerWeb.com. The reason being: The Colts' opponents, the Tennessee Titans, must win to make the playoffs, while Indy is locked into its playoff seed and has a bye week upcoming, so many starters are likely to sit.
If the Titans lose, they are eliminated, and Cleveland will advance to the postseason, regardless of the result of the Browns' game against San Francisco.
Whichever team makes it will play at either San Diego or Pittsburgh in a wild-card game next week.
"This is a playoff game for us, and that's how we have to play," said Tennessee running back LenDale White.
The Titans are expected to see lots of Colts backup QB Jim Sorgi on Sunday night along with other backups like running backs Kenton Keith and Clifton Dawson; in fact, Indy coach Tony Dungy said Sorgi will play at least a half. Still, the Titans are preparing for the Colts' best in Peyton Manning (323-499 completions, 3,945 yards, 64.7 pct., 31 TD, 14 INT, 98.0 passer rating), running back Joseph Addai (257 carries, 1,045 yards, 12 TD) and receiver Reggie Wayne (92 receptions, 1,423 yards, 10 TD).
"If they put other guys in there, that's fine," Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "They've been doing that all year you know. Plugging guys in and out when guys got hurt. They're still 13-2, and Peyton Manning still has phenomenal numbers."
One player the Colts apparently will have is receiver Marvin Harrison.He is likely to start after finally practicing this week in a return from a left knee injury that has sidelined him most of the season.
Though Harrison was listed as questionable on the Colts' injury report after Friday's workout, Dungy had said before the session that he expected Harrison to start. He would not commit to a number of plays for the eight-time Pro Bowler.
"But he'll start the game and we'll see how it goes," he said before the practice.
Tennessee's injury news is good as well. Star defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth took part in his first full practice since Nov. 30 on Thursday, and he couldn't have been happier.
"I've still got to knock some of this rust off. Playing helps, but I want to get back to playing the good technique where I was at before I left," Haynesworth said.He originally strained his right hamstring Nov. 4 against Carolina late in a game where he had a career-high three sacks. He missed three games – all Titans' losses - and has started three of the last four but says he is finally close to 100 percent.
Meanwhile, starting cornerback Nick Harper returned to practice Friday. The former Colt injured his groin during warmups before last Sunday's 10-6 victory over the New York Jets and did not play.
The strength of Tennessee's offense is running the ball with RBs White (287 carries, 1,065 yards, 7 TD) and Chris Brown (95 carries, 440 yards, 4 TD). White is a strong runner, who is a load to bring down and he went over the 1,000-yard mark last weekend. The Colts give up 107.5 yards on the ground per game.
The Titans have the No. 6 run defense in the NFL and allow 95.5 yards per game on the ground.
Prediction: Hard to bet against Tennessee here. Titans 21, Colts 20.
Betting trends
The Titans are 6-8 ATS.
The Titans are 3-3 ATS away.
The Titans are 3-5 ATS as the favorite.
The Titans are 1-0 ATS as an away favorite.
The Colts are 9-6 ATS.
The Colts are 5-2 ATS at home.
The Colts are 1-0 ATS as the underdog.
The Colts are 1-0 ATS as a home underdog.More NFL Trends.
More NFL Trends. are 5.5-point home underdogs, as they are this week on
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