Sonny Banks: Why I’m Higher on the Titans than the Betting Market

For those who have followed @So_Money_Sports on Twitter, he’s now bringing his written analysis to The Action Network. You can get real-time alerts for all of Sonny’s bets in our app for free.

Titans at Jaguars Betting Odds

• Odds: Titans -1.5
• Total: 38
• Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
• TV Channel: NFL Network

Odds above as of 4 p.m. ET on Thursday and via PointsBet, where Action Network users can exclusively bet every NFL spread this season at reduced juice (-105).

Marcus Mariota has come under fire for the Titans’ offensive struggles with the biggest source of criticism being him holding onto the ball too long.

The Titans have allowed eight sacks so far the season, and you can attribute at least three of those to Mariota's tendency to not get the ball out quick enough.

Even when he’s had decent protection, his indecisiveness has put the Titans in negative situations, leading Tennessee to focus this week on preventing the third-and-long situations that have plagued them early in the season.

Even if Mariota has just marginal success with quick passes on early downs tonight vs. Jacksonville, we should see the rest of the offense open up, both with Derrick Henry on the ground and some shots down field. Jacksonville CB A.J. Bouye being banged up (listed questionable but expected to play) could also help boost the passing game.

I do expect to see a relatively efficient Titans offense and for WR Adam Humphries to be more involved than he has been in the early going (three catches for four yards in two games).

For the Jags, the Jalen Ramsey drama is an interesting narrative, but it's impossible to know how it'll impact this game between the lines.

The bigger concerns for Jacksonville: RB Leonard Fournette has struggled to get going, averaging 56.5 yards per game and 4 yards per carry. The team has talked about the need for better protection from the offensive line, but I don’t think this is the right matchup for them to work on their line issues; the Titans have eight sacks in two games.

QB Gardner Minshew has been good enough, but he hasn't shown the ability to carry the Jags to victory, which he may have to do tonight if the Titans gameplan heavily against taking away Fournette.

I’ll make the bet on Minshew not being able to beat me in this situation.

I don’t give Jacksonville much of a home-field advantage, but I make this line Titans -3. With the spread currently at Titans -1.5, there's enough of an edge here to make a play.

PICK: Titans -1.5