The Philadelphia Eagles will hit the road in Week 4 as they pay a visit to the Tennessee Titans. The game is scheduled for 1:00 EST on Sunday, September 30, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Fans in local markets can watch the game on Fox.
According to this week’s NFL betting odds, the Eagles are 3.5-point favorites on the road. The over/under for the game is set at 41.5 points.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles enter Week 4 at 2-1 after last week’s 20-16 win over the Colts. In his first game back from last year’s knee injury, Carson Wentz led the comeback, helping the Eagles put together two long drives in the 2nd half to lift Philadelphia to victory.
On the heels of a loss to Tampa Bay the previous week, it was a big win for the Eagles, who are now tied for the top spot in the NFC East. Of course, the Eagles would love to keep things rolling with Wentz back to help create some separation with the rest of their division.
Tennessee, meanwhile, is also 2-1 on the season. The Titans have squeaked out 3-point wins in each of the past two weeks. With both games coming against division rivals, the Titans should feel great about where they sit.
Even more amazing is the fact that quarterback Marcus Mariota has missed part or all of the team’s three games this season due because of a wrist injury. With the injury, Mariota has struggled quite a lot. But he was able to play through some pain last week and do enough to give the Titans a win. He’ll look to do the same in Week 4 as he continues to recover from the injury.
The Titans have won the past couple of weeks on the back of their defense, but I’m not sure that’s going to be enough against the Eagles. Philadelphia has enough balance to win with either offense or defense, and that it’ll make it more likely that they cover the 3.5-point spread. To be honest, the 3.5-point spread makes it tempting to take the underdog. But I think we’ll start to see the Eagles hit their stride, so I’ll swallow the points and lean toward Philadelphia to cover on the road.
Even if Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel says he’s confident that Mariota is close to 100% and won’t be limited in any way this week, I still have my doubts. He tried playing through the elbow problem in Week 1 and was forced to do so again last week when Blaine Gabbert was knocked out with a concussion. On both occasions, you could tell something wasn’t right. I’m not sure what we’re going to get out of Mariota this week as far as throwing the ball, and that’s a huge concern.
The Tennessee running game has been good but a little inconsistent this season. Both Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry have been fine, but neither has stood out that much. Through three games, the Titans are averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, and that’s with Mariota breaking off a few key runs.
Outside of Mariota’s runs and one 16-yard run by receiver Tajae Sharpe, the Titans didn’t get anything going on the ground last against Jacksonville. Philadelphia’s defense is just as capable of shutting down the running game as Jacksonville, especially since they don’t have to worry that much about Mariota throwing the ball. If they can’t run the ball, it’ll be tough for the Titans to eclipse the nine points they scored against the Jaguars last week. Needless to say, nine points probably won’t be the Eagles.
To be fair, the Tennessee defense is one of the best in the league, giving up less than 17 points per game. However, part of that is because two of the quarterbacks they’ve faced this season missed most or all of last season due to injury. The other quarterback was Blake Bortles, who didn’t have Leonard Fournette to lean on, which made it a lot easier for the Titans to limit the Jaguars to six points last week.
Of course, the Titans will see another quarterback in Wentz who’s coming back from injury. But Wentz is in a different class from Bortles or Ryan Tannehill. He also has plenty of support around him. Even without Jay Ajayi last week, Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood combined for over 100 yards rushing. Wentz also looked comfortable last week utilizing tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert. In short, the Philadelphia offense will pose a few more problems than the Titans faced against the Jaguars last week, especially if Ajayi and Alshon Jefferey are able to return from injury.
I expect this to be a rather low-scoring, defensive slugfest for most of the game. However, the Eagles are far more likely to wear down the Titans and find a breakthrough at some point. Tennessee has just three offensive touchdowns this season, and one of those came on a trick play. I don’t see them getting much going against the Eagles, who I predict will pull away in the 4th quarter and cover the spread.