There were quite a few close games across the Sunday slate in Week 1 and the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans were involved in two of them.
The Chargers lost to the Dolphins in a 36-34 shootout and the Titans hit five field goals in a 16-15 slugfest of a loss to the Saints.
The Chargers look good on offense with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, but Brandon Staley needs to figure out his defense in LA or his seat is going to start getting hotter and hotter.
The Titans have the defense but were plagued by Ryan Tannehill turnovers. Vegas values offense over defense, so the Chargers are road favorites in Week 2.
For more Week 2 picks, check out our NFL betting analyst Iain MacMillan’s best bet for every game on the slate here!
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Chargers vs. Titans odds, spread and total
Titans vs. Chargers betting trends
- Titans are 1-0 ATS
- The UNDER is 1-0 in Titans games
- Chargers are 0-1 ATS
- The OVER is 1-0 in Chargers games
Chargers vs. Titans injury reports
Chargers injury report
- Austin Ekeler - RB - day-to-day (ankle)
- Mike Williams - WR - day-to-day (head)
- Chris Rumph II - LB - day-to-day (hamstring)
- Daiyan Henley - LB - day-to-day (hamstring)
Titans injury report
- Will Levis - QB- day-to-day (quadricep)
- Dillon Radunz - OL - day-to-day (knee)
- Tre Avery - CB - day-to-day (hamstring)
- Kyle Philips - WR - Out indefinitely (knee)
- Caleb Farley - CB - Out indefinitely (back)
Chargers vs. Titans how to watch
- Date: Sunday, Sept. 17
- Time: 1:00 PM EST
- Venue: Nissan Stadium
- How to Watch (TV): CBS
- Chargers Record: 0-1
- Titans Record: 0-1
Chargers vs. Titans key players to watch
Chargers
Quentin Johnston, WR: The Chargers spent a first-round pick on Johnston for a reason. They need to get more dynamic in their passing attack and be able to stretch the field more. Yet, in Week 1 Johnston only caught two passes for nine yards. The Titans have a great run defense and Mike Williams is banged up, so Johnston may have a big role on Sunday.
Titans
Ryan Tannehill, QB: Week 1 was a disaster for Tannehill, and his struggles are amplified by the two quarterbacks behind him on the depth chart. Malik Willis and Will Levis were both significant investments by the Titans to upgrade the quarterback position and after three interceptions from Tannehill in Week 1, the timeline to get either Willis or Levis on the field could be speeding up.
Chargers vs. Titans prediction and pick
Despite being 2-8 in their last 10 games, dating back to last season obviously, the Titans are 4-4-2 against the spread. Mike Vrabel is the type of coach who finds a way to keep his team in games. Since 2018, when he took over in Tennessee, the Titans are 9-6 against the spread as a home underdog and 9-6 straight up.
I don’t have nearly as much confidence in Brandon Staley as I do in Vrabel.
As a road favorite since Staley took over, the Chargers are just 5-4 straight up and are 4-5 against the spread. Staley’s teams are not nearly as well-coached as Vrabel’s.
For example, in Week 1 at the end of the half, Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins heaved a hail mary that fell well short of the end zone, but Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson took a pass interference penalty that gave Miami a free field goal with no time left. That’s three free points in a game that was ultimately decided by two.
I see a massive coaching advantage, but there are other reasons to like Tennessee. The Chargers relied so heavily on the run game against Miami. LA ran for 234 yards in the game while Justin Herbert only threw for 228 yards and one touchdown on 23-for-33 passing.
The whole shift in offensive philosophy was to have Herbert push the ball downfield, but he finished the game with an average of 6.9 yards per attempt, up from 6.8 last season.
The Titans only gave up 69 rushing yards in Week 1 and had the No. 1 rush defense in the NFL last season. Without Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelly creating explosive plays on the ground, Herbert will be forced to push the ball downfield and we’ve really not seen him do that consistently in his career.
The Chargers were also 28th in run defense a year ago, which isn't a great recipe for Derrick Henry. Henry still looked good last week even at 29-years-old.
I’ll take the points with Tennessee.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change