NFL Handicapping Predictions – Atlanta vs Tennessee
A pair of teams sporting 1-1 records will square off at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta this Saturday when the Tennessee Titans pay a visit to the Atlanta Falcons in week three of the NFL preseason.
When: Saturday, Aug. 23 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Georgia Dome, Atlanta Georgia
NFL Betting Odds
Spread: Falcons -3
Over/Under: 44Click to view… NFL ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Betting Insight
NFL Free Predictions
Falcons
Atlanta comes into week three of the preseason after suffering a pretty stern 32-7 beating on the road at the hands of last season’s cellar dwellers the Houston Texans. While that scoreline looks pretty embarrassing, the Falcons were not entirely terrible and statistically weren’t blown out by the Texans.
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Atlanta amassed 19 first downs last week to the Texans’ 21 and time of possession was close as well with Houston holding onto the football for nearly 32 minutes to the Falcons’ 28 minutes.
The Falcons were punished by a punt return TD and a pick six on one of QB T.J. Yates’ two interceptions on the day. Play caller Matt Ryan didn’t fare much better in his limited work, going 3/7 for just 37 yards and was sacked once.
The retirement of perennial Pro Bowl Tight End Tony Gonzalez has left a significant gap in the Falcons’ offense and Atlanta is going to struggle to score in the red zone as was evidence in week one of the preseason against the Dolphins. The Falcons racked up nearly 400 yards of total offense against the Dolphins and only found pay dirt once in a narrow 16-10 victory, settling for field goals three times from inside the 20 yard line.
Titans
Tennessee has yet to face a team’s projected opening day QB this preseason. They did a stand up job at home against Green Bay’s Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien in their week one 16-10 win where they gave up less than 150 yards through the air (granted this game was played in the rain and GBay only attempted 25 passes compared to over 30 rushes).
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They didn’t fare quite as well when they visited the Saints in New Orleans where they were lit up for 320 yards through the air by Luke McCown and Ryan Griffin in a 31-24 loss.
Tennessee’s projected opening day starter Jake Locker is likely to split snaps this week with Zach Mettenberger who had a solid performance last week against the Saints (20/25, 269 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT).
Ideal conditions in a dome, combined with a team that is in a transitional phase with the departure of RB Chris Johnson, I expect that Tennessee will air the ball out early and often against the Falcons this week.
Falcons vs Titans Free Pick
I’m taking the Falcons in this game; home field coupled with a pass attack that should move up and down the field without much resistance will be enough to get the dirty birds past the Titans.
With star running back Steven Jackson out of the lineup until at least week one of the regular season, Jacquizz Rodgers will carry the load in the running game for Atlanta, but I suspect that head coach Mike Smith will want to give his quarterbacks every opportunity to acclimate to what an offense without Tony Gonzalez looks like and find ways to get the ball into the end zone from inside the 20 yard line.
Falcons take this one in a back and forth air show.
Bet on the Falcons -3 (-130)
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