Only a select few get to play in the NFL and take the field for “Thursday Night Football.” The rest of us get to play along, though, in the form of FOX Bet’s Super 6 contest.
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Here are my six contest predictions for the Indianapolis Colts’ game at the Tennessee Titans.
1. What will be the last scoring play of the first half be?
a) Titans TD
b) Titans FG
c) Colts TD
d) Colts FG
e) Any other score
f) No score
Looking back at the just-completed Week 9 slate, the last scoring play of the first half was a field goal in nine of the games and a touchdown in the other five games. That’s a small sample but the results seem to be in line with how the last two minutes of the first half is typically played. But while the pick is a field goal, the answer of which team isn’t as easy as it first appears. The Colts’ Rodrigo Blankenship is 17 of 19 on field goals, but his longest is just 44 yards, and he hasn’t even attempted a 50-yard kick. The Titans’ Stephen Gostkowski has been an abysmal 11 of 18 overall, but is 5 of 6 from 50+ with a long of 55 yards. So that’s the pick here: Titans FG.
2. How will the first TD of the third quarter be scored?
a) Titans passing
b) Titans rushing
c) Colts passing
d) Colts rushing
e) Any other TD
f) No TD
This result likely will be aided by which team receives the second-half kickoff, which we have no way of knowing. So again we’ll look for some statistical support. In eight games for each team, the Titans have scored 19 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns; the Colts have scored 10 touchdowns passing, eight rushing, three on defense and one special teams. So there’s a clear favorite with Titans passing touchdown.
3. How many total passing yards will Philip Rivers and Ryan Tannehill have in the game?
a) Less than 400 yards
b) 400-420 yards
c) 421-440 yards
d) 441-450 yards
e) 451-460 yards
f) 461+ yards
Both Rivers and Tannehill average 260 yards passing per game. The Colts give up 206 yards passing per game, compared to the Titans’ 275. Roughly, if you take the midpoint between what each passer averages and what his opponent allows, you’d come up with Rivers 267 and Tannehill 233. That’s 500 yards and way over the highest option.
Philip RiversIcon Sportswire via Getty Images4. How many different players will score a TD in the game?
a) 1-2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5
e) 6+
In the Week 9 games there were 77 different touchdown scorers for an average of 5.5 per game, The low was four (three games, including Colts-Ravens), up to a high of eight in two games. There were five different TD scores in the Titans-Bears game. The Titans offer reliable scorers in Derrick Henry (8 TDs), Jonnu Smith (6) and A.J. Brown (6). The Colts are topped by Jonathan Taylor (4) and Nyheim Hines (3). If you figure a 27-24 final, that would be six touchdowns. My hunch is that one of these players would score twice.
5. How many total points will be scored in the game?
a) 40 or less
b) 41-45
c) 46-50
d) 51-55
e) 56-60
f) 61+
I tipped my hand on the total with the 27-24 prediction above. The average Colts total is 46 ppg and the average Titans total is 53.5. Split the difference and you’re at 49.75. I’m expecting a bit more, and the 51-55 band also would give me common finals of 30-21 and 30-24.
6. Select Titans or Colts to win and the winning margin.
Titans by:
a) 1 to 2
b) 3 to 4
c) 5 to 6
d) 7 to 9
e) 10 to 14
f) 15+
Colts by:
a) 1 to 2
b) 3 to 4
c) 5 to 6
d) 7 to 9
e) 10 to 14
f) 15+ (edited)
So we know I’m in that 3-to-4 range, but which team wins? Well, I’m looking to run the table here, so if I’m correct on the Titans scoring a field goal at the end of the first half and the first touchdown of the third quarter, they’d seem to have a pretty good chance to come out on top.
