New Orleans Saints vs. Tennessee Titans 2019: Prediction ATS, Odds, Preview For NFL Week 16 Game

The matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans is the best on the Week 16 NFL Sunday schedule. It’s the only game that features two teams with winning records, both of whom have been among the league’s best in the second half of the 2019 NFL season.

New Orleans is tied for the top record in the NFC. The Saints have won 10 of their last 12 games. The team’s only defeat in the last five contests was their 48-46 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in a Game of the Year candidate.

Tennessee has gone 6-2 since Ryan Tannehill took over as the starting quarterback. The Titans have a chance to earn a wild-card berth or the AFC South title, though the Houston Texans can clinch the division championship with a victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday afternoon.

The Titans suffered a key loss in Week 15, coming up short at home against the Texans 24-21.

The Saints are three-point road favorites in Tennessee Sunday afternoon, according to OddsShark. The total is 50.5.

The betting line might look a lot different had the results of Week 15 gone differently. Before last week’s games were played, some sportsbooks listed the matchup in Tennessee as a pick’em.

“Monday Night Football” ensured that New Orleans would be the favorite in Tennessee. The Saints ran through the Indianapolis Colts in primetime, winning 34-7 as Drew Brees set a new record for career regular-season touchdown passes.

One loss makes it easy to forget just how well the Titans had been playing. Tannehill was performing like an MVP-caliber quarterback, leading Tennessee to 31.4 points per game.

The Titans only scored 14 points in the first 58 minutes against the Texans. They were also victims of a fluky goal-line interception that Houston nearly returned for a touchdown. A missed field goal kept the Titans scoreless in the first half.

Tannehill was average, at worst, going 22-36 for 279 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. He also ran for a touchdown.

Brees and Tannehill have the two best passer ratings in the NFL. They also rank first and second in completion percentage.

Expect Tennseee’s offense to get back on track Sunday. San Francisco ran for 162 yards on 6.8 yards per carry against New Orleans. Derrick Henry is second in the NFL with 1,329 rushing yards to go along with 13 scores on the ground.

It might take a lot of points to upset the Saints, who are averaging 34.8 points over the last five games.

Maintaining that pace won’t be easy. Tennessee has held four straight opponents to 24 points or fewer. There is probably too much made of Brees’ home-road splits, but it’s not completely insignificant that the Saints won’t be playing in a dome.

New Orleans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-17 a month ago when they last played outside. The Saints totaled 328 yards of offense, taking advantage of four Jameis Winston interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Tannehill won’t provide that type of help to New Orleans. He’s thrown multiple interceptions in just one start.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see either team come out victorious. Maybe the Titans will have some luck go their way after a tough home loss.

Prediction: Tennessee over New Orleans, 26-23