Tennessee Titans vs. Oakland Raiders 2019: Prediction, Odds, Implications For NFL Playoff Picture

The Oakland Raiders’ realistic chances of winning the AFC West disappeared when the team was defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13 of the 2019 NFL season. Their shot of earning a wild-card berth could go away in Week 14 when the Tennessee Titans visit the Bay Area.

As the No.8 seed in the AFC, Oakland can’t afford a loss Sunday afternoon. The Raiders trail the No.7 seed Titans by a game in the standings. Tennessee and the No.6 seed Pittsburgh Steelers are both 7-5.

Falling at home to the Titans would essentially put Oakland 2.5 games behind Tennessee with three weeks left in the regular season.

The Raiders have looked nothing like a playoff team during their two-game losing streak. The Titans are one of the NFL’s hottest teams.

Tennessee is a three-point road favorite in Oakland, according to OddsShark. The total is 47.

Since Ryan Tannehill replaced Marcus Mariota at starting quarterback, the Titans are 5-1. The veteran is playing some of the best football of his career with a passer rating of at least 109.8 in all five of his victories.

Tannehill has 12 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He leads all quarterbacks by a good margin with 9.1 yards per attempt.

The Titans are scoring 29.7 points per game with Tannehill under center. Tennessee hasn’t scored fewer than 20 points in any of the quarterback’s starts.

Derrick Henry has rushed for at least 149 yards in each of the last three games on 7.3 yards per attempt. Dating back to last season, Henry is averaging over 100 rushing yards per game over the last 16 contests.

Don’t expect Tannehill, Henry and the Titans’ offense to slow down much Sunday. Oakland has given up 74 points in its last two games. If you exclude the Raiders’ 17-10 victory over Ryan Finley and the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland has allowed an average of 31.8 points over a six-game span.

Only two teams have allowed a higher passer rating than the Raiders. Oakland is 27th in opponents' yards per play.

The Raiders’ offense is due for a bounce-back performance. Derek Carr has put together his worst two-game stretch in two years. It’s resulted in 12 total points for an Oakland team that ranked fifth in yards per play just a few weeks ago.

Patrick Mahomes is the only quarterback that’s put up more than 30 points on Tennessee. The Titans are seventh in scoring defense.

Oakland’s inability to defeat good teams will keep them out of the playoff picture. The Raiders are 0-5 against teams that enter Week 14 with a winning record. They’ve been outscored by an average of 18 points in those contests.

Prediction: Tennessee over Oakland, 30-20