This contest features an established playoff team (Tennessee) against a club that has never been the same since losing the Super Bowl to New England in jaw-dropping fashion (Atlanta).
Tennessee has made two consecutive playoff appearances and three in the last four years. Atlanta has not reached the postseason in three years, which precipitated a coaching change and an apparent rebuild to some degree.
Tennessee Titans vs. Atlanta Falcons
Friday, August 13, 2021 – 07:00 PM EDT at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review) and many other top online sportsbooks have this matchup as an NFL pick. Always keep in mind when reviewing the betting odds, you are unlikely to see many starters play in Week 1 of the preseason and the depth behind them comes with quite a bit of unknown because of annual roster turnover. The best way to wager on this kind of game, understand what the coaches want to accomplish, which you can read on team websites and consider each team’s quarterback rotation.
News on Tennessee
After all those years in Miami and being hurt, Ryan Tannehill has played more than almost anyone would have imagined in Nashville. This solidifies the point that if you give a truly talented quarterback a running game, pass-blocking and wide receivers who can run routes and catch the ball, the guy under center plays a whole lot better.
Tannehill directed the number two offense in yards, rushing and scoring last season and he’ll be the first to say Derrick Henry makes his job much easier. We are not sure the offense will be quite that potent this, but the Titans will still be hard to contain.
Tennessee has drafted on the defense of late, trying to assemble a group that can complement its offense. The areas of focus are the pass rush (30th in sacks) and getting off the field, ranked 28th in total yards allowed and 24th in points conceded. If coach Mike Vrabel can find answers to generate more defensive stops, it won’t matter who Indianapolis has at quarterback, the Titans will be the AFC South champs again.
News on Atlanta
The Falcons changed general managers and added a new coaching staff with Arther Smith at the helm. Smith was key in engineering Tennessee’s turnaround with Tannehill and is considered a wise scheme-designer.
Instead of looking to the future, Atlanta did not take a quarterback with their number four pick, they decided that 36-year old Matt Ryan was their guy. They got Ryan help in drafting the best tight end in college, Kyle Pitts, who is a mismatch nightmare at 6’6 with long arms.
Smith will look for his offensive line to improve the running game, however, the collection of backs are hardly game-changers, with high-effort Mike Davis the featured runner.
Atlanta’s defense has been a joke for a few years, which always was odd, given former coach Dan Quinn’s background. After ranking 29th in total defense and last in passing yards allowed, up is the only direction for this group. How far up will partially determine the Falcons’ fate.
Quarterback Rotations
At last look, neither regular starting quarterback is expected to play and if they do, it would be one series to start the game. In looking at the backups, no easy answers in trying to determine who might win this affair. And both clubs better hope their starting QB gets hurt.
- Titans: Ryan Tannehill, Logan Woodside, DeShone Kizer
- Falcons: Matt Ryan, AJ McCarron, Feleipe Franks
And the Winner Is…
These southern-favored squads have not played in August in six years, after facing off three consecutive times before that.
Though Tennessee has the better team, Vrabel is one of those coaches that doesn’t place a lot of stock in results this time of year and is 2-6 SU and ATS. The Dirty Birds Smith on the other hand is trying to build a program and first-year coaches in this league are always after wins to get the buy-in they need. That’s why for NFL odds, we’ll side with Atlanta to get the job done.
NFL Free Pick: Falcons (-115) at Betonline.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
