Published Oct 10, 11:30am ET by
Paul Lebowitz - Betting Preview Analyst and Sports Writer
Last updated Oct 10, 11:30am ET
Grok AI
Updated Oct 10, 11:30am ET
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| Tennessee Titans | -4 (-110) |
| Las Vegas Raiders | +4 (-110) |
Titans fans were calling for head coach Brian Callahan’s head when the team started 0-4. In Week 5 against Arizona, they were three-quarters of the way to going 0-5. Had Demercado scored rather than dropped the ball right before he crossed the goal line, resulting in a touchback, the score would have been 28-6 with 12:40 remaining, and the game would have been likely over.
However, after the gaffe, Cam Ward led the Titans on a scoring drive culminating in a Tony Pollard 1-yard TD rush. Then the Titans again benefited from a Cardinals misstep after Ward threw a pick to Arizona’s Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, but Taylor-Demerson fumbled, and Tennessee’s Tyler Lockett recovered it in the end zone for a TD.
This play somehow ended in a TD for Tyler Lockett 😅pic.twitter.com/joG6HoLCkO
— Titans Nation (@TitansNationCP) October 5, 2025
The Titans won on a late field goal.
Was this luck, or was it a turning point?
An opposing player dropping the ball right before crossing the goal line, opening the door?
An intercepted pass fumbled, resulting in a touchdown for the team that just threw the pick?
The Titans walked through that open door, but Arizona handed them the game.
Ward has not been good with a completion percentage of 51.8, 2 TD passes, 3 picks, and a league-leading 19 sacks for 136 yards. In short, he’s a rookie QB playing like a rookie QB.
Pollard is not a prototypical feature back and is playing like it. It’s what he was in Dallas. Their receiving corps has been limited because of that rookie QB. The Titans have not been great defensively, surrendering 33 to the Rams, 41 to the Colts, 26 to the Titans, and 21 to the Cardinals. They were fortunate to escape with a win in Arizona. Against the woeful Raiders, it can easily cancel out the good vibes from that win by losing in Las Vegas.
For a team with a game-wrecker like Maxx Crosby and a supposed defensive wizard as head coach in Pete Carroll, the Raiders surrendering 41 to the Commanders in Week 3 and 40 to the Colts in Week 5 is unacceptable.
Of course, they’re in year 1 of the Carroll era. Geno Smith, acquired from the Seahawks in the offseason and familiar with Carroll from their time together in Seattle, has been bad. He’s got a 75.6 passer rating, leads the league with 9 interceptions, and has been sacked 16 times for 125 yards.
Geno Smith's NFL-worst 9th INT of the season
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 5, 2025
(via @Colts)pic.twitter.com/oCkeTYOYws
It’s not all his fault, but with the lack of ball security and the number of sacks, it’s getting to the point where they need to look at Kenny Pickett.
Ashton Jeanty has been productive since an atrocious start, but teams will begin focusing on stopping him while Smith is throwing the ball to the teams in the wrong color uniform.
Neither team is good offensively or defensively. The takeaway differential heavily favors the Titans with the Raiders at -6 (31st in the league). Tennessee is +1, good for 11th in the league.
| PLAYER | STATUS |
|---|---|
| Brock Bowers, LVR | INJURED |
| AJ Cole III, LVR | INJURED |
| Blake Hance, TEN | INJURED |
| Marcus Harris, TEN | INJURED |
| Van Jefferson, TEN | INJURED |
| Arden Key, TEN | INJURED |
For Titans-Raiders Week 6, oddsmakers are not buying Tennessee’s fluky win over the Cardinals as a legitimate step in the right direction. It was a circumstantial win handed to them by a team in complete disarray.
The Raiders have been horrific since their Week 1, 20-13 win over the Patriots in New England. Given how well the Pats have played since then, that too could be seen as a fluke.
Will Tennessee put up a 40 burger in Las Vegas? Not with their offense as mediocre as it is, and Ward still feeling his way through as he adapts to the NFL. But the Raiders have been all over the place offensively and outright terrible defensively.
Expect a close game with the Titans holding it to within 4 points.
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Tennessee Titans +4
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