After dropping their fifth-straight game in Week 16, the Tennessee Titans now have to welcome one of the best teams in the NFL in Week 17, the Dallas Cowboys.
The playoff-bound Cowboys enter this game winners in five of their last six, including a Week 16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles that kept their division hopes (and more) alive.
While the Cowboys have something to play for, no matter how slim their chances might be at the division and No. 1 seed, the Titans are on the opposite end of the spectrum, at least for this week.
That’s because a Week 18 do-or-die game with the Jacksonville Jaguars awaits, no matter the outcome of this game. Such a fact could propel Tennessee to re-think its strategy for Thursday night’s game.
We’ll talk about that and much more as we take a look at six things to know about the Week 17 contest between the Cowboys and Titans.
Cowboys are heavy road favorites
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Cowboys are 10-point favorites over the host Titans, with the over/under set at 40.5. The spread has gone up from 9.5 and the over/under has dropped from 42.5 since the start of the week.
This spread comes as zero surprise, as the banged-up Titans are playing like one of the worst teams in the NFL over the past five weeks, while the Cowboys are one of the best teams in the league overall.
Tennessee is 8-6-1 against the spread but has only hit the over in five of 15 games this season. The Cowboys have hit the over nine times and are 9-6 against the spread, per Team Rankings.
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Head-to-head history
Dating back to their days as the Houston Oilers, the Titans are 7-8 all time against the Cowboys.
However, since 2010 the Titans have won two of their three matchups against the Cowboys, with both victories coming in Dallas, including the last matchup in 2018.
The Titans haven’t beaten the Cowboys at Nissan Stadium since 2000, dropping each of their last two contests against Dallas in Nashville.
Titans may rest key players
Other than trying to gain some momentum ahead of a division-deciding season finale, the Titans actually have nothing to play for in Week 17.
The Week 18 winner-take-all game between the Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC South is already set, and nothing can change that.
This presents the ridiculously banged-up Titans an opportunity to rest key players in order to get them as close to fully healthy as possible going into next week’s do-or-die game.
The argument against that has been that the Titans should try to snap their five-game losing streak in order to get a head of steam going into a crucial matchup against the Jags, but the Titans are playing so poorly that they’re likely to lose to Dallas even if all of their starters play.
Playoff-bound Cowboys still have something to play for
The Cowboys have already punched their ticket to the postseason, but they still have an opportunity to win the NFC East and the No. 1 overall seed.
For the division, the Cowboys would have to win out and the Eagles would have to lose out. For the No. 1 seed, the aforementioned scenario must take place, plus the Vikings and 49ers each must lose one of their next two games.
While both unlikely scenarios, this means the Cowboys still have a little extra motivation despite having secured a playoff spot already. That’s more bad news for the Titans’ chances of pulling off an upset on Thursday.
Two very good defenses (sort of)
When the unit was more healthy, the Titans sported one of the best defenses in the NFL earlier in the season. While the unit still ranks 11th in scoring and second in run defense, Tennessee’s pass defense has taken a beating, ranking as the No. 31 unit in the NFL.
Even without much support from a terrible offense, the Titans’ defense has still managed to play well and is capable of putting the clamps on most opponents.
However, that changes if key players sit in Week 17, something we fully expect to happen.
The Cowboys have been a middle-of-the-road unit against the run this season, which is good news for the Titans, but they’ve also been a top-10 defense in scoring (No. 6) and against the pass (No. 10).
Dallas sports the best defensive player in the NFL in Micah Parsons, who is sure to give Tennessee fits, and an elite pass-rush that has the third-most sacks in the league with 49 (Parsons has 13 of them).
Reuniting with an old foe
The Titans thought they had seen the last of T.Y. Hilton after he didn’t re-sign with the Colts and remained a free agent for almost the entire 2022 campaign.
However, Hilton, who has given the Titans fits during his career, is now back after signing with the Cowboys a few weeks ago, and he’ll be on the field in Week 17 after impressing in his debut in Week 16.
Hilton showed he still has the jets, reeling in a 52-yard reception against the Eagles with the Cowboys facing a third-and-30.
With everything that has transpired this season, it would only be fitting for Hilton to burn the down-and-out Titans on Thursday night.
