The NFL Thursday night game of the week heads to Nashville for an AFC South match-up between the Indianapolis Colts (6-6) and Tennessee Titans (5-7).

The Indianapolis Colts (6-6) are hoping to avoid their first four game losing streak in 9 years. Indianapolis lead the division for the first nine weeks before losing three straight. The Colts are still very much alive in the 2010 NFL playoff picture and, more importantly, control their own destiny. With 4 games remaining, they play two against their AFC South rivals the Titans, and one against the current division leader Jacksonville Jaguars. In the event of a tie with Jacksonville, the Colts would win the tiebreaker and head to the NFL playoffs as the AFC South division champions.

The Titans could also make the playoffs by winning their final four games, but also need outside help. Tennessee started out strong 5-2 before losing five in a row. Injuries and in-fighting have sent the Titans spiraling.

The Titans have lost their last three games against the Colts, with Manning passing for five touchdowns and one interception.

Over the last three weeks Peyton Manning has 11 interceptions, and has thrown four in each of his last two games. In last week’s OT loss to the Cowboys (38-35), two were returned for touchdowns and other for the game winning field goal.

The Colts woes stem from their inability to run to ball. They are averaging just over 54 yards per game over their last 5 games and have had to rely on the passing game to score points. However, the Colts may have some better results against the Titans, who have 4 defensive players who are questionable for game time.   Last week the Titans gave up 258 yards to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Kerry Collins will start for the Titans and WR Kenny Britt has been activated after being out for over a month with a hamstring injury.

Many analysts and football experts would pick the home team. But our analysis points to the Colts as our NFL expert pick of the week.

COLTS Vs. TITANS: GAME DAY PARTICULARS
Visitors	Indianapolis Colts(6-6)
Home	Tennessee Titans (5-7)
When	Thursday, Dec 9 8:20 PM EST
Where	LP Field
TV COVERAGE	NFL Network
GAME DAY FORECAST	Temp: 34º Prec: 0%
Favorite	COLTS -3
Under/Over	46.5

COLTS – TITANS OFFENSE/DEFENSE AVERAGES

COLTS OFFENSE		TITANS DEFENSE
Rush Yds/Gms	79.1 32nd	Rush Yds/Gms	123.4 22nd
Pass Yds/Gms	303.3 1st	Pass Yds/Gms	238.7 23rd
Tot Yds/Gms	382.4 5th	Tot Yds/Gms	362.1 4th
TITANS OFFENSE		COLTS DEFENSE
Rush Yds/Gms	112.6 12th	Rush Yds/Gms	142.8 29th
Pass Yds/Gms	179.0 31st	Pass Yds/Gms	200.0 4th
Tot Yds/Gms	291.6 30th	Tot Yds/Gms	342.8 18th

INJURY REPORT

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
PLAYER	POS	INJURY	STATUS
Mike Hart	RB	Ankle	Out
TENNESSEE TITANS
Dave Ball	DE	Knee	Questionable
Tony Brown	DT	Knee	Questionable
Sen’Derrick Marks	DT	Ankle	Questionable
Ryan Mouton	CB	Hamstring	Questionable

COLTS TITAN NFL WEEK 14 GAME PREDICTION
The Titans injuries on defense (2 defensive ends, a defensive tackle and a cornerback questionable) should allow the Colts to move the ball on the ground. That alone will take some pressure off Peyton Manning and make the Colts passing game more effective.

The Titans have only scored six points in its last two games. They haven’t had an offensive touchdown in 13 quarters.

And what are the chances of Peyton Manning having 4 bad games in a row?

The results of this NFL matchup will bring the NFL playoff picture a little bit more in focus.

The NFL pick of the week - take Peyton Manning and the Colts

COLTS 35 TITANS 10

The New York Jets hope of taking over sole possession in the AFC East were crashed after their devastating loss the New England Patriots (45-3) Monday night in Foxboro.

You could almost hear Dandy Don Meredith singing “Turn out the lights …”, after the Patriots took a 17-0 first quarter lead. By half time it was 24-3.

But this is NFL football, and most of us expected to see the Jets come out of the locker room, hell-bent on kicking Patriot butt – but who would have “thunk” it. The Jets never got over their shell-shock from the first half!

While Tom Brady and the Patriot offense added 21 more points, the Patriot defense, ranked 31st in the NFL, shutout (and shut up) the Jets in the second half. The final score 45-3.

Why did the Jets lose so badly? Are the Patriots that good? Is the Jets Bark bigger than it’s Bite?

The answer is both, plus another factor – Tom Brady! Here are some tidbits to back it up:

• With Tom Brady at QB, the New England Patriots have won last 25 consecutive games at home.
• Brady hasn’t thrown an interception in his last 228 passes.
• Brady has thrown at least one TD pass in all 12 of the Patriots games in 2010.
• Brady followed up a 4 touchdown, perfect 158.3 QB rating against Detroit last week with a 4 TD passes and 148.9 QB rating against the Jets.
• 8 different receivers caught Brady passes against the Jets.
• An ex-Jet, Danny Woodhead, had 4 receptions for 104 yards. Wes Welker had 7 catches for 80 yards and 1 TD. Deion Branch, Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Tate were each on the receiving end of a Brady TD pass.
• Brady is the NFL MVP
• The Patriots have the #1 ranked offense in the NFL.
• The Jets allow an average of 19 points per game – 6th worse in the NFL.
• The Jets score on average 22 points per game – 14th in the NFL.
• The Jets average 356 yards per game – 12th in the NFL.
• The Patriots have beaten Baltimore, San Diego, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and the Jets.
• The Jets record of 9-3 comes against teams with a combined record of just 39-68, with only one of those teams being over .500 (the Patriots in Week 2, who were 1-0).

The Jets can take one consolation from the game; it only counts as one loss. If they can come to terms with this loss and play better football, they may still have a chance to snatch first place in the AFC East division title from the the Patriots. But it won’t be easy and they’ll need some help!

The Jets play the Miami Dolphins (6-6) at home, travel to take on the Steelers (9-3) and the Bears (9-3), and return home for the season finale against the Bills (2-10).

The rest of the Patriots schedule is away at Chicago (9-3), home at Green Bay (8-4), away in Buffalo (2-10). They finish at home against the Dolphins (6-6).

But one question remains:  Will the Jets get out of their seats after their near-fatal crash in Foxboro?

We’ll have to wait a week!

Sources: new york daily news, sportsillustrated.com

Perhaps the best NFL game this week happens Sunday night. The Pittsburgh Steelers head south to take on the Baltimore Ravens in a match-up predicted to be dominated by defense.

The Ravens and Steelers are tied for the AFC North lead with an 8-3 record. Both defenses have been outstanding. The Ravens have given up a measly 188 points and the Steelers 181.

If the Steelers win, they would own the tiebreaker – for now- due to the Ravens division loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.

In the first meeting on Oct 3, the Ravens won 17-14 at Heinz Field, but that was without Ben Roethlisberger, who missed the first 4 games of the 2010 NFL season to do a league suspension.

But in the second meeting on Sunday, Big Ben is expected to play even though he has a sprained right foot he suffered in last week’s game against Buffalo.

In the first meeting, the Ravens were without safety Ed Reed, who has 4 interceptions and a forced fumble since returning from a hip injury in late October.

Offensively, the Ravens have scored 250 points, averaging 22.7 points per game. The Steelers have score 254 and are averaging 23.1 ppg.

The Ravens are 5-0 at home while the Steelers are 5-1 away. Both are 2-1 in their division and 6-2 in the AFC.

The Steelers offensive leaders are QB Ben Roethlisberger (137-220, 1825 yards, 12 TDs), running back Rashad Mendenhall (238 carries, 962 yards, 9 TDs) and wide receiver Mike Wallace (36 rec, 792 yds, 8 TDs).

The Ravens offense is lead by QB Joe Flacco (231-365, 2722 yds, 18 TDs), running back Ray Rice (204 carries, 815 yds, 3 TDs) and wide receiver Anquan Boldin (51 rec, 652 yds, 6 TDs).

PACKERS FALCONS: GAME DAY PARTICULARS
Visitors	Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)
Home	Baltimore Ravens (8-3)
When	Sunday Dec 6 08:20 pm EST
Where	M&T Stadium, Baltimore, MD
TV COVERAGE	NBC
WEATHER	42º/32º 10% Precip
Favorite	Ravens -3
Under/Over	40

STEELERS RAVENS TRENDS AGAINST THE SPREAD (ATS)

STEELERS RAVENS AVERAGES
Both teams are very evenly matched offensively and defensively. However, the Steelers show an advantage in defense against the rush (64 yds per game vs. 101)

Pittsburgh OFFENSE		Baltimore DEFENSE
Rush Yds/Gms	126.0	Rush Yds/Gms	101.7
Pass Yds/Gms	208.5	Pass Yds/Gms	205.6
Tot Yds/Gms	334.0	Tot Yds/Gms	307.4

Baltimore OFFENSE		Pittsburgh DEFENSE
Rush Yds/Gms	114.4	Rush Yds/Gms	64.0
Pass Yds/Gms	233.9	Pass Yds/Gms	240.5
Tot Yds/Gms	348.0	Tot Yds/Gms	304.5

STEELERS RAVENS INJURIES
The Baltimore Ravens Offensive left tackle Michael Oher has a sprained right knee but is expected to play and fullback Le’Ron McClain is doubtful after spraining his ankle last week.

Perhaps the bigger story regarding Baltimore’s injury report is on defense. Two of the Ravens safeties are questionable; Dawan Landry (concussion) and Tom Zbikowski (heel).

STEELERS RAVENS GAME PREDICTION
Both teams are evenly matched, have great defenses and better-than-average quarterbacks.
Expect Joe Flacco and Ray Lewis to lead the Ravens in a low scoring win.

RAVENS 21, STEELERS 17

Sources: espn.com New York Post, New York Daily News