Football expert Phil Steele is the owner and publisher of Phil Steele’s College Football Preview, regarded as the college football bible. Get in-depth coverage of college and pro football 24/7/365 at PhilSteele.com.
Texans (-6) over TITANS: Houston has several extra days to heal its injury-riddled defense, which has given up 525 and 458 yards the last two games. Tennessee comes into this game with a 2-3 record at home, but both wins were fortunate as it was outgained by 53 and 146 yards. The numbers on the season say it best: The Texans’ No. 3 offense and No. 6 defense manhandle the Titans’ No. 24 offense and No. 29 defense.
BRONCOS (-7) over Buccaneers: Tampa Bay has been outgained by 32 yards per game facing the league’s second-easiest schedule while Denver has outgained its opponents by 84 yards per game vs. the 12th-toughest schedule. Add in Peyton Manning’s 13-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio at home vs. the Buccaneers’ league-worst pass defense and it’s clearly a contender versus a pretender!
LAST WEEK (NFL): 0-0-2. SEASON: 13-9-2.