Preview and pick for the Thursday night NFL matchup between the 49ers and Titans

Right now the Tennessee Titans are probably in a little better place than the San Francisco 49ers when it comes down to their battle for playoff position. That's because the Titans (9-5 SU, 8-6 ATS) are actually the division leaders right now, one game ahead of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South.

San Francisco (8-6 SU, 7-7 ATS) leads a whole pack of teams at the moment, as they would be the third wild-card team in the NFC if the season ended today. They've been playing well, winning five of their last six, so they take something of a head of steam into Nissan Stadium on Thursday night for their matchup that will be televised on Fox Network. The game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. Eastern time, and if you are a BetAnySports customer, you can get reduced juice before the game starts, and from several different outlets, you can do real-time wagering to stay right on top of the action.

Tennessee is coming off a very disappointing 19-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, despite holding Pittsburgh to only 168 total yards. When you also consider that Tennessee, which has been playing without All-Pro running back Derrick Henry, had 201 rushing yards as a team, you would think they would have won it going away. But they turned the ball over four times, and Ryan Tannehill had another shaky game at quarterback, with only 153 passing yards. Over this last four game stretch he has posted his three worst quarterback ratings. And he has 14 interceptions as well. So there is not a lot of confidence in him at the moment.

He is hoping that he can get a shot in the arm by the presence of his two top wide receivers. AJ Brown has been out for the last five weeks, but he's off injured reserve and can play after his chest injury. Julio Jones, who's been bothered by a hamstring, has had four receptions since Week 9.

In the Thursday Night NFL betting odds on this game, as they are posted at BetAnySports, the Niners are the road favorites:

San Francisco 49ers -3 (-125)
Tennessee Titans    +3 (+105)

Over 45.5 points -110
Under 45.5 points -110

Interestingly enough, Tennessee has gravitated more toward the running game lately, throwing the ball only 45% of the time in the last three games. They seemed to do things right last week, with 39 minutes of possession, except they did not hold onto the ball. However, they will be missing the left side of their offensive line, as both Taylor Lewan and Rodger Saffold have been declared out. That may be an open invitation for All-Pro Nick Bosa, who's got 15 sacks. San Francisco will definitely get some pressure on the passer, and that will be a tough break for Tannehill if he does not get that ground game going again.

And speaking of ground games, San Francisco will have to endeavor to run the ball without Elijah Mitchell once again. The rookie out of Louisiana-Lafayette has been ruled out of this game, and one might wonder whether Jeff Wilson, who had 110 yards last week against Atlanta, can have a repeat performance. What Kyle Shanahan has been doing is putting Deebo Samuel in the backfield, when healthy. He scored a touchdown last week, and had 66 receiving yards. He's been named to the Pro Bowl, and for good reason — he leads the NFL with 17.8 yards per catch.

Jimmy Garoppolo might have been hearing the footsteps of rookie Trey Lance earlier in the season, but when you can lead the league with 8.5 yards per pass attempt, you have fewer things to worry about. An onslaught of pressure isn't among the things he'll likely sweat; Trent Williams has been having perhaps his best season, and that is saying something, since he is likely headed to the Hall of Fame. Pro Football Focus, the respected analytics site, has given him their top rating at the tackle position.

And of course, critical to the run game is Kyle Juszczyk, who has just been named the fullback for the Pro Bowl. We see San Francisco doing what it feels it needs to do on offense, while with Tennessee, it's all pretty questionable. When you turn the ball over 13 times is three losses over the last four games, you are obviously affording the other team a lot of opportunities. And the Niners are the top team in the NFL when it comes to converting red-zone appearances into touchdowns, at 73.8%. And really, it's not even close.

So we know it sounds like a cardinal sin to lay points like this on the road to a team with nine victories, but this time it might be worth it.

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