When the Titans take the field on Sunday in Houston, they will have a new starting quarterback for the first time since October 13, 2019. Following that 16-0 loss in Denver, the Titans turned to Ryan Tannehill, handing him the starting quarterback job and the rest is history. Tannehill went on a remarkable run, leading Tennessee into the playoffs each of the last three seasons, while also earning a Pro Bowl appearance and the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 2019.
An illness has sidelined the Titans starter for Sunday’s game against the Texans, snapping Tannehill’s streak of 53 consecutive starts, including playoff games. It sets up rookie quarterback Malik Willis for his first career start and is a faster transition to the starting job than what was originally planned, but this could be a good spot for Mike Vrabel and his coaching staff to see what they have in the rookie.
They aren’t in much danger at the moment of losing a division that is anything but competitive, so a one week trial run with Willis can actually be helpful in the grand scheme of things. Most importantly for the 2022 third round pick out of Liberty, the team prepared for this scenario all week long, giving him all the first team reps in practice.
In light of the news though, one must wonder, is there a betting angle here? How can we make some cash on this? Well, luckily for us, Caesar really is the man. Turns out, those commercials with Peyton and Eli Manning have some truth to them after all.
Willis’ NFL career is off and running
Caesars Sportsbook is one of the few that are willing to let us get some action on Willis in his first career start. For a price of -113, we can bet the over 43.5 rushing yard total for him. Since the Titans probably won’t be relying on the passing game too much this week, 43.5 is a low number considering someone other than Derrick Henry will have to carry the ball at some point.
During the NFL Preseason, sorry, it’s all the data we have right now, Willis turned in performances with 79, 42, and 38 rushing yards across the three games. Sure, he only covered the 43.5 in one of them, but this Texans defense allowed Justin Fields to record 47 yards on the ground earlier this season. Fields is still the only quarterback the Texans have faced that has his own number called often. By comparison, Henry’s line is set at 104.5, while Caesars puts Willis’ passing yard total at 152.5. Tennessee will have to be creative in order to win, so expect them to feature their rookie quarterback in what should be a fun matchup between these AFC South teams, we hope.
Basic Tips
Betting the over 43.5 rushing yards means Malik Willis will need to finish with 44 rushing yards or more in the game to win the bet. If you bet $113 and the wager wins, you’ll take home an additional $100.