Monday Night Football Betting

Halloween is still a couple of weeks away but already some NFL teams are putting on costumes and posing that ever-important question to NFL bettors: Trick, or treat?

Two of those masked teams collide on Monday Night Football in Week 6. The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars have both shown up at the AFC South party wearing the same costume – contender.

Oddsmakers have set Jacksonville as a field-goal underdog at home while posting a total of 45 points.

The Jags picked up steam after shocking the division's gatekeepers, the Indianapolis Colts, in Week 4, and improved to 3-2 straight up and against the spread with a 36-26 win over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday.

The Titans went into enemy territory and stunned the Dallas Cowboys at home, slapping Big D in the mouth early and often and holding on for a 34-27 victory as near-touchdown underdogs in Week 5.

While both teams have game-breaking running backs and improving pass attacks, the big difference, and the one that could not only decide Monday's game but how the division trickles down, is defense.

Jacksonville has been able to come out on top of shootouts in its last two games, but is hemorrhaging points on the defensive side of the ball. The Jaguars are allowing opponents to score more than 27 points per game, which is usually more than enough for most teams to pick up the win. The pass defense has been especially horrid, giving up an average of 282 yards and even allowing the Bills to hang 220 passing yards and three scores on them last week.

Tennessee's stop unit is much tougher. While it is just as weak against the pass, giving up 243 yards per game, it has made it harder for opponents to cash those gains in for points. The Titans are budging for an average of just 19 points, which ranks 10th in the NFL. They are also the top team in red-zone defense, allowing opponents to score on just 26 percent of their trips inside the Tennessee 20-yard line.

Expect the Titans' defense to be the difference and pull the mask off their divisional rival on Monday night.

Pick: Tennessee -3