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Pittsburgh Steelers vs Tennessee Titans

When the Pittsburgh Steelers march into Nashville to take on the Titans we'll see an all-out ground war. Both teams like to run the ball: Steelers with 32.0 rushing plays per game rank 3rd in the league, Titans with 31.9 rank 4th.

The fortunes of the Titans are closely aligned with the run as pictured in the chart below.


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The Titans started the season modestly losing 4 of their first 5 games. In week 6 they found their feet. Note the rising trend of the chart's dark blue moving average line. In 10 of their next 11 games Titans ran the ball more than league average (light blue line) and compiled a won-lost record of 10-1 to take the AFC South.

The Titan ground game is led by RB Eddie George with 1165 yards. QB Steve McNair led all AFC QBs with 440.

Behind from the get-go, Steelers had little opportunity to use their running game vs the Browns in last week's wildcard playoff game. They lost 3 giveaways...and had to come back from that deficit in the air; they moved the sticks successfully.

They will need to play better to beat the Titans. In their earlier meeting, Titans won the game on the ground with 40 rushing plays to a meager 15 for the Steelers.

If the two teams play to statistical from, the computer sees a close game, favoring Titans at home by 3.

Bud Goode and Bill Sanders

Tomorrow: Falcons/Eagles

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