Steelers vs. Titans: Week 9 Thursday Night Football preview by the numbers, injury info and more

The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Tennessee Titans to kick off Week 9 of the NFL season on Thursday Night Football. Though just one game separates these two teams with the Steelers sitting 4-3 and Titans at 3-4, the momentum for each of these squads feels like it’s headed in two very different directions.

What can we expect in the 77th regular-season meeting between these two historic franchises? Here’s a preview of all you need to know for the Steelers-Titans game in Week 9, including game information, injury updates, odds and more.

Steelers vs. Titans game info

Date: Thursday, November 2

Kickoff time: 1 p.m. ET

Where: Acrisure Stadium

Live stream: Amazon Prime Video

Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season marks the 77th regular-season matchup between the Steelers and Titans (formerly Houston Oilers). Though Pittsburgh has a 48-32 lead over the Titans in their history and holds a four-game win streak over their last four meetings, these teams seem more evenly matched than ever before heading into this primetime showdown.

For as disappointing as the Steelers offense has been this season, the Titans’ has not been much better — at least, until rookie quarterback Will Levis appeared under center and casually threw 4 touchdowns in his NFL debut.

Even if the Steelers feel like they outmatch the Titans on tape, their production hasn’t at all been dissimilar. The biggest edge the Steelers have, of course, continues to sit with the defense’s ability to make splash plays that generate turnovers... but if they don’t have those, what do they have?

Injury news and updates

The Steelers have received a bit of a mixed bag this week in terms of injury news. The bad news is that All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will be unavailable in Week 9, dealing with a hamstring injury suffered in Week 8’s loss to the Jaguars. The good news? After quarterback Kenny Pickett was forced out of action with a rib injury in the same game, he’s confident he’ll play. All-Pro DT Cam Heyward could also play in this game, having been on injured reserve since suffering a groin injury that required surgery after Week 1.

For the Titans, fans can expect starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill to sit out with an ankle injury (though he might not be the starting quarterback for very long if rookie Will Levis continues to find success!). While there were several other players on the injury report, including cornerstone offensive weapons RB Derrick Henry (ankle) and WR DeAndre Hopkins (toe), there shouldn’t be much concern they’ll miss time, having both been designated as limited in each of the team’s estimated practice reports so far this week.

The biggest concern ahead of kickoff for the Titans will likely be the availability of starting right tackle Chris Hubbard, who suffered a concussion Sunday and faces a tight recovery window on a short week. In his absence during the second half of Week 8, starting LT Nicholas Petit-Frere slid over to play right tackle and Andre Dillard came off of the bench to play at left tackle. That could put T.J. Watt and company in an interesting spot to get some pressure, as Dillard has allowed seven total sacks this season in pass protection, including 27 total pressures, which led to his benching in Week 6 in favor of Petit-Frere.

Steelers vs. Titans odds

Point spread: Steelers -2.5
Over/under: 36.5
Moneyline odds: Steelers -148, Titans +124

While the number of wagers on the Titans to cover versus the Steelers to cover is nearly 50/50, a much greater portion of the total money wagered (AKA, the handle) on the game’s point spread is coming in favor of the Titans +2.5. This insinuates a decent chunk of “sharp money” coming in on the Titans. The majority of bets (58%) and the handle (53%) being wagered on the moneyline for Titans vs. Steelers is being wagered on the Titans at the time of this writing. All things considered, it wouldn’t be surprising to see some slight odds shifts in favor of the Titans ahead of kickoff given the current betting trends.

All odds come courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Odds/lines are subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.