🏈 (Updated 7:01 PM) Thursday Night Football Report: Steelers vs. Titans

NFL Week 9 Thursday Night Football

THURSDAY, NOV. 2

NFL Week 9 kicks off tonight with the Tennessee Titans paying a visit to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For those early birds, Sunday morning football is back with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Miami Dolphins at Frankfurt Stadium in Germany, while the night game features two more of the AFC's top teams as the Cincinnati Bengals are home to the Buffalo Bills.

We’ll cap off the week with Monday Night Football at MetLife Stadium for the New York Jets and the Los Angeles Chargers.

It’s almost game time. Let’s get it!

1. Thursday Night Football

   1. Our Take

   2. Betting Nuggets

2. Injury Report (updated as of 6:57 pm)

3. Inactive List (updated as of 6:57 pm)

4. Week 9 News Rundown

Titans (3-4) at Steelers (4-3)

• WHERE: Acrisure Stadium (Pittsburgh)

• WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | Prime Video, NFL+

• MONEYLINE: Titans: +135 | Steelers: -160

• SPREAD: Steelers -2.5 | O/U: 37.0

• Get Titans 2023 NFL Gear | Get Steelers 2023 NFL Gear
  

The Take

OK, Will Levis -- let's see you do that again, this time against Mike Tomlin's team.

A warning: Rookie quarterbacks are 1-15 in the previous 20 seasons when playing in Pittsburgh.

In fact, a rookie QB has never won a prime-time game in the Steel City (0-5 all time, per NFL research).

Good luck!

Now, the absence of Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring) on the Steelers' defense should not be overlooked, but if T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are allowed to wreak havoc against a suspect Titans offensive line, it could be a long night for the second-round pick.

Betting Nuggets:

For those looking to place a wager on tonight’s game, here some notes:

• The Titans are 23-21 outright as underdogs under Mike Vrabel. They are 27-16-1 ATS as underdogs under Vrabel (.628).

• Since 2017, the Steelers are 23-33-2 ATS as favorites (.411).

• The Titans are 4-1 ATS when the line is between +3 and -3 this season.

• Unders are 6-1 in Steelers games this season with five straight games going under. All three Titans road games this season have gone under (5 straight dating back to last season).

• Unders are 17-7 in Titans games the last two seasons, tied with the Buccaneers for the highest under percentage in that span.

TITANS

• OUT: OT Chris Hubbard (concussion), QB Ryan Tannehill (ankle), CB Roger McCreary (hamstring), S Mike Brown (ankle).

• QUESTIONABLE: WR DeAndre Hopkins (toe).

STEELERS

• OUT: S Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring).

• QUESTIONABLE: CB Levi Wallace (foot)

TITANS

• Roger McCreary (CB)

• Ryan Tannehill (QB)

• Mike Brown (S)

STEELERS

• Minkah Fitzpatrick (S)

1. LVR: Aidan O'Connell may start
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal - Vincent Bonsignore

Las Vegas Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell is the favorite to start in Week 9 against the New York Giants, according to sources.

2. LVR: Las Vegas cans head coach, GM
Source: Raiders.com

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler were fired on Tuesday, Oct. 31. According to sources, linebackers coach Antonio Pierce is expected to be named the interim head coach.

3. ATL: Taylor Heinicke to start
Source: ESPN - Adam Schefter

Atlanta Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke was named the starting quarterback Wednesday, Nov. 1.

4. BUF: Josh Allen limited
Source: NFL Network - Mike Garafolo

Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen (shoulder) will be limited in practice Wednesday, Nov. 1.

5. ATL: Drake London day-to-day
Source: NFL.com

Atlanta Falcons WR Drake London (groin) is considered day-to-day after suffering a groin injury in Week 8, head coach Arthur Smith said on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

6. CLE: Deshaun Watson to be limited
Source: NFL Network - Andrew Siciliano

Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson will be limited at practice on Wednesday, Nov. 1, head coach Kevin Stefanski said.

7. PIT: No designation for Kenny Pickett
Source: Steelers.com - Teresa Varley

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (rib) fully participated in practice Wednesday, Nov. 1, and is not on the injury report for Week 9.

8. CHI: Justin Fields still not practicing
Source: ChicagoBears.com

Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields (thumb) did not practice on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

9. MIN: Kirk Cousins has successful surgery
Source: NFL.com

Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins (Achilles) underwent successful surgery to repair his torn Achilles' tendon on Wednesday, Nov. 1. He is out for the rest of the season.

10. NYG: Darren Waller expected to miss time
Source: ESPN.com - Jordan Raanan

Updating a previous report, New York Giants TE Darren Waller (hamstring) said he could potentially miss multiple weeks with his hamstring injury but isn't sure exactly how many, he told reporters on Wednesday, Nov. 1.