This week's edition of Sunday Night Football is a playoff play-in game between two teams from the AFC South. The and being in this position is somewhat surprising given the way each of their seasons has unfolded, but here he we are. There's no real reason to go with a long preamble (though there are some interesting playoff scenarios that could unfold beyond just the winner getting in, with the Titans even a long shot for the No. 2 seed in the AFC, ). Let's just break down what we should be looking out for when they actually take the field (8:15 p.m. ET, NBC, , try for free).When the Satchel Paige Jersey Titans have the ballHere's what we wrote about the Titans a few weeks back when they were playing the on Monday night:The Titans' offense has likely been the most inconsistent in the entire NFL. Tenne see has been held to fewer than 20 points five times, but has managed to finish 2-3 in those games. They've exceeded 20 points five times, but finished just 3-2 in those contests. They've been shut out by the and hung 34 points on the . There is seemingly no correlation between how their offense looks one week and how it looks the next, as they followed up a 26-point outing against the by scoring 31 combined over the next three games and responded to scoring 62 combined against the and Patriots by hanging just 10 on the Colts.Tenne see then proceeded to lose to the Texans 34-10 ... and then win four straight games against the , , , and Washington. Oh, here's another thing we wrote for that Titans-Texans preview:As inconsistent as Houston's running game has been, the Titans' has been perhaps even more so. was expected to be the lead rusher coming into the season but he has struggled badly with a 3.7 yards per carry average and has shown little ability to even be the kind of short-yardage bruiser his size suggests he easily could be. He's been overtaken in the rotation by almost entirely, but Lewis is averaging only 3.4 yards per carry himself, and has largely shown himself to be the better back because he's more capable as a receiver and, despite his diminutive stature (Lewis is 5-8, 195 pounds, while Henry is 6-3, 247 pounds), a far more dependable pa s-protector.Henry then carried 18 times for 70 yards against the Texans and Jets ... and has Eddie Robinson Jersey completely exploded for 492 yards and seven touchdowns in the past three weeks, putting up lines of 17-238-4, 33-170-2, and 21-84-1 during wins over the Jags, Giants, and Washington. Lewis, meanwhile, is averaging 2.7 yards per carry over those three weeks. More on the NFL So, yeah. The Titans are pretty much the same inconsistent team that makes zero sense now as they were then. And for this game, there is no reason to know what to expect, either. suffered a stinger during last week's game and said earlier this week that the entire right side of B.J. Upton Jersey his body went , so we could see under center (Mariota did have a limited practice on Thursday). Gabbert is actually 2-0 as the starter this season, but the second victory was one where he exited after just three pa ses due to an injury of his own. When given the opportunity to take the field this season, he has e sentially been what he's always been: Gabbert has completed 60 percent of his pa ses, averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, and thrown just three touchdowns and two interceptions in his five appearances. The Titans will almost surely try to control the game with the run, but that's tough to do against the Colts, who have the NFL's No. 5 rated run defense by Football Outsiders' DVOA. can shut down almost any run game pretty much by himself, and he and the underrated Colts defensive front have stopped 25 percent of opponent rushing attempts behind the line of scrimmage, a rate that ranks third in the league.When the Colts have the ballRemember the inconsistency we talked about with the Titans' offense? Well, consider the defense. They allowed just 24 combined points in back-to-back wins over the Cowboys and Patriots in Weeks 9 and 10 ... and then allowed 38 to the Colts and 34 to the Texans in back-to-back lo ses in Weeks 11 and 12. And of course, they've allowed just 47 points combined over the past four weeks, while the Jags and Giants each under 10. So, the defense is right there with the offense.At least we know what the defense is up against. With the exception of a very strange shutout lo s to the Jaguars a few weeks back, the Andrew Luck-led Colts offense has been fantastic since that early-season stretch where Luck seemingly refused to throw the ball farther than 10 yards downfield. Since Week 4, Luck has completed 67 percent of his pa ses while averaging 7.6 yards per attempt and to sing 33 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. During that time, he has been sacked on only Corey Kluber Jersey 2.4 percent of his drop backs, the lowest rate in the NFL. When the Colts hung 38 points on the Titans a few weeks back, Luck was e sentially perfect: 23 of 29 for 297 yards and three touchdowns, good for a 143.8 pa ser rating. Unsurprisingly, T.Y. Hilton was dominant, catching all nine throws in his direction for 155 yards and two scores. It'll be interesting to see if he repeats that performance this time around, since he is more likely to see in coverage than , who was the guy he burned most often a few weeks back. Jackson has simply been a far better cover corner than Butler this season, allowing a pa ser rating of 88.6 on throws in his direction compared to Butler's 107.2, according to Sports Info Solutions.Luck's other top target is tight end , who is having a career year with 62 catches for 690 yards and 12 touchdowns, which earned him a Pro Bowl berth. The Titans, though, have been one of the NFL's best defenses against tight ends. They rank sixth in DVOA against tight ends and they've allowed just 65 catches for 611 yards to players at the position, while they are also the only team in the NFL that has not allowed a single tight end to find the end zone this season. Safeties and have done an excellent job limiting intermediate pa ses and making plays on the ball right away.It'll also be interesting to see what the Colts get Mike Napoli Jersey out of in this matchup. After exploding with a few fantastic performances upon his return from injury, Mack has been extremely quiet for most of the past few weeks. Marlon MackWeek 6-12Week 13-16Rush9961Yards522233Yards/Rush5.273.82TD44That recent stretch of games also includes a 27-carry, 139-yard, two-touchdown explosion against the Cowboys, which means he has run just 34 times for 94 yards against the Jaguars, Texans, and Giants. It's not as though the Colts' offensive line has taken a big step backward, so it's interesting that Mack has simply not been as effective of late. The Tenne see run defense has been solid but nowhere near spectacular this season, so Mack has a chance to get back on track in this game.Prediction: Colts 23, Titans 13