Tennessee @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 12, 2010 ) Oakland 13, Tennessee 38

The Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders are both languishing under .500 but remain in the postseason picture due to the overall mediocrity of the AFC. One of the teams will likely see their playoff hopes extinguished when the Titans pay a visit to Oakland on Sunday. Tennessee has dropped five of its last six games, including back-to-back defeats by a combined five points, while the Raiders put an end to a two-game skid with a 28-23 victory at Houston last week.

It will be a matchup of backup quarterbacks, as Oakland rookie Matt McGloin attempts to build on a successful first NFL start that saw him throw three scoring passes in leading the Raiders to a season-high point total. "He played flawless football, especially for this being his first start in the National Football League," veteran Oakland safety Charles Woodson said. Ryan Fitzpatrick has had consecutive strong efforts for the Titans but doesn't have a victory to show for it.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET. LINE: Titans -1. O/U: 41.5.

ABOUT THE TITANS (4-6): Fitzpatrick has compiled a passer rating of 111.0-plus in each of his last two starts, completing 44-of-61 for 486 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Running back Chris Johnson continues to display a maddening inconsistency, failing to surpass 39 yards rushing in five of the last seven but putting together a pair of two-TD performances in two of the past three contests. Tennessee squandered a 14-0 first-quarter lead to Indianapolis on Nov. 14 and has surrendered an average of 26.2 points over the last six games.

ABOUT THE RAIDERS (4-6): McGloin, an undrafted free agent out of Penn State, was 18-of-32 for 197 yards in subbing for Terrelle Pryor, who was out with a knee injury. McGloin isn't the only backup to come up big for Oakland - running back Rashad Jennings rushed for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown against Houston and has piled up 340 yards on the ground over the past three games in filling in for oft-injured Darren McFadden (hamstring). Expect a heavy dose of the run game from the Raiders, who are fourth in the league with an average of 145.4 yards rushing.

EXTRA POINTS

1. McGloin is only the fourth QB to throw for three TDs with no interceptions in his first career start since the merger in 1970.

2. Johnson ran for 142 yards and two TDs in his only game against the Raiders in September 2010.

3. Woodson has 13 career defensive touchdowns, tied for the most in league history.

PREDICTION: Titans 23, Raiders 20