Titans vs. Vikings: Christian Ponder powers Minnesota win

According to Schefter, Smith will only get fined by the NFL. Smith was ejected from the game after he and a few Titans players were talking trash to one another and, as one referee restrained him, he shoved the official to the ground.

After the game, the University of Notre Dame product apologized for the shoving incident (via the Star-Tribune).

The Titans were held scoreless by the Vikings defense until the fourth quarter when Hasselbeck connected with Jared Cook for a 10-yard touchdown pass, but by that point the deficit was too much to overcome for the Tennessee offense.

August West of SB Nation’s Tennessee Titans blog, Music City Miracles, writes that there were very few positives to take away from Sunday’s loss, and things very well may get worse.

Ponder is completing 69 percent of his throws this year, which is up from 54.3 percent in 2011. He is averaging more yards per attempt and per game than he did as a rookie, and he has thrown six touchdown passes against just two interceptions. Ponder threw 13 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions last season.

With Ponder’s help, the Vikings offense is averaging 24 points and 344 total yards per game. The Vikings have defeated Jacksonville, San Francisco and Detroit this season, in addition to Tennessee.

You can see where it starts but not get a great look at where Smith actually throws him out of the way.

The rookie was off to a nice start on the day with three tackles and a fumble recovery as the Vikings lead 10-0 over the Titans, but he’ll have to spend the rest of the game in the locker room and contemplating what kind of fine or suspension could be forthcoming.

The Minnesota Vikings have not been favorites very often lately, but when it happens, they seldom cover the spread.

So despite their surprising spot atop the NFC North, bettors are nervous laying points when they host the Tennessee Titans at the Metrodome. Minnesota is a 5.5-point home favorite at most sportsbooks tracked by OddsShark.com.

The Minnesota Vikings will ride their surprisingly fast start to the 2012 campaign into Sunday’s game with the Tennessee Titans at Ball of America Field in Minneapolis.

The Vikings are 3-1 on the young season, with back-to-back wins over San Francisco and Detroit in recent weeks. Tennessee enters Sunday’s game at 1-3, off a 38-14 Week 4 loss to Houston, the team’s third double-digit loss of the year. Halfback Chris Johnson provided a silver lining for the Titans, exploding for 141 yards on 25 carries.

The Vikings opened as 5.5-point favorites, and that has moved to six points in some books. The over/under opened at 45 points - the Titans have allowed at least 34 points in all four of their games, hitting the over three times.