Colts, Patriots meet in possible AFC title preview
Three things you can depend on in life are death, taxes and both the Colts and Patriots at or near the top of the AFC. Peyton Manning and Indianapolis are cruising right now, the last unbeaten team in the AFC. Tom Brady and New England have a two-game lead in the AFC East and on a mission after missing the playoffs last season. All signs point to their meeting Sunday in Indy being an AFC Championship preview.
In a league where star players and top teams fall off the rails faster than Lindsay Lohan’s career, the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have stood the test of time. Don’t think it’s true? When New England last won the Super Bowl in 2005, Shaun Alexander led the NFL in touchdowns.
Considering today’s salary-capped, system-driven, one-injury-and-you’re-done NFL, the elite consistency both the Patriots and Colts have demonstrated is nothing short of a miracle. It’s only right the two teams that defined the last decade also carry with them the strongest non-natural Rivalry in pro football.
The teams meet again on Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in the latest installment of the seemingly annual Pats-Colts Bowl Game.
New England at Indianapolis (-3, 50)
Sunday – 8:20 PM ET, NBC
The Colts (8-0, 5-3 ATS) come into the showdown as one of the league’s two undefeated teams, but it’s the Patriots (6-2, 4-4 ATS) that have been playing better football lately.
A win’s a win, unless you’re a betting man, in which case Indianapolis’ last two victories left you holding the bag. The Colts escaped in their 20-17 edging of the Texans (+7.5) at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, one week after they needed a trick play to get past the 49ers (+13) 18-14 at home.
Indy led Houston 13-3 at the half, but the Texans fought back to take the lead on Steve Slaton’s 1-yard touchdown dive only seconds into the fourth quarter. Joseph Addai’s 2-yard TD run with 7:11 remaining was the difference, as the Colts watched Texans kicker Kris Brown miss a 42-yard field goal as time expired before they slipped out the side door.
Addai finished with 112 all-purpose yards and two scores in the second straight week in which he saved Indianapolis – if not Colts backers. Addai’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne lifted Indy past San Francisco in a game in which the Colts had no business covering the 13-point spread on the betting odds board.
Still, Indianapolis finds a way to win games in every way possible, with 17 consecutive regular season victories SU dating back to last season. The only team that’s put together a better run? New England, which won a record 21 in a row from 2006-08. If there’s a foil for the Colts, it’s the Pats, who are seeing the bulk of public action on the early 3-point number.
Oddsmakers opened Indy as 3-point chalk for the contest, and don’t expect them to move off the number unless a boatload of money pours in on either side. The books love sticking with a field goal, and it’s definitely standard fare for a game as public as this one. That hasn’t stopped a modest amount of support on New England from coming in through Monday night, with 61% of wagers on the Patriots according to consensus data.
New England has hit its stride since falling 20-17 in overtime at Denver (+3) on October 11. The Patriots are 3-0 (2-1 ATS) since then, and have outscored opponents 121-24 during the mini-streak. New England’s 59-0 win over Tennessee skews the sample size, but that doesn’t change the fact that Tom Brady and Randy Moss have re-found the chemistry that made them so successful two years ago.
Brady used a 71-yard TD strike to Moss late in the third quarter to get the Pats past the Dolphins (+10.5) 27-17 on Sunday. Moss put up 147 yards receiving to go along with his score, while Brady went 25-of-37 for 332 yards with a touchdown and an interception for New England. Looks like the Brady-Moss connection is back in business.
The Colts need a special game from Peyton Manning, because their depleted secondary is hard pressed to stop the Patriots’ second-ranked passing attack (295.0 yards per game). Safety Bon Sanders (biceps) is out for the season, and fellow defensive backs Kelvin Hayden (knee) and Marlin Jackson (knee) are both out indefinitely. It could be a high-scoring game on Sunday night.
New England matches up well with Indy’s offense. The Pats are third in scoring defense (14.4 PPG) behind a pass defense that ranks fifth in the NFL (179.4 YPG), and their struggles against the run won’t be an issue against the pass-happy Colts. Indianapolis rolls into Sunday 29th in rushing (85.4 YPG). Because of that, the Patriots are a sharp play as 3-point underdogs
Three things you can depend on in life are death, taxes and both the Colts and Patriots at or near the top of the AFC. Peyton Manning and Indianapolis are cruising right now, the last unbeaten team in the AFC. Tom Brady and New England have a two-game lead in the AFC East and on a mission after missing the playoffs last season. All signs point to their meeting Sunday in Indy being an AFC Championship preview.
In a league where star players and top teams fall off the rails faster than Lindsay Lohan’s career, the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts have stood the test of time. Don’t think it’s true? When New England last won the Super Bowl in 2005, Shaun Alexander led the NFL in touchdowns.
Considering today’s salary-capped, system-driven, one-injury-and-you’re-done NFL, the elite consistency both the Patriots and Colts have demonstrated is nothing short of a miracle. It’s only right the two teams that defined the last decade also carry with them the strongest non-natural Rivalry in pro football.
The teams meet again on Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in the latest installment of the seemingly annual Pats-Colts Bowl Game.
New England at Indianapolis (-3, 50)
Sunday – 8:20 PM ET, NBC
The Colts (8-0, 5-3 ATS) come into the showdown as one of the league’s two undefeated teams, but it’s the Patriots (6-2, 4-4 ATS) that have been playing better football lately.
A win’s a win, unless you’re a betting man, in which case Indianapolis’ last two victories left you holding the bag. The Colts escaped in their 20-17 edging of the Texans (+7.5) at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, one week after they needed a trick play to get past the 49ers (+13) 18-14 at home.
Indy led Houston 13-3 at the half, but the Texans fought back to take the lead on Steve Slaton’s 1-yard touchdown dive only seconds into the fourth quarter. Joseph Addai’s 2-yard TD run with 7:11 remaining was the difference, as the Colts watched Texans kicker Kris Brown miss a 42-yard field goal as time expired before they slipped out the side door.
Addai finished with 112 all-purpose yards and two scores in the second straight week in which he saved Indianapolis – if not Colts backers. Addai’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne lifted Indy past San Francisco in a game in which the Colts had no business covering the 13-point spread on the betting odds board.
Still, Indianapolis finds a way to win games in every way possible, with 17 consecutive regular season victories SU dating back to last season. The only team that’s put together a better run? New England, which won a record 21 in a row from 2006-08. If there’s a foil for the Colts, it’s the Pats, who are seeing the bulk of public action on the early 3-point number.
Oddsmakers opened Indy as 3-point chalk for the contest, and don’t expect them to move off the number unless a boatload of money pours in on either side. The books love sticking with a field goal, and it’s definitely standard fare for a game as public as this one. That hasn’t stopped a modest amount of support on New England from coming in through Monday night, with 61% of wagers on the Patriots according to consensus data.
New England has hit its stride since falling 20-17 in overtime at Denver (+3) on October 11. The Patriots are 3-0 (2-1 ATS) since then, and have outscored opponents 121-24 during the mini-streak. New England’s 59-0 win over Tennessee skews the sample size, but that doesn’t change the fact that Tom Brady and Randy Moss have re-found the chemistry that made them so successful two years ago.
Brady used a 71-yard TD strike to Moss late in the third quarter to get the Pats past the Dolphins (+10.5) 27-17 on Sunday. Moss put up 147 yards receiving to go along with his score, while Brady went 25-of-37 for 332 yards with a touchdown and an interception for New England. Looks like the Brady-Moss connection is back in business.
The Colts need a special game from Peyton Manning, because their depleted secondary is hard pressed to stop the Patriots’ second-ranked passing attack (295.0 yards per game). Safety Bon Sanders (biceps) is out for the season, and fellow defensive backs Kelvin Hayden (knee) and Marlin Jackson (knee) are both out indefinitely. It could be a high-scoring game on Sunday night.
New England matches up well with Indy’s offense. The Pats are third in scoring defense (14.4 PPG) behind a pass defense that ranks fifth in the NFL (179.4 YPG), and their struggles against the run won’t be an issue against the pass-happy Colts. Indianapolis rolls into Sunday 29th in rushing (85.4 YPG). Because of that, the Patriots are a sharp play as 3-point underdogs
Things are back to normal among the NFL's elite. Peyton Manning is healthy, Tom Brady is throwing touchdown passes, the Indianapolis Colts are unbeaten and the New England Patriots lead the AFC East. It's the perfect stage for the next chapter in...FLIP A COIN TO SEE WHO WINS/THIS GAME IS TOO TOO CLOSE CALL, THERE IS LOT BEETER BETS TO WAGER THIS WEEK ,THEN THIS ONE!!!!!!!