Sportsbook Odds: Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots
The Colts were coming out of their bye week and were hosting a two-win team. It was their best chance to come away with a victory in 2011.
Now, there’s a good chance Indianapolis will become the second franchise in NFL history to go 0-16. The Colts couldn’t beat Carolina in Week 12, losing 27-19 and failing to cover the NFL odds as 3.5-point underdogs.
The offense moved the ball pretty well with 323 yards and a 4.6 yards-per-carry average. But it wasn’t enough because Curtis Painter is flat out pathetic.
Painter has thrown at least one interception in five straight games. He had two picks against a poor Panthers defense. He regularly missed wide-open receivers. There is no way this team can win with Painter under center.
And the defense looks disinterested at this point. Carolina ran for 201 yards against an Indy front that hasn’t stopped anyone in a decade. The Panthers converted half of their 12 third downs and gained 22 first downs.
Reggie Wayne said before the game that the only thing keeping him going was picture texts of his kids. After this loss, and with the Patriots and Ravens waiting on deck, there may not be enough motivation in the world to get the Colts to compete.
There is absolutely no reason to take the points with Indianapolis this week, unless you just can’t resist betting on a three-touchdown dog.
New England handled its last “difficult” opponent with ease in Week 12. The Patriots went to Philadelphia and throttled the Eagles by a score of 38-20. The final margin of victory was enough to cover the NFL odds as 3-point favorites.
The Pats offense had been getting out to slow starts but that wasn’t the case Sunday. Tom Brady was efficiently awesome. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 361 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. It was his best game of the season as the Pats rolled up 457 yards and an astounding 29 first downs.
New England’s makeshift defense bent but never really broke. The only score it allowed in the second half was a garbage touchdown with 30 seconds left. LeSean McCoy had just 31 rushing yards and the Eagles were 4 of 13 on thirds.
Patrick Chung, Brandon Spikes, Dane Fletcher and Devin McCourty are all starters and were all absent last week. Former receiver Julian Edleman is playing as a nickel corner/safety and is seeing his role grow by the week.
It’s funny that a few weeks ago one Patriots beat writer said we were seeing the end of a dynasty. If you recall our response to that was, “As long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are still scheming, this team will compete for championships.”
The NFL odds for this contest were first released by BetSBG and the Patriots were positioned as 21.5-point favorites with a total of 49. That’s the biggest spread we’ve seen all year and it is reminiscent of some of the numbers New England incurred during its perfect 2007 regular season.
