Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts Spread

The Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts will be looking to bounce back from disappointing Week 1 performances when they meet Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Browns fell behind 13-0 at home against the Cincinnati Bengals last week and eventually suffered a 27-17 defeat. They had no answer for running back Cedric Benson, who rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Without Peyton Manning back in the shotgun, the Colts were crushed 34-7 at division rival Houston. Run defense was also an issue for Indy as it allowed 167 net rushing yards, and the NFL’s reigning rushing leader (Arian Foster) didn’t even play.

Odds makers aren’t sold on the Manning-less Colts. Indy is currently listed as a 2.5-point underdog with the total set at 39.5.

With Manning at the controls, the Colts ranked fourth in the NFL last year with 380.8 yards per game. With Kerry Collins running the show last week, the Colts only managed 236 yards of offense.

Collins completed just 51.6 percent of his passes for 197 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He was sacked three times and lost two fumbles.  There’s no doubt Indy will need a better performance from Collins to win this week.

While the Indy offense has been pass-heavy under the direction of Manning, don’t be surprised if Joseph Addai gets a few more totes Sunday. He rushed for 39 yards on 4.9 yards per carry last week, and could have some success against a Cleveland stop unit that had trouble slowing down Cincinnati’s running game.

Don’t be surprised if the Browns look to grind this one out as well. Second-year quarterback Colt McCoy really struggled in the opener, completing only 47.5 percent of his passes for 213 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked twice.

With as poor as Indy defended the run last week, Peyton Hillis could be poised for a big day. We was held to 57 yards on 3.4 yards per carry against Cincinnati.

This series has been all Indy in recent years. The Colts have won seven of the last eight meetings with the most recent being a 10-6 victory at Cleveland on Nov. 30, 2008.

While the Colts have been dominant on the money line, they are only 4-3-1 against the spread in these eight matchups.

You don’t find the Colts catching points at home often, but it has been wise to back them when you do. Indy is 5-1 against the spread in its last six games as a home underdog. It is also 13-2-1 against the number in its last 16 games as a small dog of three points or less.

There is an opposing trend in favor of the Browns. Consider that Cleveland is 5-1 against the spread in its last six contests as a road favorite of three or fewer points.

In regard to the total, the under deserves some consideration. The under is 4-1 in the Brown’s last five games as a favorite of 3.0 points or less and 5-0 in the Colts’ last five games as an underdog of 3.0 or fewer points.

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