Indianapolis Colts at Green Bay Packers Odds
Green Bay ended its three-game slide with a much-needed win at Seattle last week, but oddsmakers feel that it will be one and done for the Packers as they have visiting Indianapolis edging them out this week. Odds makers have listed the Colts as 1.5-point favorites with the total set at 47.
Peyton Manning looked better than he has all season and led his team to a commanding win last week. This past week it was released that Manning underwent two knee surgeries this offseason. He wasn’t able to take the field until late August and as a result the Colts got off to a slow start. As Manning has gotten healthier, Indy has rebounded and is now sitting at 3-2 on the season
An early season bye week bought the Colts more time for Manning to get healthy, but it took a 21-point comeback in the final four minutes against the then-winless Texans for the Colts to come away victorious.
Last week it all seemed to come together as they looked like the team that has won the last 5 AFC South titles. Manning completed 19 of 28 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns without an interception against the league’s top-rated defense in a 31-3 mauling of Baltimore. Manning’s QB rating of 134.7 was by far his best of the season and it earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
These teams only play each other once every four seasons, and with the next meeting likely taking place in Indianapolis, Manning could be making his second and final start at legendary Lambeau. He made his first start there back in 2000 and threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in a 26-24 loss.
Manning faced the Packers again in 2004 and got his revenge, passing for 393 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-31 win. That win evened the all-time series at 20-20-1 so I guess you could say this game is the rubber match.
Manning and company will have their work cut out for themselves Sunday as the Packers defense is holding opposing QB’s to a rating of just 62.3, which is third-lowest in the league. Cornerback Charles Woodson has been a big part of the success. He leads the NFC with four picks and Green Bay’s pass defense ranks seventh in the league at 178.8 yards allowed per game.
Indy will have no choice but to test that pass defense as leading rusher Joseph Addai will miss the game due to a hamstring injury. The Colts were already averaging a league-worst 69.4 yards per game on the ground. It doesn’t get any better either as rookie running back Mike Hart from the University of Michigan is out for the season with an ACL injury. So it looks like Dominic Rhodes, who is averaging 3.3 yards per carry this season, will see the bulk of the action.
The Colts played their best defensive game of the season last week, allowing only 260 yards and holding an opponent under 15 points for the first time all year. The defensive unit also forced five turnovers.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has hardly been able to practice the past two weeks after suffering a sprained shoulder in week 4 in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The injury has not appeared to hinder his performance however, so we expect to see another strong effort from the Green Bay signal caller.
Rodgers threw for 313 yards and three scores in a week 5 loss to Atlanta and then he went 21 of 30 for 208 yards and two touchdowns in an efficient game last week in Seattle.
The first-year starter has been putting up even better numbers than Peyton Manning in the early going. His 98.0 passer rating is good for seventh in the league (Manning ranks 14th) and he has three more touchdown passes and one less interception than Manning.
He has already started a nice on the field relationship with wide receiver Donald Driver. Driver has now caught a pass in 101 straight games. He has 528 career receptions and only needs three more to move into second place on the Packers’ all-time list.
