New York Giants at Indianapolis Colts Odds
The New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts are all set to do battle on NBC’s Sunday Night Football in one of the most anticipated games of Week 2. The Manning brothers will be going head-to-head for the second time in their NFL careers. Peyton helped Indy post a five-point win in the first meeting, and NFL odds makers expect history to repeat itself, listing the Colts as a 5-point favorite.
The Colts were stunned with a 10-point loss at Houston in Week 1. Now, Peyton Manning will try to help them avoid their first 0-2 start since his 1998 rookie season.
Manning had a big day through the air Sunday, throwing for 433 yards and three touchdowns. However, the offensive line struggled. Manning was sacked twice and hit often in Sunday’s loss. In defense of the boys up front, it’s a lot easier to rush the quarterback when the opponent knows it’s going to be a pass. The Colts only ran the ball 10 times for 44 yards. They’ll benefit from mixing in a few more runs this week to keep New York honest.
The offense has to be the least of Indy’s concerns with as bad as the defense looked last week. It allowed the Texans to rush for a franchise-record 257 yards.
Led by Ahmad Bradshaw’s 76 yards, the Giants ran for a respectable 118 yards against the Panthers. Running the football more effectively is one of New York’s main focuses this season, and you can bet the Giants will be looking to test Indy’s run defense Sunday.
The Indy defense was dealt a major blow when safety Bob Sanders tore his biceps muscle. The former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who is out indefinitely, has only played eight games the last two seasons.
The Colts will be happy to return home, where they are 13-1 since October 2008. That lone loss came last season when they called off the dogs against the Jets in a game of no consequence.
Eli Manning turned in a quality performance in Sunday’s 31-18 victory over the Panthers. He completed 20 of 30 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw three interceptions, but it must be noted that all three of those passes were tipped by his receivers.
In all, the Giants committed four turnovers and were penalized nine times for 95 yards. They also struggled mightily on special teams. Rookie punter Matt Dodge tallied a 16.0-yard net average on three punts and had one blocked for a safety. The New York coverage units were atrocious. The Giants will have to clean it up if they hope to get past the reigning AFC Champs.
New York was bailed out by its defense last week. The Giants recorded four sacks and knocked Carolina quarterback Matt Moore out of the game. Before that, they picked him off three times in the end zone.
So far it looks like the pass rush that helped New York win the Super Bowl in the 2007 season has returned. The boys up front will certainly have to rattle Peyton Manning’s cage in order to pull off the upset.
New York Giants backers know that their team is an impressive 23-8 against the number in its last 31 road games.
Jimmy Boyd closed out Week 1 with a bang, delivering a 5* Best Bet winner on the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football to improve to 23-12 his last 35 NFL 5* Top Plays (profiting $1,000/game bettors $9,310). Don’t miss a single 5* Top Play in Week 2!
