Indianapolis Colts at Baltimore Ravens - NFL Playoff Preview and Odds
The former residents of the city of Baltimore, the Indianapolis Colts, will visit their former city to face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Playoffs on Sunday. These teams are polar opposites of each other coming into the game.
The Colts are hot. They've won nine of eleven games and far exceeded expectations this season. They have a rookie quarterback who is playing like a seasoned pro in Andrew Luck. Luck has thrown for over 4300 yards and 23 touchdown passes. But he does have 18 interceptions as well. Luck has repeatedly brought the Colts back late in games to win, which is normally a skill that takes years to learn. But in late game situations, this kid is cool as the other side of the pillow.
He has veteran Reggie Wayne to throw it to along with rookie speedster T.Y. Hilton. Both of them had over 800 yards receiving this season.
The Colts are a team that has seen adversity this year and excelled. Head Coach Chuck Pagano has missed most of the year with leukemia. But while he has been going through chemotherapy, his team has kept surprising the football world. Now he is back to coach them in the playoffs.
This season could have backfired on the Colts. They let a Hall of Famer in Peyton Manning go along with most of his teammates to start over. Manning went on to Denver and has the Broncos looking like a strong Super Bowl contender. But with the emergence of Luck and his young team, nobody in Indy is complaining.
The Ravens are likely a team making one last run before they have to rebuild. Legendary linebacker Ray Lewis has announced his retirement at the end of the season. Pretty soon Ed Reed will have to do the same.
They come into the game having lost three of the last four games. They are led by a veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, who has been in the playoffs before. Last season they were about as close to the Super Bowl as a team can be without making it.
Colts at Ravens Odds
Perhaps this is why odds makers have installed the Ravens as the favorites to win this game, even though the numbers say the Colts should be favored.
Bodog has the Colts +7 20/23 or 49/20. The Ravens are -7 20/21 or 20/61. Over/under is 47.
Our Pick
Betting on the Colts is awfully tempting here. After all, they have a better record (11-5 to 10-6 for the Ravens) and have been playing better football coming into the game. But experience in the playoffs is so important that it is hard to ignore in this case. Plus, you have a team that plays indoors going to play in the freezing cold this week as well. We are going to go with the Ravens at 20/61. We are not sure they can cover the spread, but we like them to win. We will also take the under.
