Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts NFL Preview and Odds
Broncos Take on Colts in Manning's Return to Indy
By now we have all heard about the controversy surrounding Peyton Manning's return to Indianapolis this week as his Denver Broncos will play the Indianapolis Colts. Colts owner Robert Irsay basically threw Manning under the bus for his less than stellar playoff record.
In fairness though, Manning turned around a moribund Colts franchise and turned it into what it is today, a contender. But really, were Irsay's comments out of bounds? Manning is the opponent this week. Should the owner be kissing his butt the week of the game? And he did not lie. Manning did bring the Colts one Super Bowl Championship but probably should have won at least one more if not two or three.
Even Manning's brother Eli has won two Super Bowls and even he would admit he's not as god as his brother.
But Manning looks as if he is playing perhaps the best football of his career this season with Denver. He may et his second one this year. Perhaps that is what is making Irsay angry. If he does, he'll bring the same number of Super Bowl titles to his new team as he did with his old one. But he should have known that was a possibility when he decided to let Peyton go two years ago to a playoff team.
And was it a bad move? Hardly. The Colts landed Andrew Luck, which looks like a star of the future. Whether Manning wins another Super Bowl or not, he will be long gone while Luck is hitting his prime.
But all of this sure makes the game this week interesting does it not?
Indy is coming off a loss last week to the San Diego Chargers. Looking ahead perhaps? The Broncos beat the Jacksonville
Jaguars by 16 points, but that was 12 under the spread. They led by only two halfway through the third quarter. Sounds as if they were looking ahead as well.
The Colts are not getting a lot of love in this game but they are 4-2 and lead their division, the AFC South. A win and they are only a game behind the Broncos and would have the tie-breaker advantage. Denver did have a close call on the road at Dallas a couple of weeks ago. Do not count the Colts out in this game.
Manning and the Broncos are unbeaten at 6-0 and are still locked in a tie with the 6-0 Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West. They don't need a lot more to motivate them as a loss moves them into an AFC Wild Card team. That's not much margin for error.
Sports Interaction has the Colts at +6.5. I thought the spread might actually be a point of two bigger. With a 6.5 point spread that is huge because a seven point Denver win swings it into Denver wagers winning instead of losing. We are going to take Denver -6.5. Manning is going to be on fire in this one.
Another game we are paying close attention to is the New England Patriots at the New York Jets. The Jets need to beat New England or the Pats will steamroll their way to another AFC East title. The spread is New England -3.5. We like New England to cover this one.
