The Giants travel to Indianapolis to take on the playoff hopeful Colts. The Colts lead the all time series 11-6, and have won 3 straight dating back to 2006.
The Giants were blanked 17-0 by the Titans on Sunday. In week 12, they beat the Bears 30-27, and beat the Redskins 40-16 in week 13.
The Colts are coming off a 23-0 statement against the Cowboys. In week 12, they lost 6-0 to the Jaguars, and beat the Texans 24-21 in week 13.
Bovada has the Colts as 9 point favourites with an O/U of 47.
The Giants are caught in a bit of purgatory between winning and losing, and Eli Manning has played just well enough to cling on to another year as the Giants QB. Manning has thrown for 3689 yards, 18 TDs and 9 INTs while completing 65.9% of his passes and averaging 7.3 YPA. It is unknown whether Odell Beckham will play, but he is very important to their offense as evidenced by his 1052 yards and 6 TDs on 77 catches. Sterling Shepard (56/692/4) and Saquon Barkley (82/654/4) are heavily featured as well. Barkley also gets a heavy work load on the ground, rushing for 1155 yards and 9 TDs on 223 carries
The Giants scoring defense ranks below average, allowing 24.9 PPG. Their pass defense ranks average, allowing 237.4 yards per game and 18 TDs through the air while their pass rush ranks near the bottom of the league with 25 sacks. Their run defense is ranked near the bottom of the league, allowing 128.4 yards per game and 15 TDs on the ground.
The Colts are right in the thick of things in the AFC, and need to keep the ball rolling if they want to sneak into the playoffs. Andrew Luck has been phenomenal this season and should be favored to win Comeback Player of the Year. Luck has thrown for 3951 yards, 34 TDs, and 13 INTs while completing 67.3% of his passes and averaging 7.1 YPA. T.Y. Hilton is by far their most effective receiver, catching 67 balls for 1071 yards and 6 TDs, while Eric Ebron (59/662/12) and Nyheim Hines (56/359/2) are featured as well. Marlon Mack leads the Colts on the ground, who has rushed 158 times for 755 yards and 7 TDs.
The Colts scoring defense ranks 10th, allowing 21.4 PPG. Their pass defense ranks average, allowing 237.9 yards per game and 19 TDs while their pass rush ranks just outside the top 10 with 38 sacks. Their run defense is ranked in the top 10, allowing 103.6 yards per game and 10 TDs on the ground.
Offensively, the Giants are a mess without Odell Beckham. Their offense will almost solely rely on Saquon Barkley breaking big plays, which the Colts have done well to avoid. Barkley is fantastic, but without a vertical #1 threat like Beckham to take the focus of the defense he will be peppered with underneath targets and asked to make water from wine. Their offensive line is also still a work in progress, which is not great against an underrated Colts pass rush. Eli Manning also has the potential to make some turnover worthy throws that the Colts can capitalize.
The Colts offense has bounced back from their 6-0 debacle against Jacksonville the last 2 weeks and looks comfortable playing in any situation. The Giants defense lacks the down in-down out consistency to slow down the Colts offense, which can attack defenses in a variety of ways. The Colts are on a collision course for the playoffs and outside of the shutout against Jacksonville have been playing inspired football. This line may come down a point or 2, and if it does, jump on the Colts.
Final Pick: Colts (-9)
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