NFL betting continues its 11th week of action on Sunday afternoon, and sports betting fans will get their chance to sink their teeth into all of the action when the Houston Texans (3-6, 2-7 ATS) look for a way to stop their slump against the surging Indianapolis Colts (5-4, 4-5 ATS). Earlier this season, the Colts stormed back from 17 points behind with just over 4:00 remaining to shock the Texans 31-27 at Reliant Stadium back in Week 5. The Texans have still only beaten the Colts once in their franchises brief history.
Before QB Matt Schaub tore his MCL two weeks ago, the last that Texans bettors saw of Sage Rosenfels was against these same Colts. For the first three and a half quarters of the game, he was brilliant. But in the final six minutes or so, the backup QB got sacked and fumbled, tried flying over a pile of Colts and fumbled, then threw the game-icing interception. He finished the day completing 21-of-33 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown, but also had those three turnovers that did the Texans in.
Last week against the Ravens, he had another miserable start, going 23-of-38 for 294 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw four interceptions in Houston’s 41-13 home defeat. The loss was especially embarrassing for Houston sports betting backers of the Texans, who were laying 2.5-points against the #1 defense in the league with a backup quarterback starting.
Don’t look now, but here come the Colts! After knocking off the Pats 18-15 two weeks ago, Indianapolis marched into Heinz Field and came out 24-20 winners over the Steelers. QB Peyton Manning had a horrifying start to the game, but finished the day with respectable numbers: 21/40 for 240 yards and three scores.
The defense was all over Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger, recording two sacks and three interceptions. The much-maligned Indy rush defense only surrendered 55 yards on 26 carries to the black and gold, a far cry from their 133.9 rushing yards per game allowed to date. It’s still odd to see the Colts ranked 23rd in total offense with just 310.8 yards per game, but if they play more games like they did in Pittsburgh over the weekend, Colts bettors will be very happy from here on out.
Oddsmakers installed the Colts as 8-point favorites, but football bettors have pushed that line up as high as 10 at some books. The ‘total’ has been set at a lofty 50.5, and with good reason. Each of the L/7 meetings between these teams has gone ‘over’ the ‘total’; the average game has reached 55.6 points. The Texans are also 8-1 towards the ‘over’ this year and 8-1 in their L/9 against the AFC. Four of the L/6 Indy games have eclipsed the ‘total’, and the offense has averaged 23.2 points per game in its L/5 overall.
Can the Texans find a way to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, or will the Colts continue their run towards a Wild Card spot in the AFC? Get your football bets down for this AFC South tussle with BetUS Sportsbook and find out on Sunday!