NFL Football Betting Preview
New England Patriots (6-2) at Indianapolis Colts (8-0)
Sunday November 15th, 8:00PM Eastern

Betus.com betting line – Colts -2.5, 49.5 O/U

Time to rekindle the flame that is one of the biggest rivalries in the NFL when two of the most successful teams of the past decade collide when the New England Patriots take on the Indianapolis Colts inside Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday night. The Colts will put their undefeated 8-0 mark on the line against the Patriots who have dominated the AFC over the past decade. However, the Colts have won 4 of the last 5 games over the Patriots and look to keep the momentum alive.

New England got off to a slow start as QB Tom Brady battled back from his season long absence in 2008, but the offense has caught wind in recent weeks scoring 121 points over the last 3 games. Still, the Patriots will have to overcome a mighty tough defense along with QB Peyton Manning who will be calling the shots behind center. There have been no other quarterbacks in the NFL with more success than Manning and Brady in recent years, but the question is who will have the last laugh? Well that question may not even be answered this week as these two teams very well could find them selves in each others path in the postseason. However, the Patriots could go 1 up and hand the Colts their first loss of the season this Sunday night.

Patriots QB Tom Brady is completing 66% with 16 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions this year. The passing offense was not nearly as affective as advertise earlier this year, but they have found their rhythm once again. One big key to regaining the power on offense was finding ways to get the ball to WR Wes Welker. WR Randy Moss remains the number 1 wide out, but when Welker is making plays underneath the offense is nearly unstoppable. Welker had just 141 yards after week 4 with the help of missing a few games, but recently has posted 4 solid straight weeks of football catching at least 8 passes in each game and averaging over 100 yards receiving as well.

As a result the offense has been much more dangerous. Moss has also recorded 100 yards receiving or more in 2 of the last 3 games and with the help of Brady the offense looks very confident going into their match-up with the Colts. The biggest challenge will be the Colts defense who ranks 1st in the NFL allowing just 13.5 points per game. The Patriots will probably be able to put up more than two scores that the Colts are allowing, but the question is how much and will it be enough?

The Colts defense is allowing 195 yards per game this season in contribute to their number 1 ranked scoring defense. That same defense has also been the cause of 15 takeaways this season which would be critical game changers in this slugfest. The pressure will definitely be on the Colts secondary to stay in the passing lanes and stay in Brady’s face all night. DE Dwight Freeney ranks 3rd in the NFL with 9.5 sacks on the season and it is important he makes his presence felt early in the match-up.

As good as the Colts defense has played; the offense has complimented averaging 27 points per game. Despite not having much of a running game similar to the Patriots, Manning leads the NFL averaging 315 yards per game. In fact, Manning is putting up stunning numbers and has only thrown under 300 yards in just 1 of the 8 games this season. If Manning can just put up 300 yards or more in half of the remaining 8 games he would break the NFL record for most 300 yard performances in a single season. A guy that has helped those numbers is wide receivers Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Both guys have 60 catches on the year and over 700 yards while combining for 9 touchdowns. Clark seems to be the crucial play target while Wayne tends to make the big plays. All will be needed this weekend if the Colts are to stay unbeaten and it is imperative that Manning have another strong performance.

Pick – Under 49.5