Indianapolis Colts vs. Oakland Raiders NFL Free Pick for Week 16

The Colts really can’t be bounced from the second season, as there will be hope of a win parlayed with a loss by the Jacksonville Jaguars at some point. However, QB Peyton Manning knows that the real road to the playoffs that is completely safe at this point is to just win the final two games of the regular season. Manning just feels like he has been off for most of this season in spite of the fact that he leads the league with 4,257 yards and 28 TDs. Those 15 picks are real eye sores, and he can’t be handing the ball over to a stingy Oakland defense if there is any hopes of getting out of Oakland Alameda County Coliseum alive. Once again, another member of the starting lineup was put on IR this week, as WR Austin Collie, following his third concussion of the season, is done for the season. Now, from the start of the year, the only man of his three wide receivers and his tight end that aren’t on IR is WR Reggie Wayne, who is putting up Pro Bowl type numbers once again this year. However, RB Joseph Addai is finally set to come back to the lineup after a two month absence from the lineup.

Oakland might be finished before this one kicks off on Sunday. It knows that a win by the Kansas City Chiefs at 1:00 ends any hopes of getting to the second season, but you can bet that these guys are going to try to finish out the year strong to build for 2011 one way or the other. QB Jason Campbell is in his element right now, and he has already pulled off some great escapes this year. The former Auburn Tiger has thrown for 2,001 yards and 11 TDs in spite of the fact that he has been benched twice after starting the year under center. The combination of RB Darren McFadden and RB Michael Bush might be in for a huge day this week. The Colts are dreadful at trying to stop the run (in spite of the fact that they had a great game last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars), and this duo is pacing the league’s second ranked rushing attack. “Run DMC” has 1,112 yards and seven scores on the campaign, while Bush has 499 yards and has also visited the end zone seven times.

Indy just keeps finding new lives this year, but another life might be taken from them in the Black Hole. The Raiders are a rock solid 5-2 this year on their home turf, and they historically play postseason teams very, very hard here. Manning might throw for 350+ yards and set up a potential challenge for the 5,000 yard barrier next week, but it won’t be enough to win this game.