Game time is January 16th at 8:15pm ET.
The Baltimore Ravens are carrying a lot of momentum. Do they have enough to upset the Indianapolis Colts?
Not only did Baltimore finally beat New England over the weekend, but they won their backers some serious cash as they came in as a 3.5 point underdog.
The Ravens are an underdog again this Saturday when they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts. Could the Ravens possibly upset another pre-season Super Bowl favorite?
Before getting into that, lets check out the NFL playoff odds for this game.
Baltimore Ravens +6 ½ -110 +220 O 44 -110
Indianapolis Colts -6 ½ -110 -260 U 44 -110
Now, lets check out a few online football betting trends for this game.
The Baltimore Ravens are 10 and 2 ATS in their last 12 games after rushing for 150 yards or more in their previous game.
The Baltimore Ravens are 3-1-1 against the spread in their last 5 games overall.
The Baltimore Ravens are 4 and 12 against the spread in their last 16 games as an underdog on the road between 3 ½ to 10 points.
The Indianapolis Colts are 5-1-1 against the spread in their last 7 games as the favorite.
The Indianapolis Colts are 3-0-1 ATS versus a team with a winning record.
Finally, lets see how the offenses and defenses matchup.
Ravens Offense vs. Colts Defense
The Baltimore Ravens offense is an underrated unit that can put up points with the best of them. The Ravens average over 24 points per game and when it comes to balance, there might not be a better team in the NFL.
Baltimore Ravens @ Indianapolis Colts -6.5 >> BetUS
Baltimore averages over 213 yards per game through the air and 138 yards per game on the ground. In their game against the Colts during the regular season, the Ravens racked up over 350 total yards.
The key for Baltimore in this game is to get running backs Willis McGahee and the awesome Ray Rice off first. If McGahee and Rice can keep the Colts defense honest than QB Joe Flacco can throw the ball. Flacco threw for over 3600 yards during the regular season.
The Colts D employs a bend but dont break style. Often times, Indianapolis prefers to sit in their Cover 2 and dare teams to beat them with the pass. The Colts will rush the quarterback, but they are judicious about how and when they blitz.
Somehow, the unit has been effective even though it gives up 339 yards per game on average and 19 points per game on average. The Colts also allow over 125 yards per game on the ground. If they let Rice or McGahee or a combination of both get 125 yards this weekend, then the Colts D could be in some trouble.
Ravens Defense vs. Colts Offense
The Baltimore Ravens defense is ranked 3rd in the NFL. In their regular season game against the Indianapolis Colts, the Ravens D held Peyton Manning to 299 yards passing, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions.
Baltimores D is effective at stopping both the pass and the run. The Ravens defense allows only 93 yards per game on the ground, thats 5th in the NFL, and 207 yards through the air, thats 8th in the NFL.
Of course, Baltimore rarely faces Peyton Manning. The reason the Colts are so good is because of Manning. The league MVP is the best in the NFL at managing a game. He audibles better than any quarterback in the league and the Ravens D shouldnt think that just because they caused Manning to throw 2 interceptions the last time they faced him that he will commit those errors again.
Peyton is a master at adjusting to defenses. He will go over and over and over the footage from the first game between these two teams and the Ravens terrific defensive effort against Tom Brady looking for weaknesses in the Ravens D.
Peyton will be ready, but without a solid running game will it be enough? The Colts are ranked dead last in rushing. They average only 80 yards per game on the ground. That could really hurt them against the Ravens.
The Best NFL Bet Is
On the Baltimore Ravens at +6 ½. The Ravens offense is clicking and the Colts D won’t shut down Ray Rice.
Rice will have a big game in this one. In fact, he should have enough of a big game to put the Ravens into position to win this outright. Why then will I not be betting on the NFL moneyline?
Peyton Manning. Overall, the Ravens are the better team but the Colts have Peyton Manning. The best quarterback to ever play in the NFL could very well will his team to a victory on Saturday. Hey, thats okay, as long as he doesnt will them to win by more than 6 points, I will be happy.
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Leigh is, without a doubt, the most over worked writer here at Crunch Sports. A statistician at heart, she can reel off Superbowl plays from decades ago. If we need a deep-dive into the numbers in any sport, we call Leigh first.