NFL Playoff Betting Picks: New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts

Added on Jan 04, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Saturday’s late game features Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts hosting the New York Jets at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts were off somewhat from their recent teams but finished 10-6 to win the AFC South. The Jets’ 11-5 record was only good enough for second place in the AFC East behind the New England Patriots.

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts
January 8, 2011 5:05 PM Pacific

The Colts struggled to get on track for much of the season and suffered though an inordinate number of injuries to key position players, particularly on offense. Despite that, they took care of business and are back in the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season. The Colts are without a couple of Manning’s favorite targets–receiver Austin Collie and tight end Dallas Clark–but they’re finally getting some production from the running game with Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes. And even without his full compliment of weapons, Peyton Manning is as dangerous as ever finishing the season with 4,700 passing yards and 33 TDs. Not bad for what many perceive as a ‘down year’.

While the Colts finished the year on a four game winning streak the Jets were inconsistent down the stretch going 2-3 SU/ATS in their final five games. Clearly the QB matchup is a huge mismatch–Mark Sanchez has the lowest QB rating of any AFC starter and a 17 to 13 TD/INT ratio. Sanchez is also been playing with a sore right shoulder that hasn’t helped things any. The Jets must run the ball to win, but the Colts rushing defense looked good during their stretch run–they held their final 3 opponents to a combined 171 yards rushing for an average of less than 2 yards per carry. That includes last weekend’s game against Tennessee where the Colts held Chris Johnson to 39 yards rushing on 20 carries. The Jets do have a good statistical defense, but they don’t have the sort of pass rush necessary to give Manning trouble. We look for the Colts to win and cover this small number as they eliminate the Jets.

Bet Indianapolis Colts -2′ over New York Jets