A couple of the big boys of the AFC highlight this weekend in NFL betting action when the 8-0 Indianapolis Colts (5-3 ATS) and 6-2 New England Patriots (4-4 ATS) go at it Sunday night at the Oil Can (8:20 pm Eastern, NBC).
As of Thursday evening BetJamaica.com was listing Indy at -3/+110 over New England, with the Patriots getting the field goal at -130. And the total sits at 49.5.
The Colts are also being offered at -140 on the BetJam NFL betting moneyline, with the Pats getting +120 as underdogs for the first time since they visited Indianapolis in Week 9 of last season.
New England's two losses this year came by seven points at the Jets in Week 2, and by a field goal in overtime in Denver in Week 5. The Patriots have won three straight games since, including a 27-17 decision over the Miami Dolphins last Sunday in Foxboro.
New England leads the AFC East by two games over the second-place New York Jets. But the Patriots are also battling the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos, among others, for seedings in the upcoming AFC playoffs.
Indianapolis, meanwhile, has navigated itself through the first half of this season unscathed. Last week, the Colts blew a 13-0 lead over visiting Houston, took it back on a short Joseph Addai run with seven minutes to go, then looked on as Texans kicker Kris Brown missed a very makeable FG attempt that would have tied the game at the buzzer. So going into this weekend's action Indy leads the AFC South by 3.5 games over second-place Houston, and holds a two-game advantage over their closest pursuers in the race for the best record in the AFC.
Despite no longer playing in the same division, these two perennial contenders have met nine times in the last seven seasons – three times in the playoffs. The Patriots beat the Colts four games in a row from 2003 through the '04-05 playoffs, but Indy has come out on top in four of the last five meetings. Last year, as the Pats played without QB Tom Brady, the Colts won in Indy 18-15 despite getting outrushed 140-47 and holding the ball for only 25 minutes. New England covered as six-point road dogs.
The Pats and Colts have played two common opponents so far this season. Indy beat Tennessee 31-9 as three-point road favorites in Week 5, while New England destroyed the Titans the following Sunday 59-0 as 9.5-point home chalk. And while the Colts beat Miami 27-23 giving three points on the road in Week 2, the Patriots defeated the Dolphins by 10 last week giving 10.5 points on the BetJamaica.com NFL betting line.
On the injury front, Indy is a bit banged up. They just lost S Bob Sanders for the season to a biceps tear, and K Adam Vinatieri and WR Anthony Gonzalez were already out of action. The status of WRs Austin Collie and Pierre Garçon and RB Donald Brown (shoulder) – youngsters who have been contributing – for Sunday is uncertain.
Going back to 2006, New England is 4-2 straight up and 5-1 vs. the pointspreads as underdogs.
The totals are 3-5 this season in both Patriots games, which have averaged 42.5 points, and Colts games, which have averaged just under 41 points.
Bettors will want to check out the NFL futures market at BetJamaica.com, where the Colts are listed as +185 favorites to win the AFC championship this season, followed by the Patriots getting +225. And on BetJam's updated Super Bowl 44 betting board, Indy is listed at +400, behind only the New Orleans Saints at +250, with New England getting +500.