Week 16 Thursday Night NFL Prediction: Houston vs Indianapolis
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
by BetOnline Sportsbook
The Indianapolis Colts overcame the football betting odds and notched their first win of the campaign, but now they’ll have to turn around and host a Houston team that was thoroughly dominated in their last game, and has never won in Indianapolis. Look for the Houston Texans to end that on Thursday night.
Game: Houston Texans vs Indianapolis Colts
What: NFL Football Betting
When: Thursday, December 22nd, 8:20 PM ET
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Pick: Houston Texans -6
Why Bet On Houston Texans (10-4 SU, 8-5 ATS)
The Texans had a seven-game winning streak snapped with a 28-13 loss at home to Carolina, falling down 21-0 at halftime, and it wasn’t a solid performance in any aspect of the game. T.J. Yates was 19-of-30 for 212 yards and a pair of picks (Houston had three turnovers in total) as the Texans scored on one of their four trips to the red zone. Arian Foster was the lone bright spot on the Houston offense as he ran for 109 yards and a score, but overall the Texans failed to move the chains on seven of nine third-down opportunities. The defense was missing coordinator Wade Phillips, who had kidney and gall bladder surgery, and they were a little flat, especially out of the gate. Carolina ran for 166 yards and scored on all three trips to the red zone, and it was the first time all season that the Texans couldn’t force a turnover.
Of course, the major injury worry for the Texans (and a huge key to their NFL betting odds in the playoffs) is receiver Andre Johnson (hamstring), who will probably sit out this week as well in an attempt to get as close to 100% for the postseason. Yates will be under center for the rest of the season and having Johnson on the field would make life easier for him. The Texans looked like a team that had clinched a playoff spot against the Panthers as they played with little passion, but they should be able to find that against a division rival, even if it’s the lowly Colts.
Why Bet On Indianapolis Colts (1-13 SU, 5-9 ATS)
The Colts finally won their first game of the season as they topped Tennessee 27-13 at home, and there were two keys: the running of Donald Brown (161 yards on 16 carries, a touchdown) and an opportunistic defense (three turnovers forced, one returned for a touchdown). Dan Orlovsky was 11-of-17 for 82 yards and a score as he earned a win for the first time in 10 career starts and he also had the block that helped Brown to an 80-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the deal. The Colts had just 10 first downs to 21 for the Titans, but they barely made any mistakes (one turnover) and made a few big plays for the first time all season. The defense was especially strong as they weren’t pushed around at the point of attack as they have been for much of the year, holding the Titans to 66 yards on the ground. The Colts were motivated by a division rival, a Tennessee team coming into their place to try and take a step towards the playoffs; Indianapolis played like a team looking to show their pride and finally, they got a couple of breaks on Sunday.
It was confirmed that Peyton Manning (neck) won’t play for the rest of the year, which is for the best, although the Colts now have to decide on Manning, drafting Stanford’s Andrew Luck with the No.1 pick or holding onto both next year. The Colts needed to get that win out of the way to avoid an 0-16 season and this is their final home game, so they’ll want to give their fans something to cheer about. Whether or not they can pull it off is a different story.
How It Will Play Out
Houston is a 6.5-point NFL betting favorite on the road in Indianapolis, where they are 0-9 SU and 4-5 ATS in their history, with six of nine going over the posted total (although the past two have gone under). If the Texans are going to get their first win in Indianapolis, now looks like the time to do it.
Things will go back to normal this week as the Texans will dominate up front on both sides of the ball and the ground game will allow Houston to control the clock, avoid turnovers and smother the Colts, whose defense won’t be able to hold up like they did against Tennessee. Offensively, Indy will need another big game from Brown, but there isn’t much in the past to show that he’ll do it again. Take Houston to cover the football betting spread on Thursday night.
Bet Online Sportsbook Texans vs Colts Betting Pick: Texans
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Tags
andre johnson - andrew luck - arian foster - dan orlovsky - donald brown - houston texans - indianapolis colts - lucas oil stadium - peyton manning - t.j. yates
