Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
Thursday, 12/22/11, 8:20 PM EST, TV: NFL
Opening Point Spread: Houston -7.5
Current Betting Line: Houston -5.5
Opening Total: 40.5
Current Total: 40
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
The Indianapolis Colts are coming off their first victory of the season and do not have to worry about matching the Detroit Lions as the only winless teams in NFL history. What the Colts (1-13) might have to worry about is losing out on their position for the top overall pick in the 2012 draft if they find a way to win another game or two, including a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Houston Texans (10-4).
Indianapolis has been a virtual lock to win the Andrew Luck sweepstakes for most of the season until the team crushed Tennessee 27-13 at home last Sunday. The Colts were 6.5-point home underdogs and have covered the spread in three straight games after failing to beat the line in their previous seven.
The Texans (-5.5, O/U 40) saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end with a 28-13 home loss to Carolina last week, but they have already clinched the AFC South. Indy had won the division in seven of the previous eight years but lost the season opener at Houston 34-7 without star quarterback Peyton Manning, who has missed the entire season following neck surgery.
It has been widely speculated that the Colts were targeting Luck, the Stanford All-American, to replace Manning next season. However, another win on Thursday could put them at risk of missing out on Luck because the Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams are both 2-12. The Vikings and Rams have both drafted QBs in the first round of the draft over the past two years, but the value of the top overall pick could still be intriguing to each of them.
Indianapolis is down to its third signal caller behind Manning in Dan Orlovsky, who has played better than Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter before him. Orlovsky has completed 64 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and two interceptions in six games.
While he will never be mistaken for Manning, Orlovsky has protected the ball better than Collins and Painter, who turned the ball over a combined 16 times. Orlovsky threw for just 82 yards and one touchdown against the Titans last week, but he didn’t need to do much more with second-year running back Donald Brown totaling 161 rushing yards on 16 carries, including an 80-yard score.
Houston knows what it’s like to go through quarterbacks with starter Matt Schaub (foot) and backup Matt Leinart (collarbone) going down with season-ending injuries, putting the offense in the hands of rookie T.J. Yates. The Texans have never won in Indy and hope Yates can play well enough to keep them in the running for one of the top playoff seeds in the AFC.
The Colts are 9-0 all-time at home against Houston, but the Texans have covered the spread in two of the past three meetings at Lucas Oil Stadium, the site of this year’s Super Bowl. The UNDER has cashed in the last two games between the team after going OVER in seven of the previous eight meetings.
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