Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Sunday, December 19, 2010, 1:00 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Colts -5
Current Line: Colts -5
Opening Total: 48.5
Current Total: 48.5
Money Line: Colts -240 / Jaguars +200
The Indianapolis Colts (7-6) face a virtual must-win situation if they want to make the playoffs when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) in a critical AFC South matchup on Sunday. A loss would put the Colts (-5) a full two games behind the Jaguars with two games to play and hand Jacksonville the division title due to a 2-0 sweep in the season series.
Indianapolis ended its three-game skid with a 30-28 win at Tennessee 10 days earlier in a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate. The Colts had jumped out to a 21-0 lead late in the second quarter but allowed the Titans to cover the spread on the very last play of the game, when Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins found the back door with a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bo Scaife as time expired.
Indy quarterback Peyton Manning avoided throwing an interception for the first time in four games, completing 25 of 35 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns. Manning had thrown 11 picks in the previous three games, including four that were returned for touchdowns in the past two. He found wide receiver Pierre Garcon on both scoring passes against the Titans and was once again able to overcome the lack of a running game.
Running backs Javarris James and Donald Brown combined to rush for 87 yards on 32 carries for the Colts with one touchdown. Joseph Addai has missed the last seven games with a shoulder injury and totaled 63 rushing yards on 16 carries with two touchdowns in the first meeting with the Jaguars, resulting in a 31-28 loss when kicker Josh Scobee nailed a 59-yard field goal as time expired. While Addai is a longshot to return in the rematch, wide receiver Austin Collie is hoping to play after missing time with a concussion.
Jacksonville has its sights set on the division title and simply needs to win this game to make that happen. The Jaguars have won five of their last six games behind running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who has rushed for 100 yards or more in every game during that stretch. They are 6-0 against the spread in those games with the total going OVER five times.
Quarterback David Garrard has not played particularly well lately for Jacksonville, but he has played good enough to earn wins. Garrard has thrown for 162 yards or less in the last three games with three touchdowns and two interceptions combined since throwing for 254 yards with two touchdowns and three picks in a 24-20 win over Cleveland in Week 11.
The Jaguars are 4-2 ATS in the last six meetings with Indy despite going 2-4 straight-up in those games. The OVER is 5-1 in the last six games between the teams.
If you are betting this football game between the Colts & Jaguars, be sure to check out the winning NFL picks packages we offer. You can also get free winners on our free NFL picks page.
