Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Sunday, November 21, 2010, 4:15 pm EST, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Patriots -3
Current Line: Patriots -4
Opening Total: 51
Current Total: 50
Money Line: Patriots -210 / Colts +175
Arguably the best recent rivalry in the NFL will add another chapter on Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts (6-3) visit the New England Patriots (7-2) in Foxborough. The Colts and Patriots (-4) will be meeting for the 11th time in the last eight years – including the playoffs – and seven of the past 10 games between them have been decided by seven points or less.
Indianapolis has won five of the last six meetings, going 4-1-1 against the spread. This is the sixth straight year the teams will be meeting in November during the regular season, and they have also squared off three times in the playoffs over the last decade with New England winning twice. The winner of the each of their playoff matchups during that stretch all went on to win the Super Bowl, and they are the two winningest teams in the NFL over that period.
The Colts won last year’s meeting at home 35-34 despite trailing by 13 points with 2:30 left. That game featured New England head coach Bill Belichick’s controversial decision to go for a first down on 4th and 2 on the team’s own 28-yard line. The conversion attempt failed and allowed Indy to score quickly enough to get another touchdown after that and earn the victory.
The Patriots are coming off an especially impressive performance at Pittsburgh last Sunday night in which quarterback Tom Brady threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in a 39-26 victory that was not as close as the final margin would indicate. Brady has gotten the best of Indianapolis counterpart Peyton Manning with a 7-4 mark in the series and will be looking to tie Brett Favre’s NFL record for consecutive home wins with 25.
Manning led his team to a 23-17 home win against Cincinnati last week, and he has been dealing with a depleted receiving corps and backfield. Injuries to tight end Dallas Clark, wide receivers Austin Collie and Anthony Gonzalez and running backs Joseph Addai and Mike Hart have tested Manning, but he has responded by throwing 16 touchdown passes with just four interceptions this season. Manning has only one touchdown pass in his last two games combined though.
The Colts are an impressive 9-1-2 ATS in their last 12 games against teams with a winning record, and the underdog is 11-3-2 ATS in the last 16 meetings. With two of the top quarterbacks of all-time taking the field against each other yet again, a high-scoring game also seems like a strong possibility. The OVER is 7-1 in Indy’s last eight road games and 9-2 in New England’s last 11 overall.
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