The Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are part of a three-way tie atop the AFC South. Today both teams are hoping to go one up on the other when they battle it out at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Texans come in having lost their last three games in a row, while the Colts have won three of their last four games. This divisional contest has a start time of 1:00 pm EST.
Vegas odds have the Colts listed as 6.5 point favorites, while the total has been set at 47.5. This contest will be televised on CBS with a start time of 1:00 pm EST.
Breaking Down The Houston Texans
The Houston Texans had a nice little lead in their division, but they have now lost their last three games in a row to fall into a three-way tie atop the AFC South standings. The problem for the Texans all year has been on the offensive side of the ball. They paid big bucks to lure brock Osweiler away from the Broncos and it’s safe to say that he has been a complete bust. He has thrown 14 TDs this year, but has also thrown 13 picks and his QBR of 72.2 is 31st in the league. He has not been worth all the money they paid to get him. The offense for the Texans comes in ranked 28th in total yards, 30th in passing, 5th in rushing and 28th in scoring, putting up just 17.2 ppg. The ground game has been solid and that has been thanks to the addition of Lamar Miller, but he can’t do it alone. The Texans do have a solid defense that come sin ranked 5th in total yards allowed, 5th vs the pass, 19th vs the run and 13th in points allowed, giving up 21.4 ppg. Defense can win games for teams, but they also have to be able to score and if that offense doesn’t figure things out soon then the Texans will not be a part of the postseason party.
Trends: The Texans have gone 7-0-1 ATS in their last 8 vs. AFC South and 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 games after scoring less than 15 points in their previous game, but just 3-11-1 ATS in their last 15 games on fieldturf and 1-5 ATS their last 6 road games. The Over is 4-1 in their last 5 vs. AFC South, while the Under is 9-3 in their last 12 games in December.
Breaking Down The Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are happy to be playing in a week division as it has allowed them to get right back in the hunt for the AFC South title. The Colts were sitting at 3-5 on the year, but they have now won three of their last five games and come in off a strong 41-10 road win over the Jets. That was on the heels of losing 28-7 at home to the Steelers, but the Colts were without Andrew Luck for that game. Well he came back with a vengeance in the win over the Jets by throwing four 278 yards with four TDs and no INTs. They clearly need him on the field, especially in a game like this one where they are facing a very good defense. Luck has thrown 23 TDs and just 8 INTs, while posting a QBR of 98.3, which is 10th in the league. He leads an offense that comes in ranked 14th in total yards, 11th in passing, 25th in rushing and 7th in scoring, putting up 25.9 ppg. The defense is where they have really struggled this year as they come in ranked 29th in total yards allowed, 28th vs the pass 20th vs the run and 25th in points allowed, giving up 25.9 ppg. The good thing here is that they will not be facing a good offense.
Trends: The Colts have gone 19-6-2 ATS in their last 27 vs. the AFC South and 28-13-1 ATS in their last 42 home games, but just 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win and 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games after accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game. The Over is 6-0 in their last 6 games when playing on Sunday following a Monday night game, while the Under is 13-4 in their last 17 games in December.
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