Indianapolis Colts vs New York Giants

The New York Giants have been a surprise team this season. They closed last season with a 4-13 record and needed just 6 games this season to top that win total. They have had a considerable amount of good fortune. The Giants have 8 wins, and a tie, and have not won a football game all season vs any opponent by more than 1 possession. The Colts have a big problem on offense where they have failed to score as many as 20 points 10 times already, and 11 of their games have seen both teams score 41 or fewer points 11 times. The Giants find it hard to score as well as they have not topped the 27-point mark all season through 15 games. I just don't see a lot of room for these teams to break the 40-point mark in this one, and I will make the play on the UNDER.

The the Indianapolis Colts are one five teams in the NFL that are 7-1 over the last eight weeks. Despite the run, the Colts are on the outside looking in regarding the playoff picture. Like a lot of teams at this stage of the season, the Colts are pretty banged up with 20 players on the injury report. The Giants are just 5-9 in the season, but that is misleading as they are 4-2 over their last six games and playing very well. Each of these teams have also been shutout in December. The Giants shutout came last week but had been averaging 31.4 ppg in their previous five games. The Giants are playing well and are in the spoiler's role, so grab the points and play on New York.

This is a complete mismatch on both sides of the ball. The public is on the Colts again here this week but sometimes the public gets things right. The Giants had a three week stretch vs Atlanta, Houston and Washington in which they scored 105 points. But, all of their other games have seen them score a total of 49 points (just 12.5 per game). Indianapolis is off their worst game in recent memory, torched by Big Ben for 522 yards, and oddly enough despite his heroics this was a game in the 4th quarter with Indy down just 8 points. This came on the heels of the Colts allowing less than 200 passing yards in four straight games. I liked Pitt last week and made them a big pick. It was a situational play. In the end, I`m not putting too much on the fact that the Colts defense got shredded. It happened but it won’t continue. The fact is Andrew Luck has thrown for over 300 yards in six straight games, so even if the defense has another bad game, Indy will be there because the Giants defense is awful. The Colts are 13-3 ATS the past 2.5 seasons vs. losing teams and 12-3 ATS during that span vs. teams that allow 24+ points per game. New York won two of their games thanks to nine opponent turnovers. So, unless Indy implodes and gives the ball away numerous times, this game will not be competitive. Make the play on Indianapolis.

This is a tough spot for the Giants, playing their third preseason game with two away from home. The offense had 312 total yards, two turnovers and was 5-14 on third down last week. It's a new offense under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, a West Coast-style that hasn't got going yet. They are desperate to improve last year's #28 ranked attack. An offense built around the wide receivers’ ability to make plays after the catch has one fatal flaw - not giving the receivers an opportunity to make a catch. Through two preseason games, the top two receivers – Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle - have no receptions or targets through seven offensive series. After Eli Manning, it's not an impressive QB rotation with Ryan Nassib and Curtis Painter. Indianapolis comes home after showing nothing last week in a 13-10 loss at the NY Jets, so there is plenty to improve upon in front of the home fans. The QB rotation is very deep and strong with Andrew Luck, veteran Matt Hasselbeck and mobile Chandler Harnish. NY Giants coach Tom Coughlin is 2-8 straight-up in their third preseason game, so grab the home team and play the Colts.