The Raiders find themselves three point underdogs at home this week against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are coming in off of an impressive and needed victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars. They cannot afford to lose to the Raiders this week.
On the season, the Colts are 3-4 on the road against the spread. The Raiders are 4-3 at home against the spread. There are lots of intriguing matchups in this contest. Most notably, the Colts will bring in the 32nd ranked rushing yards allowed per carry and the Raiders have the second highest yards per rush average.
I would advise taking the Raiders and the 3 points in this one…except for one thing: The Raiders may be taking the field having just been knocked out of playoff contention by the Chiefs. It is hard to gage what this would do to the team’s intensity and I’d prefer to keep my money away from that scenario. If you don’t think that will affect their performance, take the Raiders.
To me, the smart play here is on the over. It is currently sitting at 47. The Raiders should be able to run the ball and the Colts…well, they’re the Colts and they may be injured and they still have Peyton Manning. On the season, the Colts are 9-4-1 against the over and the Raiders are 9-5. Take the over.