The Sheriff is coming home. Peyton Manning made his Hall of Fame career in Indianapolis, but after missing a season following neck surgeries, the Indianapolis Colts elected to let him move on via free agency. They drafted Andrew Luck as a result and largely were thought to have the second-coming of Manning. However, it's Manning and his Denver Broncos who are 7-0 coming into this Sunday afternoon showdown against the Colts, who enter at 3-5.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Had this game been played even three or four weeks ago, the Colts would've easily been favorites. Denver, in spite of its undefeated mark, hadn't posted its signature win of the year yet, while Indianapolis was still perceived to be one of the better teams in the NFL.
Just in the last few weeks though, the Colts have been exposed as frauds, as they only have wins against lousy AFC South teams this season, while the Broncos picked up that big win against Green Bay on Sunday Night Football last week.
As a result, live bettors who want to back Manning in his return to Indy are going to have to pay a premium to do so. The Broncos opened at -3 on Sunday in Las Vegas and debuted on Monday night at -4.5 at BookMaker after watching what went down in Denver and Charlotte in primetime with these two teams respectively.
WHEN THE DENVER BRONCOS HAVE THE BALL
The whole "Peyton Manning's career is over" narrative might be put on the shelf for a week or so. He tore up the Green Bay defense, going 21-of-29 for 340 yards last week, and that was the first time he and this passing game have shown any sustainable life whatsoever last week.
Still, we're concerned if we're a Broncos fan, and as a live bettor in this one, you should be worried, too. Even though Manning went 21-of-29, he still has a wet noodle for an arm, and he isn't that much improved after a week off. Instead, we think he took advantage of a Green Bay defense which underestimated him, something that the Colts probably aren't going to do.
Then again, Indianapolis has its own problems to worry about in its secondary. Sure, it has the only set of corners to pick off Tom Brady this year, but we know better. This unit is a wreck. The Colts can't get any pressure whatsoever on the quarterback, and when you can't get in Manning's face, eventually, he's going to make strong throws.
WHEN THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS HAVE THE BALL
That Denver defense is just flat out nasty. Aaron Rodgers just had a game in which he threw for just 77 yards against this unit. Think about that for a second. Alex Smith had more rushing yards than Aaron Rodgers had passing yards in Week 8. Because of course he did.
The Broncos have the best set of corners in the league in Aqib Talib and Chris Harris, and we all saw what happened when Josh Norman got his shot at T.Y. Hilton on Monday Night Football. Hilton had just one catch for the game and was completely bottled up. Luck has nothing going whatsoever when he can't hit his big play threat, and he's been totally disappointing this year as a result.
It doesn't take a genius to know that the Colts aren't scoring much in this one without a miracle occurring, and live bettors can rest easily knowing that. Luck is going to be under a ton of duress from a terrifying pass rush, and with no running game to balance this all out, trouble is clearly waiting for the Colts.
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Click here and start wagering today! The game between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts is scheduled for Sunday, November 8, 2015, at 4:25 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium. The game will be broadcast on CBS.
