The Indianapolis Colts were forced to endure one of the nastiest gut punches the league ever witnessed when Andrew Luck shockingly announced his retirement at the tail end of the preseason. The timing couldn’t have been worse. The team was forced to scramble in hopes of finding an immediate answer. While Indy got out to a solid start in winning five of its first seven games and going 4-2-1 ATS in those matchups, things took a major turn for the worse with the team logging just a pair of wins and three pointspread covers over its final nine games. Though the team’s season win total odds opened a half-game lower than they were a season ago, only two teams have shorter odds to win the AFC and linemakers have them installed +120 chalk to secure AFC South bragging rights. GM Chris Ballard did a fine job improving the roster this past offseason, and season win total bettors took notice ultimately forcing those booking the bets to bump the impost up to 9.5.
Indianapolis Colts Season Win Total: 9.5
Before thinking about hitting the over on the Colts win total, keep in mind that Indianapolis has toppled its number only once over the last five seasons; that coming in the 2018-19 season when they won 10 regular season games to make a mockery of their 7.5-game win total. While the team has the benefit of having a quarterback in camp and locked in right from day one, it remains to be seen just how quickly new QB1 Philip Rivers learns the playbook and meshes with his new teammates under the new time constraints due to the novel coronavirus. Rivers enters 2020-21 off throwing the second most interceptions (20) of his storied 14-year career. He did however balance the books by throwing for over 4,600 yards and 23 TDs. Though a veteran, Rivers still has some football left in him and he couldn’t have landed in a better spot to close his career out with QB guru Frank Reich overlooking the club’s day-to-day.
Indy boasts one of the best offensive lines in the business, and it bolstered its depth even more by snagging Ball State’s Danny Pinter in the NFL Draft to add depth to the interior of the line. It also inked veteran tackle Anthony Castonzo to a 2-year deal which should help allow for Rivers to flourish on his new team right from the outset. Also likely to make an impact this season will be Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor whom the Colts traded up to select in the draft while at the same time prevent the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars from possibly finding Leonard Fournette’s replacement. While Indianapolis still did a solid job rushing the pigskin with Marlon Mack at the helm, Taylor is a major upgrade and he could prove to be a major draft steal after the Colts were able to land him early on in the second round. The selection of USC’s Michael Pittman seven picks before him offered up some much needed receiving talent to line up opposite T.Y. Hilton.
Darius Leonard regressed just a bit in 2019-20 after impressing mightily his rookie season in logging 111 solo tackles and registering seven sacks. The addition of DeForest Buckner via trade with the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason could see him flourish once again. With opposing offenses now being forced to account for two stud defenders at all times, the Colts should be able to improve upon the 41 sacks accrued as a team last season. Indy was pretty stout against the run last year (No. 7), but it stunk out loud at defending the pass (No. 23). With that, upper management went out and shored its deficiencies up by inking both Xavier Rhodes and T.J. Carrie. Rhodes at one point in time was one of the best cover corners the game had to offer. Though he regressed terribly last season in constantly getting torched, Rhodes is still only 29-years old with plenty of tread remaining on the tires. Should last season have been an anomaly, the Colts execution of this buy-low signing could prove to be fruitful.
Indianapolis Colts Football Schedule
Week 1: Colts at Jaguars, Sunday, September 13, 1 p.m. ET
Week 2: Vikings at Colts, Sunday, September 20, 1 p.m. ET
Week 3: Jets at Colts, Sunday, September 27, 4:05 p.m. ET
Week 4: Colts at Bears, Sunday, October 4, 1 p.m. ET
Week 5: Colts at Browns, Sunday, October 11, 4:25 p.m. ET
Week 6: Bengals at Colts, Sunday, October 18, 1 p.m. ET
Week 7: Bye Week
Week 8: Colts at Lions, Sunday, November 1, 1 p.m. ET
Week 9: Ravens at Colts, Sunday, November 8, 1 p.m. ET
Week 10: Colts at Titans, Thursday, November 12, 8:20 p.m. ET
Week 11: Packers at Colts, Sunday, November 22, 1 p.m. ET
Week 12: Titans at Colts, Sunday, November 29, 1 p.m. ET
Week 13: Cots at Texans, Sunday, December 6, 1 p.m. ET
Week 14: Colts at Raiders, Sunday, December 13, 4:05 p.m. ET
Week 15: Texans at Colts, Sunday, December 20, 1 p.m. ET
Week 16: Colts at Steelers, Sunday, December 27, 1 p.m. ET
Week 17: Jaguars at Colts, Sunday, January 3, 1 p.m. ET
Indianapolis Colts Schedule Analysis
Based on last year’s stats, Indianapolis is set to run up against the easiest strength of schedule of all 32 teams; no doubt a contributing factor to all the over money that’s come in on the total to this point. Even so, this is a team that closed 2019-20 out in nightmarish fashion, and I’m wondering if the absence of Andrew Luck continues to haunt this team for another year or two. Though Rivers excelled in his final season with the Chargers, he looked old last season. Maybe a change in scenery revitalizes him. Then again, maybe not. The AFC South is going to be a dogfight with everyone looking to dethrone the Texans who’ve owned the division more or less for the last five seasons. From Week 10 on, the schedule is brutal and it gets Houston and Tennessee twice during that stretch along with games against the Packers and Steelers. Nine games might seriously be good enough to win the division this year as competitive it looks to be. With that, I recommend fading the betting public and demand the Colts to beat me instead.
Indianapolis Colts Season Win Total Prediction: Under 9.5 -142
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
