Colts' Success Rests Firmly on Luck's Shoulders

Indianapolis will kick off their 2016 football season when they host the Detroit Lions in the second round of games Sunday. Andrew Luck and Matthew Stafford have met just one time in their NFL careers when Luck led the charge in a Colts' 35-33 comeback win in 2012.

The Colts are expected to have a bounce-back season in 2016 and much like their victory over the Lions back in 2012, this comeback will have to be orchestrated by the Stanford Slinger, Andrew Luck. No. 12 was not especially efficient when he last played the Lions as he went 24/54 with three picks. He did, however, supplant those numbers with 391 yards and four touchdowns.

Veteran cornerback Vontae Davis is out for an undetermined amount of time but will be missing at least a couple of weeks, leaving the Colts extremely vulnerable to the deep ball on Sunday. That said, the Lions have a pretty thin receiving corps right now which means No. 1 target Golden Tate will most likely attract a double team most of the game.

Stafford will have to be very selective if he wants to keep the ball out of the Colts DB’s hands Sunday – and being selective is not one of Stafford’s better attributes.

This is a game Indy really needs to win if they want to make it back to the playoffs and the Lions are a mess of an organization. Neither team in this matchup has an established run game so we could see 40+ pass attempts from both QB’s. If you play fantasy and you have receivers on either side of the ball, I would suit them up – this one has shootout written all over it.

Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick

Those siding with the visitors in this matchup saw the Detroit Lions listed as 6-point underdogs at shops such as Sportsbook. Meanwhile, the over under line for the betting matchup was at 49.5 over at Sportsbook.

Odds Shark computer prediction handicapping models run on this game pick a 27-16 victory for the Colts. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming NFL matchups here.

Detroit Lions vs Indianapolis Colts Matchup

Team Betting Records & Power Rankings

Betting fans of the Indianapolis Colts have seen them go 8-8 and 8-8 ATS so far this season, while the Detroit Lions are at 7-9 and 7-9 ATS. In over under totals betting, the Detroit Lions are 9-7, while the Indianapolis Colts are 8-8. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Indianapolis vs Detroit injuries news.

The Colts - Lions odds would favor the Lions if the betting lines were set according to power ranks. Indianapolis is rated No. 27 in our latest OddsShark poll, while the Lions sit at No. 14.

Statistical Matchup

The game also pits Indianapolis's No. 23-ranked offense, averaging 20.81 PPG, against a Lions defense that ranks No. 23 this week at 25 PPG. The Colts aerial game is averaging 231.5 yards per game, less than the Lions secondary allows through the air, 236.88 YPG per game.

In comparing defenses, the Detroit Lions own the league's No. 27-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 129.63 yards per game when on the road. Indianapolis, on the other hand, rates No. 32 this week in generating rushing yards at home.

Recent Outings Betting Recap

Detroit comes off a game where it received a 3-TD performance from Matthew Stafford in defeating the Bears 24-20.

In their last game, the Colts were Week 17 Sportsbooks, coming out on top of the Titans by a score of 30-24.

Next Betting Matchups

Detroit home to Tennessee, Sunday, September 18th
Indianapolis at Denver, Sunday, September 18th