Two teams fighting for one of the last playoff spots in the AFC will square off in Las Vegas on Sunday when the Raiders (7-5) host the Indianapolis Colts (8-4) as small home underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. Las Vegas surprisingly has been much better on the road this season with a 5-2 record compared to going just 2-3 in the new Allegiant Stadium, where the team has closed as a dog four times in five games.
- Date/Time: December 13, 4:05 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Allegiant Stadium
- TV Coverage: CBS
- Sportsbook Odds: Colts -2.5 | O/U 52 (Line History)
- Colts vs Raiders Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Colts are already up to -3 at some books in early betting, although it would be a bit surprising to see the point spread go much higher than that in favor of the visitors. Indianapolis is a justified road favorite with a superior defense, but the team will be playing away from home in back-to-back weeks and has been inconsistent the last few weeks. The total is down to 50.5 and may continue to drop due to Indy’s strong defensive play.
Indianapolis News & Notes
The Colts came through defensively in the second half of last week’s 26-20 win over the Houston Texans, outscoring their opponent 2-0 after entering the intermission with a 24-20 lead.
It is safe to say they are on a much different level on that side of the ball than the New York Jets, who remained winless after giving up a terrible game-winning pass play to Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and rookie wide receiver Henry Ruggs III.
Indianapolis would not have allowed that to happen and has stopped some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL when they have attempted similar comebacks, including Houston’s Deshaun Watson last Sunday and MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers two weeks earlier.
In addition, the Colts are riding a three-game road winning streak both straight up and against the spread, according to the Odds Shark NFL Database.
Las Vegas News & Notes
This team was very lucky to leave MetLife Stadium with a victory after blowing a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter, and all the talk would have been about how head coach Jon Gruden took his foot off the gas had Las Vegas lost instead.
But the Raiders emerged victorious and remain in the mix for the last playoff spot, with another win here improving their odds of making the postseason immensely.
One player to monitor closely this week is running back Josh Jacobs, who sat out last week’s game with an ankle injury in hopes of being healthy down the stretch. Jacobs has been extremely valuable to the Las Vegas offense in his first two seasons and he will be needed for the final playoff push.
Betting Pick: Raiders +125
The Raiders are undervalued in this spot based on how they played in splitting their last two games on the road. Las Vegas is better than that and knows Indianapolis quarterback Philip Rivers well from his days with the Los Angeles Chargers, who were swept in two meetings with the Raiders last year. This is like a playoff game for Las Vegas, which will pull off the upset.
- The Colts are 5-2 SU in their past 7 games vs the Raiders.
- The OVER is 9-3 in Las Vegas’ last 12 games.
- The Colts are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games vs AFC opponents.
