The second half of NFL Wildcard weekend kicks off with the Bengals facing off versus the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Andrew Luck and his Colts absolutely demolished their AFC South rivals this season and ran away with the division.
The Bengals, well, without Jermaine Gresham and AJ Green, Andy Dalton has just lost half of his offensive options. It hurts and it hurts hard.
Add to that Andy Dalton’s 17.5 QB rating in 3 playoff games and has lost three of his playoff starts from 2011-2013, it makes this pick much easier to put together. Or does it?
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Get all of our NFL Wildcard Weekend Playoff Picks and stay tuned for our game by game breakdowns leading right up to Superbowl XLIX
Saturday, January 3rd, 2015
Cardinals vs Panthers: NFC Wildcard
Raven vs Steelers : AFC Wildcard
Sunday, January 4th, 2015
Lion vs Cowboys : NFC Wildcard
Bengals vs Colts : AFC Wildcard
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We all get it: Andy Dalton has something to prove and I do expect him to come out swinging and looking for post season redemption, if he had Jermaine Gresham and AJ Green active this would be a very different game. These injuries may be too much for the Bengals to overcome against a strong Colts line-ups.
The Bengals are 1-13 on 3rd down the last time these two teams met, 3rd down conversions will be critical for the Bengals to stay in this game.
Betting Lines and Odds
- The Colts are a -3 (-125) favorite against the Bengals (10-5-1) and 69% of bettors agree on this.
- The moneyline also favors Indy at 56%.
- The Over/Under is set at 49 and 64% of bettors are on the OVER.
#CINvsIND Fast Facts
- The Indianapolis Colts’ offense has struggled through December, averaging 12.9 fewer points per game over the last four weeks.
- Andrew Luck led the NFL with 40 touchdown throws and finished third in the NFL in passing yards with 4,761.
- All season the Colts’ offense has mirrored Luck’s play. Sunday he’ll get a boost from T.Y. Hilton’s return from injury and a healthier Dwayne Allen.
- Wide receiver A.J. Green must be monitored prior to the game, as he’s still dealing with the league’s concussion protocol
- The Cincinnati Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1990, going 0-6 SU and ATS in their last six postseason games.
- The Bengals finished the season off with a respectable 10-5-1 SU and 8-7-1 ATS record to lock up their Wild Card spot.
- After starting the season off 0-2 SU and 1-1 ATS, the Colts finished the year on an 11-3 SU and 9-4-1 ATS run to lock up the AFC South and the fourth seed in the AFC.
- Indianapolis is 8-2 SU and ATS over its last 10 home games against AFC North opponents.
- The UNDER is 6-0 in Cincinnati’s last six road games and 13-2 in Indianapolis’ last 15 home games against AFC North teams.
AFC Wildcard Pick
The Bengals are hurt, visiting a strong opponent at home and a shakey Andy Dalton in the playoffs makes this easy to say Colts all day long. Take them on the Moneyline and to cover the spread -3.