Colts vs. Bengals Pick
Will the Cincinnati Bengals avoid a letdown performance when they play host to the Indianapolis Colts today at 1PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Cincinnati is the clear favorite, as the Bengals are getting odds of -10.5 points against the Colts. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 42 points. The home team has won seven straight meetings in this series and has covered the spread in four straight. The public betting in this one has Indy getting 52 percent of the wagers. Today’s game takes place from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio and will air live on CBS.
Cincinnati is coming off a 29-14 loss at Pittsburgh last week to fall to 2-4 on the season. The Bengals are 3-3 against the spread so far, but just 1-2 ATS at home. The Bengals have struggled on offense this year, averaging just 16.3 points and 308.5 yards per game. Andy Dalton has thrown for 1,360 yards and nine touchdowns, but also has eight interceptions and has been sacked 19 times. A.J. Green has caught 35 passes for 545 yards and three touchdowns while Joe Mixon has 235 rushing yards. Defensively, the Bengals are allowing just 18.7 points and 307.3 yards per game. Their pass defense is holding opponents under 200 yards per contest.
The Colts are coming off a 27-0 loss to the Jaguars last week to fall to 2-5 on the season. Indy is 3-4 against the spread this season and 0-3 ATS on the road. The Colts have struggled this season without Andrew Luck able to play yet. They are averaging 17 points and 316.9 yards per game on offense. Jacoby Brissett has thrown for 1,409 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 129 yards and three scores. Frank Gore is the leading rusher with 322 yards while T.Y. Hilton has 27 catches for 512 yards. Defensively, Indy is allowing 31.7 points and 435.6 yards per game. The Colts are giving up over 300 passing yards per game.
Indy has been struggling, but I don’t feel great about Cincinnati giving up so many points. The Bengals have plenty of their own issues, especially on offense, to think they can just roll on anyone. The Colts are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 road games against a team with a losing home record and 30-11 ATS in their last 41 games after a loss. I expect Indianapolis to put up a fight today as Dalton and the Bengals continue to not find a consistent flow on offense.
NFL WEEK 8 PREDICTION: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS +10.5