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Ravens, Colts look to stay hot Sunday in Indy
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 10/5/2014  at  5:41:00 AM
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BALTIMORE RAVENS (3-1)
at INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (2-2)

Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Indianapolis -3, Total: 49

Both the Ravens and the Colts look to keep their winning streaks alive when they square off in Indianapolis on Sunday.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for this matchup:

Baltimore defeated Carolina 38-10 on Sunday for its third straight win, racking up 454 total yards in the process. Indianapolis also blew out its second straight opponent, beating the Titans 41-17 at home thanks to 393 yards and four touchdowns from Andrew Luck. The past five meetings between the Colts and Ravens have gone Under the total. They last met in the playoffs on January 6, 2013, when Baltimore advanced with a 24-9 home win. Luck threw for 288 yards in that game but was unable to find the end zone and threw an interception. Indianapolis has, however, won the past five meetings at home SU, while covering the past three matchups at Lucas Oil Stadium. Over the past three years, the Colts are 8-0 ATS in home games where the Total is between 45.5 and 49 points. For those looking to play the Total, the Ravens are 8-1 Under in the past three seasons after allowing 75 or less rushing yards in their previous game. Both quarterbacks should benefit from depleted secondaries, as S LaRon Landry (suspension) is out for the next four weeks for the Colts, while teammates LB Jerrell Freeman (hamstring) and DE Arthur Jones (ankle) are both questionable for Sunday. CB Lardarius Webb (back) and DE Chris Canty (knee) are both questionable for the Ravens.

Which team will extend its winning streak on Sunday? For the answer, connect to NFL Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and playoffs. The experts have been hot over the past two weeks, combining for a 22-9 ATS mark (71%), while going 13-5 (72%) in NFL Totals. StatFox Scott is 7-1 ATS in Best Bets during this timeframe, and 63% ATS (10-6) on the season, while StatFox Dave is 7-2 ATS in Best Bets during these two weeks to improve to 58% ATS (11-8) on the season. StatFox Brian is 10-2 (83%) in NFL Totals this season, and a profitable 53% ATS (8-7) in NFL Best Bets.

The Ravens did not seem to be on the right track after a 23-16 Week 1 home loss to the Bengals, but they’ve won three straight thanks to some excellent play by QB Joe Flacco (1,055 pass yards, 7 TD, 2 INT). Flacco absolutely picked apart the Panthers last week, throwing for 327 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. WR Steve Smith (25 rec, 429 yards, 3 TD) was his top receiver in that game, catching seven passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns versus his former team. Smith has shown the same ability to break free on deep passes that he did in Carolina, and he and Flacco should have plenty of opportunities to connect against a poor Colts’ passing defense. Indianapolis is allowing 251.3 passing yards per game (21st in NFL) and without suspended S LaRon Landry, it could really struggle to defend Flacco’s receivers when they go deep. The Ravens have gotten some good production out of backup RBs Justin Forsett (255 rush yards, 5.8 YPC, 2 TD) and Lorenzo Taliaferro (149 rush yards, 4.5 YPC, 2 TD). Baltimore’s passing defense has been suspect though, allowing 260.3 yards per game through the air (24th in NFL). This will not be acceptable against Andrew Luck, who is the league’s passing leader early in the season. The Ravens do, however, defend the run very well. They’re allowing just 82.5 rushing yards per game (7th in NFL) and should be able to keep RBs Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson in check.

Indianapolis had a rough start to its season, dropping the first two games, but has since looked a lot better in back-to-back wins by a combined score of 85 to 34. QB Andrew Luck (1,305 pass yards, 13 TD, 4 INT) was outstanding against the Titans and now turns his attention to a Ravens’ defense that has given up some big games this year. The Colts will likely try to pound away with their running back duo of Ahmad Bradshaw (182 rush yards, 5.4 YPC) and Trent Richardson (203 rush yards, 3.3 YPC, 1 TD) early, but later in the game they’ll take the reigns off of Luck like they have in every game this season. Bradshaw leads the team with four touchdown receptions. WR Reggie Wayne (23 rec, 307 yards, 1 TD) has been one of Luck’s most consistent targets this season, producing seven receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown against the Titans last week. He could find even more holes in a defense that is far worse against the pass than Tennessee is. The Colts have been solid defensively over the past two weeks, allowing just 104.8 yards per game on the ground (11th in NFL), and they’ll need to be effective stopping the run in order to make things more difficult on Joe Flacco. If the Colts can stop the Baltimore running backs, they should have a great chance of coming away with a victory.


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