The Indianapolis Colts desperately needed a win in Week 15, and a very dominant win they did get on Sunday by routing the Minnesota Vikings, 34-6. That victory pushed the Colts back up to the .500 mark and just one game behind the Texans and the Titans for the top spot of the AFC South’s standings.
Indianapolis simply outclassed the Vikings on all facets of the game that afternoon. Andrew Luck had an error-free outing with 250 passing yards and a couple of touchdowns against a very imposing Minnesota secondary. The Vikes couldn’t stop Indy’s ground attack either, as both running backs Frank Gore (101 yards) and Ronald Turbin (a pair of short-yardage rushing TDs) exposed a bunch of holes in Minnesota’s front seven.
The biggest takeaway from Sunday’s win, though, is that Indianapolis’ shaky defense stepped up when the team needed it most. The Colts had three timely takeaways and also racked up five sacks against the Vikings after tallying just 25 sacks all season long (an average of less than two sacks per contest).
Even though the Colts will now travel to the West Coast for their second-consecutive road game, they’ve been quite a force as visitors of late with four-straight wins on the road (SU/ATS). They’ve gotten huge wins over teams with prolific offenses during that span like Green Bay and Tennessee, so facing the Raiders’ potent attack won’t faze them as much as we initially thought.
For the first time since the 2002 season, the Oakland Raiders are back in the postseason. They clinched their playoff berth on Sunday by beating the Chargers in San Diego, albeit with a too-close-for-comfort 19-16 victory at that.
Derek Carr still seems to be bothered with his injured finger on his throwing hand, as he ended up completing just 19 of 30 passes for 213 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception. It’s a good thing that Oakland’s running game got 145 rushing yards at an average of five yards per carry against the Chargers, or else the team would’ve suffered yet another crushing blow at the hands of a division rival.
But like the Colts this past Sunday, the Raiders held their ground on defense to secure the victory. They limited San Diego just 16 points and are now 5-0 for the season when they contain their opposition to 20 points or less. Do note that four of Indianapolis’ seven losses this season fall under that criteria of having a low-scoring output.
Nonetheless, and also serving as the foil to the Colts’ prowess on the road recently, the Silver and Black excel when act as hosts in The Black Hole. They’ve won four-straight home games to date (3-1 ATS), with the total going over in all those games.
That being said, the Raiders are about as evenly-matched with the Colts entering this Saturday, and betting on the over/under may be a more appealing option for this showdown that could go either way considering that both teams are hot off their respective crucial victories from Week 15.
Writer’s Prediction
The Raiders win their 11th game of the season, but the Colts (+3.5) cover the spread by a hair with a final score of 31-28.
