Friday, May 25th, 2012
The surprising New York Jets will hit the road for the third week in a row when they tackle Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game on Sunday afternoon. Kick off time for this NFL playoff game in Indianapolis is scheduled for 3PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by CBS.
The LVSC NFL odds makers have set the opening point spread in this game and the home team Indianapolis Colts were opened as a 7 points favorite with the over under coming in at 41 ½.
The early money from the NFL betting public has been favorite money, as the Indianapolis Colts are currently a 7-½ point favorite. The total has seen early movement towards the under, as the over under is currently lined at 40 ½ for the NFL betting public to play into.
NFL money line gamblers can make a play on the favored Indianapolis Colts at –360 with the road underdog New York Jets bringing back +300 to win this game with no need for getting the points on their side.
These two teams met back in week 16 at Indianapolis with the New York Jets winning 29-15 as a 3-point closing line underdog. The Colts had nothing to play for except for a perfect season and the team opted to rest their starters in the second half with a 15-10 lead. The Colts gave up 19 straight points to the Jets as the Colts inserted rookie quarterback Curtis Painter into the lineup who was ineffective. The Colts held a 9-3 lead at halftime with Peyton Manning hitting of 14 of 21 for 192 yards no touchdowns and no picks. Rookie Mark Sanchez played the whole game and he hit on 12 of 19 for 106 yards no touchdowns and no interceptions. The Jets rushed for 202 yards with many of those coming against second stringers. A stat that is at issue would be the Colts 2 of 13 conversions combined on third and fourth downs. The Jets defense got off the field and they did that last week at San Diego.
The Colts are coming off a dominating 20-3 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional playoffs last week. They moved out to a 17-3 lead at halftime and never looked back. Quarterback Peyton Manning was sharp hitting on 30 of 44 for 246 yards two touchdowns and 1 interception. The league MVP had a fantastic season hitting on 68% of his passes for 33 touchdowns and 16 picks.
The Colts are one-dimensional, as they get nothing from their running game. Joseph Addai on 219 carries could only gain 3.8 yards a carry this season. Rookie Donald Brown from Connecticut was a mere 3.6 a carry on the season. The Colts were awful on the ground last week against the Ravens with just 42 rushing yards on 25 carries.
Defensively the Colts allow 18.2 points per game. They are 22nd in the NFL against the run allowing 124 yards per game and a high 4.3 yards per rushing attempt. The Colts do not give up the big play leading the league allowing just 9.1 yards per pass reception.
The New York Jets escaped San Diego with an upset 17-14 victory as an 8 point underdog last week. The Jets allowed just 61 rushing yards but 283 passing yards in victory. The team benefited from a huge turnover by Phillip Rivers that resulted in a touchdown pass by Mark Sanchez that gave the team a lead that they never lost. A huge stat in this game was the Jets play on defense on third downs. The Chargers could only convert on 4 of 13 on third downs, which forced the Chargers to set up for field goals that were missed which were critical to the Jets victory.
Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez hit on 12 of 23 for 100 yards a touchdown and an interception last week at San Diego. The signal caller had some big throws to extend drives on third down and converted on a 2 yard touchdown pass on third down that gave the Jets its first lead of the game. The rookie had an up and down season in 2009 hitting on just under 54% of his passes with 14 touchdowns and 21 picks.
The Jets are led by a stout running game that produces 172 yards per game and #1 in the NFL. The team produces 4.5 yards per rushing attempt. Rookie Shonn Greene had a good campaign averaging 5.0 yards a carry in 108 rushes this year. Greene has had an outstanding post season with 263 rushing yards on 44 carries. Thomas Jones has produced just 75 yards on 29 carries in the playoffs.
The Jets defense has carried this team all season. They allow just 14.7 points per game and can stop the run and the pass. The Jets are the top pass defense in the league allowing just 157 yards passing per game and only 9.4 yards per pass completion. The Jets have not allowed more than 15 points in their past 8 games. The Jets passed a huge test limiting a very good San Diego Chargers offense to just 14 points. They were able to cover the Chargers big play threats in this game.
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NFL Trend: New York Jets are 7-1 ATS in their past 8 games
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