AFC Divisional Playoffs Betting – Colts Head to Mile High to Battle Broncos

Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos (-7, 54 o/u)

What a difference a year makes. Last year, Peyton Manning was putting up unbelievable numbers and was the talk of the NFL. This year, the 38-year-old quarterback is being talked about for his lack of production, especially during the last quarter of the season.

This Saturday, we’ll see whether Manning has truly fallen off when his Denver Broncos (12-4, 8-0 home) host the Indianapolis Colts (11-5, 5-3 away) at Mile High.

Manning ended the season on a down note, throwing three TDs and six picks, with a dismal quarterback rating of 76.8 over the last four games.

The good news for the Broncos was Manning had the bye week to get healthy.

“It was much needed,” Broncos safety Rahim Moore said. “I needed it, our team needed it, especially guys like Peyton, who’s been playing since I came out the womb. He’s an older guy. He needs it. You can’t run a Ferrari – or no, a Bugatti – too much. He’s our Bugatti. That’s how Peyton is to his team, so you’ve got to give him some rest.”

The Broncos and Colts have already met once this year in Denver, with the Broncos cruising to a not-as-close-as-it-sounds 31-24 win.

“We had [the Colts] the first game of the season and [Manning] was fine,” said Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas. “It’s a playoff game so it’s a little bit different because if you lose, you’re done and if you win, you keep going. I can’t really talk for Peyton, but I think he’s fine.”

The Broncos will have their hands full against the Colts, who are coming off an easy 26-10 Wild Card round win over the Bengals where they covered the modest 3.5-point spread. Leading Indianapolis is quarterback Andrew Luck, who will always be remembered as Manning’s successor in Indianapolis. During the regular season, Luck posted Manning-like numbers, leading the NFL with 40 TDs (a career high) while passing for more than 4,760 yards.

“He’s one of those guys that you have to play a 60-minute game against,” said Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware. “He has really good pocket awareness. He’s always one of those guys, just like Peyton, where he hits the open guy the majority of the time. He plays a fundamentally sound game.”

Considering the game features Luck and Manning, the public will expect a high-scoring affair. However, the weather – along with better than average defenses – should keep this game lower scoring than most people think. Your best bet is to think about the under (54).

(Photo credit: Jeffrey Beall (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)