San Diego Chargers vs. Indianapolis Colts NFL Betting Odds & Spread

Written January 1, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Colts Chargers Football

If you were to go back to week 13 where the Chargers just loss for the 8th time this season and were just 4-8 overall, you had to figure there was no way this team made it to the playoffs, but thanks to an epic collapse by the Broncos the Chargers are playing in the post season even though they were never once over .500 on the season. The team standing in the way of the Chargers this Saturday is the Indianapolis Colts who come into the playoffs winners of 9 straight, including a 23-20 win over the Chargers on their home field. The Colts finished the season at 12-4 and have now won at least 12 games in 6 consecutive seasons. For those of you looking to do some NFL betting on the big game this weekend, the oddsmakers have the Colts a slim 1 point favorite over the Chargers at BetUS.com.

The Chargers might not of had the best regular season, but Ill bet you the Colts aren’t to happy about happy about having to play them, as the Chargers could really be a scary team to face in the playoffs. The Chargers offense has exploded in the final 4 games of the regular season averaging just over 37 points a game, and are coming off a 52 point performance against the Broncos in the final week of the season. Philip Rivers put together a pretty solid season for a guy not heading to the Pro Bowl, as he Rivers racked up 4,009 yards with 34 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions on the season. LaDainian Tomlinson didn’t have the same kind of year that he has put up in the past, as he ran for just 1,110 yards and only 11 touchdowns, solid numbers, but just mediocre by Tomlinson’s standards. Rivers has really enjoyed the emergence of Vincent Jackson in the receiver game, who led the Chargers with 1,098 yards, but Antonio Gates remains the big touchdown threat with 8 scores.

The Chargers defense has been pretty solid this season, and considering the amount of points the offense has been scoring the defense has played pretty well of late letting opponents score just 18 points a game over the final 4 games of the regular season. It’s not going to be easy to stop the Peyton Manning and the Colts offense in this one, but the Chargers have been known to give Manning some problems including last year when they intercepted him twice, as the Chargers went into Indy and beat the Colts 28-24. Bet San Diego Chargers +1 at BetUS.com.

The Colts easily have the longest winning streak heading into the playoffs, and this team has been able to win all kinds of ways, whether it be from behind, a blowout, or a dogfight to the finish. Manning and company got off to a real slow start winning just 3 of their first 7 games, and it just looked this unit was off as Manning came in recovering from knee surgery. Manning still managed to throw for 4,002 yards with 27 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions while completing nearly 67% of his passes. Reggie Wayne has been great all year, but with Marvin Harrison just not the same as he once was, the Colts needed someone to step in and have a big season, and tight end Dallas Clark did just that grabbing 77 passes for 848 yards and 6 touchdowns, and was huge down the stretch for the Colts. The running game hasn’t been what the Colts would like, as starter Joseph Addai has battled injuries all season, but Addai and backup Dominic Rhodes still combined to run for 1,082 yards and 11 scores.

The big thing for the Colts coming into the game this weekend, is they should be pretty much full strength on the defensive side of things, as it looks like star safety Bob Sanders will be ready to go, and there is no question this defense is better when he is on the field. The Colts have also had big seasons out of defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. Mathis led the team with 11.5 quarterback takedowns, and Freeney was close behind with 10.5 sacks. These two getting pressure on Rivers will be huge for the Colts, and if they find away to do just that you have to think this defense can slow down the surging Chargers. Bet Indianapolis Colts -1 at BetUS.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Colts -1
With the spread at just 1 point you are pretty much picking who you think is going to win this game outright, and I am putting my money on the team riding the 9 game winning streak and not only playing at home, but has a guy named Peyton Manning playing quarterback. I expect this one to be close, just as the first meeting was between these two teams, but I look for the Colts to move on to the next round, as they are one of my favorites to make it out of the AFC.

Predicted Score: Colts 27 Chargers 24

Check out the best NFL spreads and make sure you see who the experts are taking in their NFL playoff picks at Betfirms.

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4 Comments

Comments

4 Responses to “San Diego Chargers vs. Indianapolis Colts NFL Betting Odds & Spread”

Melchor Quitoriano on January 2nd, 2009 11:18 am

Chargers is going to the Superbowl, be careful

Reply
marco on January 3rd, 2009 12:38 am

Chargers are going to win this game, surprisingly with their defensive play….

Reply
BOLTS DEFEAT COLTS on January 3rd, 2009 4:01 am

Peyton and Eli have at least two things in common. First, they are both great quarterbacks and, second, they are both major crybabies.

Prediction: Manning will cry at some point during the game.

CHARGERS 38
COLTS 27

Reply
Jack Jones on January 3rd, 2009 10:06 am

I love hearing your guys’ takes on the game. You can read my opinion on it here: http://www.betfirms.com/jacks-free-sports-picks-13/ I have to say I disagree with our staff writer here.

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