Colts Jaguars Spread

Written by Jack Jones

The Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Indianapolis Colts Sunday in Week 17 Sunday at 1:00 EST. While both teams nothing to play for in terms of the playoffs, there is something very important still riding on it. In fact, there are some Colts fans who are cheering for the Jaguars heading into this one. If Indianapolis loses this game or finishes tied with the St. Louis Rams or Minnesota Vikings for the most losses, they would earn the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft.

Oddsmakers in Las Vegas have installed a line of Jacksonville -3.5 over Indianapolis and a total set of 37.5 points.

Jacksonville

The Jaguars will be looking to cap off a rare season sweep of the Colts Sunday. Jacksonville (4-11, 3-4 home) beat Indianapolis in their first meeting 17-3 in their most complete performance of the season. They held the Colts to just 212 total yards, and Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 114 yards to carry the offense.

Jacksonville will be looking to get Jones-Drew the NFL’s season rushing title Sunday. He leads the league with 1,437 rushing yards, which is 128 ahead of Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy. Jones-Drew has accounted for 46.5 percent of Jacksonville’s offense this season, which leads the NFL as well.

The Jaguars would love to get quarterback Blaine Gabbert on track. The rookie has struggled all season, completing just 50.5 percent of his passes for 2,122 yards with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Jacksonville ranks last in the league in passing offense at 140.5 yards per game, and Gabbert has the NFL’s worst passer rating (64.3).

This will be the final game for owners Wayne and Delores Weaver, who have agreed to sell the team to Shahid Kahn for $760 million. The Weaver’s helped bring the franchise to Jacksonville back in 1995 and they will always be remembered in the city.

Indianapolis

The Colts have won back-to-back games to put getting the No. 1 pick in jeopardy. After topping the Tennessee Titans to get their first win of the season in Week 15, the Colts went on to beat the Houston Texans 19-16 at home last week. They would still get the No. 1 pick with a loss or a Rams victory this Sunday.

Indianapolis (2-13, 0-7 away) will have to make some key decisions this offseason no matter what happens in this game. The big one is Peyton Manning, who turns 36 in march and has had to sit out the entire season with a neck injury. Owner Jim Irsay has stated that Manning will be their starting quarterback next year as long as he’s healthy.

Veteran players Reggie Wayne, Robert Mathis and Jeff Saturday have been huge pieces throughout this amazing run by the Colts over the past decade. But each is on the final year of their contract, and there’s a chance that none of these three will be back next year.

Wayne caught the game-winning 1-yard touchdown pass with 19 seconds to beat the Texans last week. He needs 113 yards for his eight straight 1,000-yard season. Throwing to him once again will be Dan Orlovsky, who is completing 62.1 percent of his passes for 937 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He has been the biggest reason for their turnaround these last two weeks.

Betting Trends

The Colts are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 vs. a team with a losing record.

The Jaguars are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite overall, but just 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0.

Be sure to get your NFL advice from expert handicapper Jack Jones in Week 17.

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