Stampede Blue
The Indianapolis Colts concluded their two game road trip 1-1, and while it didn’t end exactly as they would have hoped, it does find them at 3-1 on the year. That is a far cry from where many analysts and even fans saw them before the season started. The Colts have a chance to get back to their winning ways as they begin a two game home stand, starting with the Las Vegas Raiders. These two teams have split some wins over the last five meetings, but FanDuel Sportsbook is giving the Colts a sizeable advantage in this one. The spread has the Colts at -6.5.
The money line starts at -330 and the over/under comes in at 48.5.
The Colts’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams was about as dispiriting as they come. Take a moral victory if you must, but seeing the Colts have ample opportunity to win and then fumble it (literally) away was demoralizing. There were three fluky events that accounted for 21 potential points. Ten men on the field for the defense on the Rams go ahead 88-yard score with under two minutes to play, the Adonai Mitchell fumble in the back of the endzone, and the Mitchell hold on a Jonathan Taylor touchdown run. With so many ways to win, the Colts found a way to avoid it in week four.
The Raiders are coming off a heartbreaker themselves as they lost to the Chicago Bears on an end of game blocked field goal. A 54-yard attempt was blocked after Caleb Williams had led the Bears down the field for the go ahead touchdown with 1:34 left in the game. Four turnovers by the Raiders didn’t help things as Geno Smith was picked three times. 14/21 with 117 yards and three interceptions isn’t going to cut it for the Raiders quarterback going forward. If they want to have a chance on the road against the Colts in week five, that is something they will have to clean up in a hurry.
Neither team is walking into this game feeling good. The one takeaway for the Colts is they went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the NFC and maybe football overall. They not only showed they can hang around, but reverse two or three plays and the Colts walk away from L.A. the victors. Unfortunately, that isn’t how sports works (look no farther than week two against the Broncos). Fortune goes both ways. The Colts have had it and have lost it. They will seek to find more of it as the Raiders head to town.
