Two of the perennial strongest teams in the AFC face off on Sunday afternoon in Indianapolis when the 3-0 Colts host the 2-1 Denver Broncos.
Indy is 3-0 for the third straight year and fourth time in five seasons. The defending Super Bowl champions, who started 9-0 last season and 13-0 in 2005, are 17-2 in September under coach Tony Dungy -- a record that includes 11 straight wins in the
season's first month.
"What we like to say is that it puts pressure on other teams when you get off to a fast start," Dungy said. "We can give ourselves a little more margin for error down the road and that helped us last year when we didn't play that well in November and December. It's much better playing with the division lead than chasing somebody."
In addition, Indy is 10-0 at home in the regular season since the start of last year and has won 21 of its past 22 games. Sunday marks the seventh time under Dungy that the Colts have faced Denver. The scoreboard reads Colts 4, Broncos 2, although the last Denver win in 2004 was tainted by Indy's decision to yank the starters after one series. The Broncos have been shredded in their past two trips to Indianapolis, allowing 90 total points in wild card losses in 2003 and '04.
Colts QB Peyton Manning has thrown for nearly 1,800 yards and 12 touchdowns in seven games against Denver. This season, the Colts rank fourth in the NFL with 398.3 total yards per game, and Manning is fourth in the league with 291.0 passing yards per game and has thrown five touchdown passes and only one interception.A big part of Indy's recent success against Denver has been WR Reggie Wayne. With Champ Bailey usually doing a good job on the other top Colts WR, Marvin Harrison, Wayne has gone wild, with 23 catches, 449 yards and six scores in the last three games against the Broncos. Those numbers are a big reason the Broncos acquired cornerback Dre Bly from the Lions in the offseason.
So far, so good, as Denver currently owns the NFL's best passing defense, with just 88.3 passing yards allowed per game. That's the good news. The bad news is that unit is allowing 116.0 rushing yards per contest -- tied with Miami for 29th in the league. The Broncos allowed Jacksonville to run for 186 yards in Sunday's 23-14 home loss and posted their lowest time of possession total (21:18) in 15 years.
"I mean, they're definitely going to throw the ball," Bailey said. "But they obviously have a good running back (Joseph Addai), and we haven't stopped the run all year. So I know they're going to do that."
Injuries could play a key role in this game, as the Broncos will wait until Sunday to determine if receiver Javon Walker (sore knee) and safety John Lynch will play against the Colts. Lynch is key to Denver's running game, but he has a strained groin. QB Jay Cutler has a sprained ankle but is expected to play - and be limited. That could mean a healthy dose of Travis Henry running the ball for Denver.
Henry was off to a great start but struggled last week along with the entire Denver offense in a loss to Jacksonville. Henry rushed for only 35 yards, and the Broncos only managed 265 yards total.
"When we get on the field, no one can stop our offense. Only we can," said Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
The Colts, meanwhile, yielded only 40 rushing yards against the Texans, the lowest total allowed by an Indianapolis defense since November 2005. And the Indy run defense will get a boost with the return of strong-side linebacker Rob Morris, who had missed the past two games with a strained abdominal muscle but will start Sunday.
The lowdown: Denver is +9.5 on WagerWeb.com. Expect Lynch and Walker to go for the Broncos, but Indy is playing as well as anyone and should be able to win by at least 10 to cover.
NFL betting odds at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook
No comments:
Post a Comment