Ala Hann Sport picks

AFC Wild Card Playoffs

Baltimore Ravens @ Indianapolis Colts

5Dimes Odds (5Dimes Reviews): Colts -6.5

NFL Betting Total: 44

People examining the Super Bowl odds will be taking a good look at what they see from the Indianapolis Colts this weekend.

The Colts started the season with 14 straight wins but ended the year with two straight losses. The conversation has been non-stop about head coach Jim Caldwell’s decision to bench his starters instead of pushing for a perfect regular season. Now we’ll see if he truly made the right decision.

The Colts haven’t played in a serious game for about four weeks now and although you might be worried about rust with most teams, the Colts have been in this position many times. With Manning running the show, they are a perennial 10-win team and they are usually resting players down the stretch of the season. You can expect them to be able to crank it up a notch this week in practice and this Saturday at game time.

The Ravens would have loved to have the week off – especially given how many nagging injuries they have. Safety Ed Reed is nicked up, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata is banged up and even quarterback Joe Flacco is nagged by a couple of injuries.

Flacco has hip and leg issues, which may be a real concern for this week. Last week, the Ravens were handed a win and Flacco didn’t have to do much. In that game, he was just four-of-10 for 34 yards an interception. Clearly, not his best day. But this week, the Colts are going to zone in on the Ravens running game and force them to throw the ball – if Flacco isn’t healthy, they aren’t going to win.

The Colts shutdown the Ravens running game in the first meeting as they held them to just 98 rushing yards. The Ravens will need more than that to get the job done on the road.

For the Colts offense, they have some great advantages at wide receiver as the Ravens have put two cornerbacks on injured reserve this year. The Colts have plenty of depth at the position and will exploit that matchup once again.

It’s too much to ask of the Ravens to go on the road two straight weeks and knock off the New England Patriots, then the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts will win comfortably this week.

NFL Betting Picks: Colts -6.5

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