NFL Football
2008-12-18 - Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
A Sports Betting Pick by Bodog
Jacksonville Stadium, Jacksonville, FL
Thursday December 18th, 2008 - Kickoff 8:15 PM ET
Jacksonville Jags (5-9 SU, 2-5 Home, 4-10 ATS)
They could have been a contender. Instead, the Jacksonville Jaguars are last in the AFC South at 5-9 SU and a recession-inducing 4-10 ATS. They’ll have to content themselves with playing the spoiler this Thursday night when the Indianapolis Colts come to this.
The Jaguars (+7, –120) have allowed 5.5 yards per play, up from 5.2 yards in 2007; that difference adds up in an NFL season of roughly 1,000 plays.
On offense, QB David Garrard has 10 interceptions after throwing only three last season – and he’s been sacked 38 times for a league-worst loss of 263 yards.
Indianapolis Colts (10-4 SU, 5-2 Road, 6-7-1 ATS)
The Colts have won seven in a row at 3-3-1 ATS to clinch their seventh straight season of 10 wins or more under coach Tony Dungy.
But they have yet to clinch a playoff spot in the hypercompetitive AFC. Motivation won’t be a problem tonight as a win would clinch the #5 AFC playoff seed.
But Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison will miss tonight's game with a hamstring injury suffered in Sunday's win over Detroit.
Head To Head
The Jaguars beat the Colts 23-21 in Indianapolis in Week 3 this season, while last season Indianapolis beat Jacksonville twice winning 28-25 in Jacksonville and 29-7 at home in the dome.
Indianapolis leads the series 9-4 since 2001.
The Verdict
Indianapolis have found ways to win all season, and they'll probably do it again tonight, although they might have problems covering the 5-5 to 7 point start.
The Pick :
Indianapolis 20 - 17 Jacksonville
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Take JACKSONVILLE with a seven point start.
