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Colts try to add to Giants losing skid Monday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 11/3/2014  at  5:19:00 AM
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INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (5-3)
at NEW YORK GIANTS (3-4)

Kickoff: Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Indianapolis -3, Total: 50.5

The Giants look to get back to .500 with a home victory over the Colts on Monday night.

Indianapolis was blown out in Pittsburgh last week, losing 51-34 in a game that it allowed 639 yards of total offense. The Giants, meanwhile, are coming off their much needed bye week following lopsided road losses to division foes Philadelphia (27-0 defeat) and Dallas (31-21 loss). These teams last met Sept. 19, 2010 when the Colts beat the Giants 38-14 as 4.5-point home favorites. Peyton Manning was still Indy's signal-caller in that game. The Colts are allowing just 99.3 rushing yards per game (9th in NFL) this season, and New York will not have top RB Rashad Jennings (knee). Indianapolis is 7-0 ATS after a doublt-digit loss over the past three seasons and is also 14-3 ATS after covering the spread in two of their previous three games during that time. New York is, however, 4-2 ATS after two straight double-digit losses over the past three years. WR Reggie Wayne (hand) is questionable for the Colts, but it looks like RB Trent Richardson (hamstring) will be able to play after not logging a single snap last week. For the Giants, S Antrel Rolle (foot) and DT Cullen Jenkins (calf) are both questionable.

Can the Giants end their losing streak at home on Monday night? For the answer, connect to NFL Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and playoffs. The experts have remained hot over the past six weeks, combining for a 57% ATS mark (54-40). StatFox Scott is 71% ATS (17-7) in Best Bets during this timeframe, and 63% ATS (20-12) on the season. StatFox Dave is 62% ATS (16-10) in Best Bets during these six weeks to improve to 56% ATS (20-16) on the season, while StatFox Brian has gone 59% ATS (13-9) in NFL Best Bets since Week 3, and continues to roll in NFL Totals with a stellar 71% record (17-7) for the season.

The Colts had won five straight games SU and ATS before running into an unstoppable Pittsburgh offense last week. The Indy defense was miserable in that game, but has been solid on the season as a whole. The club is good against the run, but after allowing Ben Roethlisberger to throw for over 500 yards, they’re now surrendering 252.9 passing yards per game (21st in NFL). QB Andrew Luck (2,731 pass yards, 22 TD, 9 INT) threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns in the loss to Pittsburgh, but he did throw two interceptions. It’s becoming apparent that the Colts won’t win games unless Luck is mistake free. He’ll need to be more careful against the Giants, but he should be able to have plenty of success against their mediocre secondary. WR T.Y. Hilton (53 rec, 866 yards, 2 TD) has now surpassed 100 receiving yards in three straight games and four of the past five contests. He has two touchdowns over the past three weeks and will be Luck’s go-to-guy whenever he is on the field. RB Ahmad Bradshaw (371 yards, 2 TD) should be in for a big game, as he’ll have extra incentive running against his former team. Bradshaw had six carries for 35 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers and also caught seven passes for 52 yards in that game.

QB Eli Manning (1,573 pass yards, 14 TD, 5 INT) threw four interceptions in the opening two weeks of the season, but he’s had just one since then. He’ll look to pick apart the same defense that allowed Roethlisberger to do whatever he wanted just a week ago. When Manning is throwing, he’ll often target his rookie WR Odell Beckham Jr. (10 rec, 106 yards, 3 TD). Beckham Jr. is this team’s No. 1 receiver now that WR Victor Cruz is out for the season. He caught four passes for 34 yards and two touchdowns in the Giants’ last game. TE Larry Donnell (33 rec, 332 yards, 4 TD) remains a big part of this offense as well. He had seven catches for 90 yards in the Giants’ last game and should be able to find success against the Colts over the middle. Defensively, the New York has struggled as of late. The team allowed 29.0 PPG in the two weeks heading into the bye and will need to improve, or Andrew Luck will really pick them apart.


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