By Charles Jay
The New England Patriots has to survive the battle of their lives last weekend as they outlasted the Baltimore Ravens. On Sunday they have a chance to get back to the Super Bowl as they tangle with the upset-minded Indianapolis Colts at 6:40 PM ET at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. Fans have the opportunity to beat the pro football odds all throughout the game through the magic of Live Betting Extra at Vietbet.
The Patriots used some trickery to turn back the Baltimore Ravens, who had beaten them twice in a row at Foxborough in the playoffs. They used formations that involved non-eligible running backs and receivers, forcing the Ravens to waste secondary people who covered them. Coach John Harbaugh was apparently unable to make adjustments in time. There was also a flea-flicker, in which Julian Edelman, who was a quarterback in college, tossed a strike to fellow smurf Danny Amendola for a touchdown.
With that game New England improved its record to 13-4 straight-up and 9-8 against the football pointspread. Indianapolis did a great job defending Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in a 24-13 victory, and the Colts are now 13-5, both straight-up and against the number.
In the pro football odds that have been posted on this conference title game at Vietbet, the Pats are favored by almost a touchdown:
New England Patriots -6.5
Indianapolis Colts +6.5
Over 54 points -110
Under 54 points -110
This will be the ninth conference title game for the combination of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback, Tom Brady, and they will be trying to get to their sixth Super Bowl. If you listened to people in the media one month into the season, you would have thought they should have already retired. Actually, that’s how bad the Patriots looked after losing 41-14 at Kansas City. Needless to say, they have turned things completely around since then.
One of their wins along the way was a 42-20 beating of this Indianapolis team that took place at Gillette Stadium. New England absolutely dominated things on the ground, getting 199 yards and four touchdowns from Jonas Gray, who was third on the depth chart at the start of the season. Gray has been dealing with some injuries, but Belichick has another battering ram available. LeGarrette Blount was picked up on waivers after he was released by the Steelers, but he was with the Pats last year and had 166 yards and, yes, four TD’s in the playoff rout over Indy. Surely Vietbet customers see a pattern here, in that the Pats have been able to run over, around and through the Colts, outrushing them 480-88 over the last two meetings.
By the way, they also intercepted Andrew Luck four times in last season’s 43-22 win in the Divisional Round. So the Colts will seek to prove they can stay within one touchdown, though they have been beaten by at least three TD’s in the last two. They have impressed on defense in their two playoff games, limiting Cincinnati to 254 yards in the wild card round and then Denver, normally a powerful offensive club, to 288 last week. The frustration was enough to prompt John Elway to fire coach John Fox. And Manning had just 211 yards passing on 46 attempts.
The Colts have held opponents to 5.2 plays per drive this season, and that was a league low. Here’s the interesting part – the Patriots had only fourteen yards rushing last week, which is the lowest total for any team that has won an NFL playoff game. We’re thinking that could change.
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