- The Indianapolis Colts have -115 odds to cover the 2.0-point spread they’ve favored by over the New England Patriots.
- The last time these teams played without Tom Brady or Peyton Manning involved was in 1997.
INDIANAPOLIS – The New England Patriots will travel to play the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday with unfamiliar names quarterbacking each team.
First Game Without Brady, Manning Since 1997
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning dominated the AFC for the majority of their careers, resulting in a bit of a rivalry between the two. However, the meeting between the Patriots and Colts in Week 15 of the 2021 season will mark the first time since 1997 that the franchises play each other without either Brady or Manning involved in the game.
It’s been a while since NFL betting sites had to handicap this game without the two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks, and the last time they did, Jim Harbaugh was the starting quarterback for the Colts and Pete Carroll was the coach for the Patriots. The Pats won that game 20-17 despite Indy being 1-11 prior to the game.
This time around, a different result is expected.
Colts vs Patriots Spread Odds
- New England Patriots +2.0 -105
- Indianapolis Colts -2.0 -115
Handicapping The Game
New England is unquestionably the hottest team in the NFL as they’ve won seven games in a row and are now the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but the Colts are on a run of their own as they’ve won four of their last five games.
However, a deeper look into Indianapolis’ schedule shows that their streak is less impressive as it includes wins over the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets while the more impressive Patriots have beaten the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Chargers.
It seems as if online sportsbooks are overlooking just how dominant the Patriots have been, especially on the defensive side of the ball. New England has the best point differential in the league at 150, 16 points better than the next best team and has done so by allowing the fewest points of any team in the NFL (200).
Indianapolis’ offense has scored the third-most points this season, but with New England having an extra week of rest with a BYE week, it’s tough to see any team putting a lot of points on the board against them.
The game will take place on Saturday at 8:20 p.m. EST.
Advertising Disclosure
BettingSuperBowl.com may receive a commission from any purchases you make through link on our site. This enables us to offer you the best free content and news about Super Bowl Betting.
Nick is a football fanatic with years of sports journalism experience. He achieved a degree in Broadcast/Journalism from Penn State University. When he’s not covering the latest NFL odds you can catch him debating Brady > Belichick in his free time.