Indianapolis Colts (1-2 SU, 2-1 ATS) vs. Seattle Seahawks (1-2 SU, 0-3 ATS)
NFL Football Week 4
Date/Time: Sunday October 1st, 2017. 8:30PM (EST)
Where: CenturyLink Field Seattle, W.A.
TV: NBC
by Jay, NCAA Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: Colts +13/Seahawks -13
Over/Under Total: 41.5
The Indianapolis Colts will travel into Seattle this Sunday for a showdown with the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field for Sunday Night Football. Last week the Colts earned their 1st victory of the season by holding off the hapless Browns by a score of 31-28. Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett shined in the victory to offer some encouragement for Colts fans in the wake of Andrew Lucks absence. Brissett hit 17 of 24 passing for 259 yards with a touchdown and ran for an additional 2 scores on the ground. On the heels of last weeks uplifting performance, Brissett will now lead the Colts offense into one of the toughest enemy venues in the NFL at Seattle on a primetime stage.
Despite the win last week, the Colts have not played very well this season. Before last weeks win over Cleveland, the Colts offense had been relatively awful combining for just 22 points in losses to the Rams and Cardinals. Luckily, the Browns defense helped Jacoby Brissett build some confidence. The backup quarterback was able to make plays with his legs and put together a solid performance throwing the football. Brissett also threw his 1st touchdown pass of the season when he connected with star WR TY Hilton for a 61 yard bomb. Hilton had a huge day on Sunday catching 7 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown.
With an inept running game, TY Hilton is Indianapoliss biggest offensive threat and it is imperative that the Colts find ways to get him the football. Brissett has not done a great job of getting the ball into the hands of their playmakers which is the major reason the Colts are 13 point dogs going into Seattle this week. The good news for Indianapolis fans for the long term is that quarterback Andrew Luck is expected to return to practice this week for the first time this year. Therefore, the hopes are that Luck could return in the next few weeks to breathe life back into this Colts offense.
The bad news relates to the short term and the Colts will still have to go into Seattle this Sunday without Luck. I mentioned Brissetts struggles throwing the football and we should also expect those struggles to be exemplified against a Seahawks defense at home. Now I know what you may be thinking. The Seahawks have not looked that great this season either. Last week, Seattle dropped their 2nd loss of the season to Tennessee 33-27 in a game where the defense gave up 420 total yards. The Seattle defense was gashed by DeMarco Murray who carried the ball 14 times for 115 yards, Derrick Henry added 54 yards on 13 carries, and even Marcus Mariota was effective throwing for 225 yards with 2 scores.
Overall, it was just an ugly performance for the Seahawks and there are legitimate concerns on each side of the ball. Seattles offense has posted an awful start behind an offensive line that just cannot protect quarterback Russell Wilson who is completing just 57% of his passes on the season. The entire Seahawks running back brigade managed just 69 yards on the ground despite 22 attempts on Sunday and just could not move the chains on a consistent basis. Therefore, there are plenty of question marks heading into Sunday nights showdown with the Colts.
I personally believe returning home under the prime stage will create reenergized bounce back effort from this Seahawks team. The defense always plays better at home and they still are one of the most talented units in the NFL. Additionally despite the offensive struggles, WR Doug Baldwin is still one of the premier wide receivers in the league and will be in plus side matchups on every snap. If they can get Russell Wilson rolling outside of the pocket, big plays are still to be made even if the offensive line continues to struggle. I expect the offense to play better and the defense to be suffocating for Brissett this week in similar fashion to how we saw Washington turn things around last week on the Sunday night stage on both sides of the ball. Expect a similar storyline here.
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