The Indianapolis Colts were chosen as the favorite to win the 2006 Super Bowl prior to the season's start with odds set at 4 to 1 and they have certainly lived up to expectations

The Indianapolis Colts met one of their biggest challenges during Week 14, beating a solid Jacksonville Jaguars team on the road.  They still had to face San Diego and a red hot Seattle Seahawks teams before finishing the season at home against Arizona.  The Chargers handed the Colts their first loss of the season, spoiling the opportunity for an undefeated season.

The Colts odds to win the 2006 Super Bowl early on were set at 4 to 1, which led all other NFL clubs. 

In a press release issued by online sports betting company, PlayersOnly.com, despite being listed at -160 to lose a game before the end of the regular season, almost 78 per cent of bettors are backing the Colts to finish 16-0. When it comes to the SuperBowl, however, bettors didn't share the same enthusiasm.  Only 30 per cent of wagers have backed the Colts to win the big game.

“It’s really an interesting trend and one we would not have expected.  Some people around the league feel Dungy may rest some of his players in the last few games of the regular season to make sure they are ready for a run at the Super Bowl,” said Peter Childs, PlayersOnly.com oddsmaker. “Clearly fans believe that this is a team built for regular season success but not necessarily playoff success.”

The chances of Dungy resting players during the final two weeks remains even more likely.

The Chargers went ahead for good on a 49-yard field goal by Nate Kaeding with 6:41 left after the Colts erased a 16-0 deficit with a field goal and two touchdowns in a six-minute span of the third quarter. Then Michael Turner clinched it with an 83-yard touchdown run after rookie Luis Castillo sacked Peyton Manning to knock the Colts out of field-goal range.

"I think they're the best team in the football. But all week, we felt we could beat them," said San Diego rookie Shawne Merriman, who had two sacks and forced an important intentional grounding by Manning. "It will always go down in the books, no matter what happened before or after."

The win kept San Diego (9-5) alive for an AFC wild-card spot and prevented Denver from clinching the AFC West. The Chargers will need help to make the playoffs.

And it certainly led to champagne celebrations by members of the 1972 Dolphins, the only team to complete a season undefeated.

"If they had gone undefeated, I would have been the first to congratulate them, and I know the players on our '72 team would have done the same," '72 Dolphins head coach Don Shula said. "They are a joy to watch and they are a team all football fans can be proud of."

PlayersOnly.com listed potential Indianapolis Colts 2006 Super Bowl matchups with the following odds:

Potential Super Bowl Match-Ups: 

Indianapolis vs. Seattle            5-2

Indianapolis vs. Carolina          9-2

Indianapolis vs. NY Giants       6-1

Indianapolis vs. Chicago        13-2

Indianapolis vs. Dallas            19-1

Cincinnati vs. Seattle              25-1

Denver vs. Seattle                   25-1

San Diego vs. Seattle            28-1

Carolina vs. Cincinnati           40-1

Carolina vs. Denver                40-1

New England vs. Seattle        42-1

All the team ratings web sites utilized by Gambling911.com had the Colts a full 6 to 8 rating points better than the next best team in the NFL.  Most of these sites listed Denver followed by San Diego as the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the league, respectively. 

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Tyrone Black, www.gambling911.com

Originally published December 11, 2005 6:50 pm EST