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Indianapolis Colts vs. Arizona Cardinals betting odds were sitting at Arizona -2 ½ in a rare instance where the Colts were an underdog. While the spread action was going Arizona's way by 60/40, money line action that would pay out $125 on a $100 bet was going Indianapolis' way.
Arizona got back on the winning track at Jacksonville and now will square off with another AFC South foe when it hosts Indianapolis in Week 3's Sunday night football feature. This will be the second straight prime time game for the Colts, after winning at Miami last Monday night despite not even possessing the ball for a full quarter's time. Clearly both teams face early questions, making this contest all the more important. The Cardinals were a 2.5-point favorite at last check and backed by over 60% of bettors at Sportsbook.com.
Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner bounced back from his brutal opening game performance to set an NFL record for pass completion percentage in a game by going 24 for 26 for 243 yards in the win over the Jaguars. The decision pushed the Cardinals' record vs. the AFC to 8-2 ATS in the Ken Whisenhunt era. They will head into the off week after this showdown with the Colts, and bring a 5-0-1 OVER record in their L6 pre-bye week games. Arizona is also 4-1 SU & ATS as a home dog in the last 2-plus seasons.
Indy opened as a 2-point favorite, but has since moved to a more sizeable underdog. The Colts will look to improve on a 1-3 ATS record last year vs. the NFC and 0-3 ATS stretch vs. Arizona.
Don't stray too far from the tube on Sunday night or you might miss a touchdown or two in this rare matchup between a pair of Super Bowl MVPs. Not including playoffs, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and Arizona's Kurt Warner combined to throw for 8,585 yards and 57 touchdowns in 2008, and they're never shy to let it fly. Thus, this could be a game to take advantage of the scoring and in-game props available at Sportsbook.com.
The Cardinals had the NFL's top passing offense last season and there's no reason to get too caught up establishing balance when you've got Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston split wide. But head coach Ken Whisenhunt does want the running game to come alive. Warner passed for 288 yards in a Week 1 loss to San Francisco and 243 yards and two scores in last Sunday's win in Jacksonville, while second-year running back Tim Hightower has 15 receptions and a touchdown through two games.
The Cardinals and Colts were the only teams to average fewer than 80 yards rushing per game in 2008, and Indianapolis had a league-worst 3.4 yards per-carry average. After back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns to being his career, Joseph Addai dipped to 544 while missing four games due to injury. The offense needs a bounce-back season out of him.
PREDICTION
This is the second of five scheduled games under the lights for the Colts, but just their second trip all-time to Arizona, where the Cardinals went 8-2 a year ago, including thrilling playoff victories over Atlanta and Philadelphia. Both defenses will get beat. It's just a matter of whether Warner or Manning wins the quarterback competition. ARIZONA 30, INDIANAPOLIS 27 *This pick is not part of the official Gambling911.com record.
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Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
