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The Indianapolis Colts odds to win Super Bowl 56 had moved to 35/1 ahead of Week 15 and the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Bucs had odds of 5/1. Should these two teams face one another in the 2022 Super Bowl the line would be Bucs -5 as of December 18, 2021.
Indianapolis was facing off against New England as a -2.5 home favorite, although in normal times they would be a +2.5 dog. That's because the Patriots had a number of players out for Saturday's game. The Colts have lost eight straight against the Patriots since a win in 2009. Six of those eight were played at New England and two were playoff games.
Saturday night finally ended that streak with the Colts beating New England at home.
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor leads the NFL in rushing with 1,346 yards and 18 touchdowns heading into this game, and he was expected to be the difference maker Saturday night.
“Any time you make the game bigger than what it is, it can kind of rattle some people,” Taylor said of the Patriots-Colts rivalry, which once featured QB greats Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. “I just know that a lot of times, young guys, you can kind of get rattled when you make the game bigger than what it is and you’re not locked into the small details.”
The Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints are set to face off in a division matchup that, should Tampa win, they would clinch the NFC South. Despite winning the Super Bowl last season, Tampa did not win the NFC South and hasn't done so since 2007.
The Buccaneers snapped the second-longest active postseason drought in NFL history last season when Tom Brady led the team to the playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons.
- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com
