Ravens vs Colts AFC Wild Card NFL Betting Odds and Advice

National Football League playoffs takes center stage today as the the Indianapolis Colts travel to Baltimore to battle the Ravens in AFC Wild Card action. The Colts have been hot while the Ravens have struggled some.

There’s a ton of intrigue attached to this contest and kickoff is slated for 1:00 PM ET on January 6, 2013, from M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. We like the Ravens to ground and pound to a win here.

Baltimore Ravens: Run the rock to control the clock

Baltimore was the favorite to win the AFC North and possibly advance to Super Bowl XLVII in the preseason. Part one appeared to be in order as the Ravens were 9-2 heading into Week 13. The wheels fell off after that as Baltimore closed the season on a 1-4 run. We’ll give them a mulligan for their 23-17 Week 17 loss to the Bengal as they weren’t playing for much in that contest. Team leader and All Pro LB Ray Lewis returns from an 11 week injury absence for this contest.

While yours truly isn’t an NFL head coach, the game plan appears to be fairly simple here. Indy ranks 22nd in run defense and they have given up over 100 yards in six of their past seven games. RB Ray Rice is one of the best in the business and now he’s being complimented by rookie RB Bernard Pierce. The Ravens need to run the rock, keep the ball away from the Colts offense, and QB Joe Flacco needs to properly manage the game by avoiding turnovers.

Indianapolis Colts: 9-2 season end run has the Colts thinking Super Bowl

After opening the year at 2-3, Indianapolis has done a complete 360 as they went on a 9-2 run to close out the regular season. The Colts went 2-14 last season and their “Suck For Luck” campaign has proved fruitful as #1 overall pick QB Andrew Luck has turned out to be all he was advertised coming out of college. Luck broke the one-year old rookie record for passing (Can Newton 4,051 yards in 2011) as he threw for 4,183 yards and 21 touchdowns in his first season with the Colts.

Along with the Colts futility versus the run, one also has to remember that they expended a lot of energy after playing division rival Houston twice in three weeks to close the season. Those games were were separated by a 20-13 win over the 2-14 Kansas City Chiefs who gashed them for 352 rushing yards. Also, the Colts are the only team in the playoffs that allowed more points than they managed to score this season as their combined final counts added up to 357 PF and 387 PA.

Colts vs Ravens AFC Wild Wagering Lines and Sportsbook Review Game Day Call

Sportsbetting.com and their world-class online sportsbook is the lines supplier for the Indianapolis vs Baltimore contest on Sunday. The Ravens are posted as -6.5 (-115) home chalk against the spread and -290 on the money line. Indy backers are getting a +185 straight up line and the Over/Under is set at 47 total points. The Colts are one of the surprise teams in the league this season and head coach Chuck Pagano’s battle with Leukemia has been truly inspirational.

That said, all five of the Colts losses came on the road this season and they were outscored by a combined 186-88 count in those games. While not totally dominant, the Ravens posted a 6-2 record at M&T Bank Stadium and they closed out their home schedule with a 33-14 whitewash of the New York Giants. If the Ravens crank up their ground game – they’ll win going away here. We think they will so give us the Ravens at -6.5 (-115) ATS at the SportsBetting wagering website!