Sportbet Sunday Football

The defending Super Bowl champions continue to plow through the early part of the new season, defeating the Denver Broncos 38-20 at home.  After finding themselves down 10-0 early, the offense came alive on the shoulders have Peyton Manning to comfortably put the game out of reach.  The surprise of the NFC, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1), traveled to Carolina and easily defeated the Panthers 20-7.

Unfortunately, Tampa Bay may have lost one of the leaders of their team, running back, Cadillac Williams, due to a knee injury.  Back up running back Earnest Graham has been a nice surprise up until this point, but it is unclear if he can handle the every day wear and tear of a starter.  On 17 carries against the Panthers tough defense he was only able to muster 2.8 yards per carry.  Jeff Garcia is continuing to enjoy his career resurgence, showing he still has more than a little left in the tank.  Garcia is completing well over 60 percent of his passes, and even ran for a touchdown against Carolina.  But, the goal of the Buccaneers offense isn’t to blow the other team out of the water, but to limit mistakes and let the defense handle the rest.  Since their week one loss, Tampa Bay has only given up 24 points, with some of those coming at the end of the game when the game had already been decided.  They easily have the best defense in the NFC south, giving up only 44 points, while the next closest team, the Panthers have given up 87.

The Colts continue to be the Colts, and Manning continues to be Manning.  While a few of their games have been a bit closer than expected this year (see Titans and Texans) they continue to find ways to win.  The offense has already put up 131 points, far and away the best in their AFC south division.  Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison have each caught 16 balls and have combined for three touchdowns.  Joseph Addai is enjoying his first year as a full-time starter, averaging 4.2 yards per carry, and scoring four times. 

This is a classic match-up between offense and defense.  Last week I took the Bucs on the road against the Panthers, but I don’t think I can do it here due to the explosiveness of the Colts offense.  While the Colts defense is in the middle of the pack, they always seem to step it up when they need to.  Tampa Bay doesn’t have the type of offense that allows them to play catch up, while the Colts, as they prove week after week, clearly do. I like the Colts 27-14.

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