Colts vs. Bengals Point Spread: NFL Week 14 Odds, Prediction
The Colts arrive in Cincy unbeaten straight up and against the spread in four straight contests after escaping Tennessee with a 31-28 victory last weekend, and now sit just one game back of Jacksonville in the AFC South standings. The Bengals did the Colts a big favour with their 34-31 win over the Jaguars on Monday Night Football. That victory put the brakes on a three-game slide, and lifts the Bengals to within one game of a wild card spot in the AFC with just five weeks remaining on the schedule.
The Colts’ recent surge has failed to give them a lift on the NFL Week 14 odds, where they lag as 1-point road underdogs. This contest is listed as a pick’em on the NFL moneyline, withy both Indy and the Bengals sporting -110 odds, and the total is pegged at 44.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Colts have emerged as road warriors during their steady rise up the AFC South standings. With last weekend’s victory over the Titans, the Colts have now won and covered in three straight road contests, and sport a 5-1 SU and ATS away record this season including outright victories over Houston and Baltimore as betting underdogs. Indianapolis has also largely dominated during its four-game win streak, claiming victory by an average margin of seven points while being favoured by no more than 2.5 points in any of those contests.
Things haven’t gone so well for the Colts in recent trips to Cincinnati, where they have lost three straight while surrendering an average margin of 31 points. However, the Bengals have struggled on both sides of the ball during their current 1-3 SU run, during which they have allowed at least 30 points on three occasions. Overall, the Bengals have earned the win three times in five dates this season as home chalk, but are just 2-3-1 ATS in their past six overall as home chalk, and are 3-5-1 ATS in their past nine while favoured at home by three or fewer points.
Indianapolis Colts
Few observers gave the Colts much of a chance to challenge for the top of the AFC South with Gardner Minshew under centre, but the journeyman pivot has proved to be a steady leader while leading Indy into contention after taking over for injured rookie Anthony Richardson. Minshew himself has stated that “it’s not always gonna be sexy” when recently asked about the team’s recent success. However, the enigmatic has emerged as a leader in the clutch while guiding the team to victory with big fourth-quarter scoring drives in each of the past two games.
Minshew has quickly developed chemistry with receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who made last weekend’s game-winning catch, and has topped 100 receiving yards in each of his past two games, and three times overall since Minshew took over QB duties. But it is looking increasingly likely that the Colts will once again be without Jonathan Taylor on Sunday, as the star rusher nurses a thumb injury.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals were expected to roll over after losing Joe Burrow to a season-ending injury amid their recent three-game slide. But if Jake Browning can duplicate the performance he turned in while leading Cincy to Monday night’s victory, it may be too soon to write off the Bengals just yet. In just his second career NFL start, Browning demonstrated veteran poise while completing 86.5% of pass attempts for 354 yards and one touchdown, and added a crucial scoring run in the fourth quarter. However, Browning can expect to face more resistance against a Colts pass rush that has surrendered fewer than 200 passing yards per game over the past two weeks while piling up 12 total sacks.
As a result, browning will likely have to lean heavily once again on rusher Joe Mixon, who ran for two TDs and piled up 117 total yards on Monday night. Rookie running back Chase Brown also enjoyed his best outing of his brief NFL career last weekend, running for 61 yards and his first career touchdown, but his status is uncertain after being limited in practice this week with a hamstring injury.
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