Vikings 30, Colts 24 – Staff, Bleacher Report
On Tuesday, the Indianapolis Colts declared quarterback Joe Flacco their starter over second-year pro Anthony Richardson. With that switch, oddsmakers shifted this line 1.5 points to the Colts side, indicating Indianapolis’ upgrade at quarterback.
Richardson has thrown four touchdowns and seven interceptions while only completing 44.4 percent of his passes this season. Flacco should lead a more efficient passing attack. In three games, he’s thrown for seven touchdowns and just one interception while completing 65.7 percent of his passes.
On Sunday evening, Flacco will face the Minnesota Vikings’ 30th-ranked pass defense, which has allowed six touchdown passes over the last two weeks.
Our panel expects offensive fireworks in this game, though [Bleacher Report NFL analyst Brent] Sobleski has the Vikings covering the spread.
“The Colts are making a short-sighted decision to start Flacco over Richardson,” Sobleski said. “That isn’t a defense of Richardson’s play. The 22-year-old is a project who needs to play through his growing pains. Instead, they’re turning to a 39-year-old known commodity who isn’t part of the Colts long-term future.
“Flacco has predominantly played in three games this season. He wasn’t particularly good during that stretch. The veteran threw for fewer than 190 yards in the two games that Indianapolis won,” Sobleski added. “Frankly, the Vikings are still a much better team than the Colts despite suffering two straight losses. This line feels like oddsmakers are trying to entice those who expect the Colts to receive a major boost from Flacco while also looking at Minnesota’s recent stretch of play. To quote Admiral Ackbar, ‘It’s a trap.’ “
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.