Colts regain role as bettors’ choice

On the verge of being counted out two weeks ago, the Indianapolis Colts are making a strong comeback as Peyton Manning proves he's still a tough quarterback to bet against.

Manning made a statement by rallying the underdog Colts to a 24-20 victory over the Steelers at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

"The Colts are never dead," said Jimmy Vaccaro, director of operations for Lucky's sports books. "Manning still scares people. As long as they're in the game, Manning always has a chance to beat you."

The Steelers were favored by as many as 41/2 points during the week. Vaccaro said late action on the Colts drove the line down to 3 or 31/2.

However, "there was plenty of Steelers money," Vaccaro said. "I would venture to say most books did decent on that game."

Manning rescued Indianapolis from a 10-point first-half deficit, and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger helped the Colts' cause by throwing two interceptions. Manning cashed those in with a pair of touchdown passes.

Indianapolis, 5-4 straight up and 4-5 against the spread, is in the AFC playoff picture after consecutive wins over New England and Pittsburgh.

The Colts' schedule for the next five weeks is a lineup of sub-.500 teams -- Houston, San Diego, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Detroit.

The New York Giants, 3-point road underdogs, defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 36-31 in Sunday's late game to lift underdogs to a 7-6 mark in Week 10. Road teams are 10-3 against the spread this week, including Denver's victory over Cleveland on Thursday.

For the season, favorites still hold a slight edge. According to Dave Tuley of Viewfromvegas.com, favorites are 68-65-4 against the spread. Tuley grades games by the closing lines at the Las Vegas Hilton.

One of Tuley's plays Sunday was the Kansas City Chiefs as 15-point road underdogs against the San Diego Chargers. A strong trend supported the Chiefs, who covered to make double-digit underdogs 14-1 this season.

The Chargers won 20-19 in a thrilling finish. After a Chiefs touchdown with 23 seconds left, coach Herm Edwards called for a two-point conversion. Tyler Thigpen's pass to Tony Gonzalez was incomplete, dropping the Chiefs to 1-8.

Vaccaro said he was stunned by Edwards' decision.

"Edwards has got to go to overtime. You've got to tie the game up," he said. "If they tie it and win the game, that would have made the Chiefs 2-1 in the division. You can't just go for two points and put your whole season on the line."

Another shaky decision was made by bettors who backed the Detroit Lions as 6-point home underdogs. The winless Lions were crushed 38-14 by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tennessee, a 3-point road favorite, improved to 9-0 straight up and 8-1 against the spread with a 21-14 victory at Chicago. The Titans needed a late defensive stand to secure the win.

There was a dramatic point-spread decision in Carolina's 17-6 victory over Oakland.

The Panthers, who closed as 91/2-point favorites, took an 11-point lead on John Kasay's 32-yard field goal with 1:49 to play. The Raiders drove to the Carolina 40 with 13 seconds left, and Sebastian Janikowski missed a 58-yard field-goal attempt that hit the crossbar.

In the top games of Week 11, Pittsburgh opened as a 31/2-point home favorite over San Diego, and Washington is a 21/2-point home favorite over Dallas.

New England is a 31/2-point home favorite over the New York Jets on Thursday.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.