St. Louis Rams at Indianapolis Colts preview, odds, predictions

The 3-6 St. Louis Rams, coming off a 28-21 loss to the Tennessee Titans, will be on the road this week to take on the 6-2 Indianapolis Colts. The Colts won their last game 27-24 over the Houston Texans, getting another strong performance (and another fourth-quarter comeback) from quarterback Andrew Luck.

Here are three key things you should know before the 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff on Fox. Because knowledge is power.

1) Zac Stacy is a beast

The 5-foot-8, 224-pound Stacy wasn’t a big-name player coming out of Vanderbilt, but the St. Louis rookie has provided the Rams with a solid running threat. Stacy has run for 475 yards and 103 carries this season — not exactly mind-boggling numbers, true –but has played especially well in the last couple of weeks. Stacy rumbled for 134 yards against a stingy Seattle Seahawks defense on Oct. 28, and he followed up that performance with a 127-yard outing against the Tennessee Titans last week. With a healthy Jake Long opening up holes for him on the line, Stacy could have a big day against an Indianapolis defense ranked 27th in the league at stopping the run.

2) The Colts dominate the fourth quarter

According to a report released by the team, the Indianapolis Colts have only allowed 29 points in the fourth quarter all season. That’s a good enough for second-best in the NFL and is especially helpful when you consider clutch quarterback Andrew Luck. The second-year player out of Stanford has already led 10 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in his young career, a mark that is the most by a quarterback in his first two years since 1970.

3) The spread

At the time of this posting, Bovada has the Colts at -10. The over/under is 44. Enjoy using that information to reap ungodly sums of cash.

Prediction: I don’t foresee the Rams having enough offensive firepower to keep up with the Colts. Still, don’t be surprised to see another big day from Zac Stacy. Indianapolis wins 27-14.