Indianapolis Colts vs. Denver Broncos
The Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos have the honor of opening their 2014 NFL season on Sunday Night Football. The Broncos enter this one looking to prove their performance in Super Bowl XLVIII was a fluke and they remain among the league’s elite. The Colts are looking to take the next step to contender status and a win on Sunday night would be an enormous step towards that.
Details for Sunday’s game are below:
Date: Sept. 7, 2014
Start Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Denver, Colorado
Stadium: Sports Authority Field at Mile High
TV Info: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
Radio:For Broncos, click here. For Colts, click here.
Ticket information: For Broncos ticket info, click here. For Colts ticket info, click here.
Keys to Victory
One has to start with Peyton Manning when talking about Broncos football. With Manning at the helm, Denver possesses perhaps the greatest aerial attack in NFL history. Even though the Colts defend the pass fairly well (17th in passing yards allowed per game this past season), the Broncos need to stick with their bread and butter, a pass-heavy attack. With an offense this good, the Broncos defense simply needs to contain Andrew Luck in order to win this one.
If the Colts want to pull off the upset here, they’re likely going to need a monster game from Luck. They don’t have a very strong defense or rushing attack, so to take down a team like the Broncos, Indy has to rely on Luck and receivers Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton putting on a show to come out ahead. The Colts had to score 39 points to beat Denver last season. A similar point total might be needed here.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Broncos (-7.5)
Moneyline: -110
O/U: 55.0
Prediction
The Broncos will cruise in this one. Manning and the passing game are always going to get theirs (except against the Seattle Seahawks) and running back Montee Ball should have a big game going against a subpar Indy rush defense (26th in rushing yards allowed per game in 2013).
Denver’s improved secondary will do enough to hold Luck somewhat in check, which means a breakout performance from Trent Richardson might be needed here for the Colts to hang in this one. Given everything we’ve seen from Richardson in the NFL, that’s unlikely
Final Score: Broncos – 42 Colts -24