The Indianapolis Colts (6-5) are in a fantastic run at the moment, but bookmakers believe it may come to an end this Sunday. It’s because they’re playing against the Super Bowl LV champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3), in Week 12.
The Bucs are coming off a 30-10 MNF win over the New York Giants, which came after two straight defeats. Tom Brady had an okay game on Monday, with 30/46 for 307 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He will have to do even better if his team is to win on Sunday, the reason being that the Colts have been pretty good defensively.
Still, history teaches us that Indianapolis just can’t handle Brady. His record against the Colts is 15-4, but all of those games happened when he was playing for the New England Patriots. The Buccaneers vs Colts game on Sunday is going to be his first as a Tampa player.
Buccaneers vs Colts Odds (NFL Week 12, 2021)
All odds are per FanDuel as of November 23.
Moneyline
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | -152 |
| Indianapolis Colts | +128 |
Spread
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3 | -106 |
| Indianapolis Colts +3 | -114 |
Over/Under
| Over 51.5 | -105 |
| Under 51.5 | -115 |
Where and When to Watch
- Date: Sunday, November 28
- Time: 1:00 pm ET
- Location: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN
- Watch: FOX
Colts Playing Elite Football
Although they’re 6-5 on the season, the Colts have been superb in the past couple of weeks. In fact, after going 0-3 at the start of the season, they entered a series during which they didn’t lose a single game in regular time.
Both of their losses in the past two months happened in the overtime, but what’s even more important is that lost to real NFL heavyweights – the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans.
Speaking of footballing giants, the Colts have slain one on Sunday. In Week 11, they destroyed the Buffalo Bills on the road. The score was 41-15, which came as a surprise for a number of reasons.
First of all, before that game, the Bills had the best defense in the league. That didn’t frighten Colts’ running back Jonathan Taylor, though, as he scored four rushing touchdowns.
Secondly, Bills quarterback Josh Allen had a pretty disappointing outing, which saw him throw two interceptions – that was only the second time this season that two of his passes ended intercepted.
The Colts stopped Allen and Co., but can they do the same against Brady and his buddies?
Fans Expect More from Brady
Brady’s performances haven’t been that great since the Bucs returned from a bye. In the two games they played in November, Brady threw two touchdowns each time; in the two games before the bye week, he made four TD passes per game.
Brady also threw a total of three interceptions in the two November games, recording a passer rating of under 90 in each of those. Obviously, there’s room for improvement, but there’s one thing that’s giving the Bucs’ fans a lot of hope.
Brady has an amazing record against the Colts. Sure, he still hasn’t played against them in the Bucs’ jersey, but knowing how brilliant he was in the past, it’s very likely we’ll see him do well on Sunday.
That said, it seems that the key to beating the Colts lies in the Bucs’ defense. Indianapolis’s offense is surging, especially when it comes to rushing, but it seems that Tampa’s defense has the skillset to stop them. The thing is that the Bucs are the best team in the NFL when it comes to rushing defense, with just 78.4 yards allowed per game on average.
Knowing all this, backing the visitors seems like the right thing to do. Further, considering that the spread is set to only three points, backing the Bucs to cover looks like the right thing to do.
Picks: Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win and cover the spread; under should win, as well.