Will Luck be on the Colts’ side (literally), and will that be enough to make them NFL betting online favorites when they open their preseason versus the Buffalo Bills on August 13th at Ralph Wilson Stadium? Colts head coach Chuck Pagano promised us that QB Andrew Luck would play in the Hall of Fame Game. Well, he didn’t promise. And he said “everyone would play,” not just Luck. And the HoF Game was cancelled. But we still have a pretty good chance to see the highest-paid player in the league get some playing time against the Bills. Right?
The 2015 season rather unLucky for Indianapolis. Injury problems kept their young QB out of action for 50% of the campaign, and he posted the worst numbers of his career (162 completions out of 293 passing attempts for 1,881 yards and 15 TDs) and it appears as if no Colt is an island, because the entire team suffered. As a matter of fact, the franchise missed the postseason for the first time since Luck debuted under center in 2012. In addition to that, they went from an 11-5 record in 2014 to 8-8 the following year. Finally, the Colts finished 27th in offense, 21st in defense, 27th in passing, and 17th in rushing. By way of contrast, the Bills finished 6th in offense, 5th in defense, 12th, in passing, and 4th in rushing (though Buffalo also finished 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs as well).
Having said all of that, the Bills have proven that they can handle the Colts just fine even with Luck on the gridiron. Last regular season’s opening game pitted precisely these two teams against each other – which took place at the aforementioned Ralph Wilson stadium. On September 13th, 2015 the Bills beat the Colts 27-14, in what NFL.com called an “upset” – meaning that Buffalo weren’t exactly NFL betting online favorites on that occasion. Rex Ryan’s debuting defensive strategy completely shackled Luck, who finished 26 of 49 for 243 yards, and two touchdowns, and was intercepted twice. The Colts’ offense in general only managed nine first downs and 148 yards in the first half. So going with the Bills is not such a far-fetched idea, as far as online NFL bets go.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Luck is not the only one returning from an injury-plagued season. Bills’ coach Ryan is beaming like a kid with a new toy thanks to the recent acquisition of running back Reggie Bush from the SF 49ers, who signed a one-year contract to wear the Royal Blue. The Bills have listed Bush as the third RB in their first depth chart. However, Ryan did say he plans to use him in special situations, “almost like that Ferrari that we unleash and let people be like”Oh man, he’s out there!” What situation could be more special than the first game of the preseason? NFL betting online fans will have to wait and see about that one, but here’s hoping.
