NFL Week 17 and we will see the Houston Texans travel north to take on the Indianapolis Colts. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 PM (Eastern) start time and it will be televised live on CBS. Currently the odds for the game have Houston favored by 7 points, while the total sits at 46.5. Check out Sportsbook Spy to find out what side the Public is taking on all today's games.
Free Analysis: The Texans (12-3) haven't been at their best lately, sandwiching the win over the Colts with losses to New England and Minnesota by a combined 45 points. However, they still have a chance to clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a win Sunday, or if both Denver and the Patriots lose. The health of Arian Foster could be a key. He had season lows of 10 carries and 15 yards in a 23-6 loss to the Vikings last Sunday before leaving in the third quarter with an irregular heartbeat. Foster lit the Colts up for 165 yards on 27 carries -- a 6.1-yard average -- when they met two weeks ago, and it would behoove the Texans to employ that strategy again to make sure their star is fully healthy. In three pre-2012 games against Indianapolis, Foster ran for 491 yards and five TDs on 71 carries, gaining a cool 6.9 yards per attempt. Indianapolis also has to deal with Andre Johnson, who had 11 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting and leads the AFC in receiving yards (1,457). The Texans, however, likely need to fix their problems on third downs after going 1 of 11 against the Vikings and 14 of 55 (25.5 percent) in December. Texans QB Matt Schaub needs 267 yards to reach 4,000 for the third time in his career. Defensive end J.J. Watt can shatter Michael Strahan's single-season sack record of 22.5 with 2.5 on Sunday. Watt registered three sacks in the earlier meeting.
It's not often a team with double-digit wins makes a coaching change on the eve of the postseason. But that's just what the Indianapolis Colts will do Sunday when they host the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium to close out the 2012 regular-season schedule. And they'll be awfully happy about it, because it means a welcome back for Chuck Pagano. The Colts head coach makes his first sideline appearance since Week 3 as the follow-up to a successful battle with leukemia -- which comes as part of the franchise's own improbable encore to a 2-14 finish in a lost season under Jim Caldwell a year ago. While the Colts (10-5) can't move out of the No. 5 seed in the AFC regardless of what happens this week, Pagano will try to help the team regain some momentum heading into the playoffs after a pair of poor performances. Although Indianapolis has won four of five, its offense has struggled in the past month. Rookie Andrew Luck has failed to complete 50 percent of his passes in four consecutive games. Luck set a rookie record for passing yards (4,183) and showed his penchant for late-game heroics by leading the Colts to a 20-13 win at Kansas City last week. It was the seventh game-winning drive for the No. 1 overall pick, tying a record since the merger in 1970. Colts WR Reggie Wayne went over 100 receptions for the fourth time last week and needs 67 yards to move past Steve Largent (13,089) for 13th on the career list. Indianapolis also has concerns on the other side of the ball. The Colts gave up 352 yards rushing and 507 overall to the Chiefs, who have the lowest-scoring offense (13.9 ppg) in the league. Indianapolis has been tough on 3rd downs,, ranking 10th in defensive third-down percentage (33.3) in December after holding the Chiefs to 2 of 10.
Free Pick: Gonna be brief with this one. I like the Colts to at least keep this one close. The Texans are not playing all that well right now and this stadium will be rocking with the return of Pagano. Look for the Colts to possibly steal a win here.
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NFL Free Picks: Houston at Indianapolis (Best Bet)
What pro football bettors need to know about Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts on Sunday (12/30/12) - a best bet from Pregame.com's Bryan Leonard, with host RJ Bell.