Sunday, November 8, 2020, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, 1 p.m. ET
Ravens at Colts Betting Preview: Ravens (+3/-115), Colts (-3/-105)
Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore travels to Indianapolis with victories in three of its last four games, but the Ravens showed inconsistency in last week’s 28-24 home loss to Pittsburgh to fall to 5-2 and two games behind the Steelers for the AFC North lead.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson threw two interceptions and fumbled twice against the Steelers, and now will lead an offense that will be without All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) for the remainder of the season.
The Baltimore defense will be without cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who on Monday tested positive for COVID-19, and numerous defensive teammates didn’t practice this week after experiencing “high risk” close-contact exposure to the starter. The team had no new positive tests on Wednesday, however. The Ravens have won three of four in the series after losing eight in a row.
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are 5-2 to start the season for the second straight year, and sit tied atop the AFC South with the Tennessee Titans. Indianapolis may be on track to at least one home playoff game thanks in part to its success inside Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts are 3-0 to open 2020.
Indianapolis has won two straight and five of six overall, and is coming off a 41-21 road victory at Detroit in which Philip Rivers passed for three touchdowns — all in the second quarter — and 262 yards. Reserve running back Nyheim Hines caught two scoring passes as he helped spell a struggling Jonathan Taylor, who has dealt with an ankle injury.
Receivers T.Y. Hilton (groin) and Ashton Dulin (knee) were questionable with injuries early in the week.
Ravens at Colts Betting Pick for Week 9
Yeah, yeah, the NFL is a collective 1-6 this season the week after its teams play the Steelers, a distinction the Ravens held in Week 8. And yes, Jackson took his licks and lumps and prompted a similar refrain from Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin and Indianapolis defensive end Justin Houston over the last week: “Respect him, but don’t fear him.”
Still, the banged-up Ravens bring enough savvy on both sides of the ball to hand the Colts their first home loss of the season in what shapes up as a competitive contest.
Ravens at Colts Betting Pick:
Ravens 27, Colts 24
Ravens at Colts Best Bet for Week 9
While the Ravens figure to show resiliency despite their depleted defensive ranks — namely in the backfield — Rivers is a veteran who has faced Baltimore’s vaunted blitz packages before.
Similarly, the Colts have flexed some muscle on ‘D’ this season, as well, albeit against some of the less potent attacks in the league. That could spell a rebound effort for Jackson — and trigger something of a shootout in a possible AFC playoff preview.
Ravens at Colts Best Bet: OVER 47 points (-110)
