Colts won’t need Luck to cover spread vs. Texans
With quarterback Andrew Luck out with a shoulder injury Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts were fortunate to pull out a 16-13 overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, who missed a pair of potential game-winning field goals.
Luck will be sidelined again for today’s “Thursday Night Football” game at the Houston Texans (5:25 p.m., CBS (8), NFLN (317)), but Gold Sheet handicapper Bruce Marshall (goldsheet.com) is still siding with the Colts, who opened as 1½-point favorites but are now 4½-point underdogs at most Las Vegas sports books.
Marshall’s play is less for the Colts — who have won eight straight Thursday night games and 15 straight division games — than against the Texans, who will start Ryan Mallett at quarterback after opening the season with Brian Hoyer.
“I think there’s great value on Indianapolis plus that number,” Marshall said. “Irrespective of what happens with Luck, the Texans look like a mess to me and it’s (coach Bill) O’Brien’s fault.
“If you were gonna start Mallett, you should’ve started him right away. He’s gonna start Mallett again but he’s on a short leash. He’s created an awkward quarterback dilemma he didn’t need to create.”
The teams are a combined 1-7 against the spread this season, with the Colts 0-4 ATS and Houston 1-3 following Sunday’s embarrassing 48-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
“They’re not quite hitting on all cylinders. Their defense got shredded last week and Jadeveon Clowney’s not making an impact yet,” Marshall said. “Houston is a very risky proposition right now, as long as O’Brien does this with his quarterbacks. Something seems off with their chemistry.
“It’s still a big game for Indy. It puts Indy in control of its division again. They’ll be two games up on everybody if they win tonight.”
Colts backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will start for the second straight week after completing 30 of 47 passes for 282 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions Sunday in his first start since 2012. The 6-point line move was in line with other adjustments made this season when quarterbacks Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, Ben Roethlisberger and Tony Romo went out with injuries.
“It seems like a huge adjustment but I don’t think any of the backups have won a game except Hasselbeck last week,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said. “A lot of the line adjustment is based on the fact that Luck’s not going to play. We’re seeing some Texans action come in.”
The total has dropped to 41 after opening at 45. Last season, the Colts won 33-28 in Houston and 17-10 in Indianapolis.
