Colts Odds and Betting Trends

Bet on Indianapolis Colts

One of the most storied franchises in all of NFL history is the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts. Once dominant in the NFL pre-merger, the Colts have since moved across a timezone and have occasionally found Unitas-like magic at quarterback again. And as long as the team stays in a usually pretty weak AFC South, they’ll be worth betting through the regular season and even beyond…

Indianapolis Colts

The origin of the Colts is set in Baltimore, but before the Baltimore NFL Colts were the Baltimore Colts of the All-American Football Conference (AAFC). This team began the now-longstanding Colts tradition of starting Hall of Fame franchise quarterbacks as rookies, putting Y.A. Tittle at the helm for the team’s second season of 1948. Unfortunately, the AAFC Colts were not exactly packed with Hall of Fame talent to put around Title and ultimately went a cumulative 10-29-1 from the 1947 through ’49 seasons.

The Colts were one of three AAFC teams to jump to the NFL for the 1950 season along with the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. More of the same followed for the Colts, who went just 1-11 and folded after the season.

Thanks to the outstanding fan turnout shown the terrible Baltimore sides of the 40s, however, the Colts were reborn as an NFL team in 1953, and the hiring of head coach Weeb Ewbank in ’54 turned the Colts into a perpetual contender. By ’58, the Colts offense was manned by Johnny Unitas and included Alan Ameche, Lenny Moore and Raymond Berry. This team was the winner of the legendary Championship Game of 1958, seen by most sports historians as that with which the NFL captured American’s hearts forever and by many as the greatest game ever played (yes, still).

By the time of the AFL-NFL merger, Don Shula was head coach and he’d lead the team to a half-dozen winning seasons plus one Super Bowl appearance. This was the infamous Super Bowl III, in which the suddenly helpless powerhouse Colts were reduced to helplessness at the hands of a New York Jets team coached by … Weeb Ewbank. Further irony: The year after Shula left Baltimore, the Colts would take the Lombardi Trophy by defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V.

Following Super Bowl V, however, the Colts saw little more than lean times and losing seasons well below the .500 mark. From the ’Bowl win over the Cowboys through the 1983 season, the Colts had just four winning seasons and a playoff mark of 0-3 SU/ATS (all all three games as underdogs).

Once again were the football fans of Baltimore getting cheaped out by ownership, in this case Jim irsay. Irsay rarely shelled out star-level salaries to any players, yet by the mid-80s was demanding a new stadium via taxpayer funds. With city and state officials going so far as to threaten legal action, Irsay perpetrated the legendary “Midnight Run” move in which he had two tractor-trailers loaded up with as much Colts infrastructure as they could carry drive to the new digs in Indianapolis.

The history of the Colts in the post-Baltimore era is centered on the team which began to take shape in the late 1990s under Jim “Playoffs?!?!?” Mora and blossomed with head coach Tony Dungy. The no. 1 overall pick of the 1998 NFL draft, one Peyton Manning, was installed at QB and Dungy in particular put together perhaps the greatest offensive line of all-time, anchored at center by Jeff Saturday, a top-10 all-timer at the position.

In 13 years as a starter, Manning led the Colts into the playoffs 11 times and into the Super Bowl twice. The Colts’ total record in the postseason in that period was 9-10 SU/ATS – and an even 8-8 SU/ATS in playoff games not involving the New England Patriots.

Due to a major injury to Manning, the Colts thoroughly tanked in 2011 to go 2-14 SU (6-10 ATS) and essentially reset to 1998, taking top college QB Andrew Luck with the no. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Luck was instantly plugged in and Indianapolis was able to look at ’11 as a speedbump. The Colts went 33-15 SU/28-18-2 ATS from 2012 through ’14, with a 3-3 SU/ATS – but an excellent 3-1 SU/ATS in playoff games not involving the New England Patriots. After missing all of the 2017 season, Luck stunningly retired at the age of 29 after the ’18 season and a playoff exit to the Kansas City Chiefs.

How bettable are the Colts post-Luck? NFL bettors should probably wait for some stability at quarterback – after all, this team started four different quarterbacks on week 1 in the four seasons since Luck left. 

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Summary

Once upon a time – before 1970 and the AFL-NFL merger – the Baltimore Colts were one of the most dominant teams in football. Episode 2 of the franchise’s history was set in Indianapolis; with a few quality head coaches, a great OL and superstar quarterbacks, the team established a winning tradition that got the Colts into 13 postseasons in 16 years and a bettor’s favorite. Going forward, this team may be worth the bets, but maybe they’ll relocate again first…