JOHNSTOWN —
Andrew Luck quickly is erasing the pain of the divorce with Peyton Manning for Colts fans. Now, he and the suddenly playoff-contending Colts head to Jacksonville, where just about everything about the Jaguars is painful.
The Colts (5-3) have won three straight and four of five to firmly plant themselves in the AFC wild-card picture. Luck comes off one of the great quarterbacking games for any rookie, ever – better, even, than Manning managed with Indianapolis in 1998. He completed 30 of 48 passes for 433 yards and two touchdowns for a 105.6 quarterback rating in the victory over Miami. The 433 yards set an NFL single-game record by a rookie quarterback, and Luck became the only rookie aside from Manning with four 300-yard passing games.
Indianapolis has risen to 12th in the AP Pro32 rankings and is a 3-point favorite against No. 31 Jacksonville (1-7).
It’s a nice matchup for Indy, which has been stingy on defense lately and timely on offense. Defensive leader Dwight Freeney wants everyone, especially the younger players – and there are plenty of them on the roster – to take things in stride.
“They’re experiencing it for the first time and it’s up to the older guys to kind of keep them, ‘all right, look, it’s about this week, who cares what happened last week, who cares how many games we’ve won in a row, it doesn’t matter,”’ Freeney said. “We have to get this victory coming up.”
Jacksonville ranks last in total offense, has scored 117 points, 16 fewer than any other team, and has dropped five in a row. But the Jaguars, 6-21 in their last 27 games, have three of those wins against the Colts, including their only victory in 2012, 22-17 in Week 3.
Nearly three dozen Colts shaved their heads in a show of support for coach Chuck Pagano, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia. The best way to show support is to keep winning.
COLTS, 17-13
No. 8 Denver (minus 4) at No. 25 Carolina
Broncos “manning up” behind Peyton and coach John Fox, who was fired by Panthers.
BEST BET: BRONCOS 31, PANTHERS 24
No. 13 Detroit (minus 2) at No. 18 Minnesota
Lions trending upward, Vikings the other way. That ends here.
UPSET SPECIAL: VIKINGS, 21-20
No. 2 Houston (plus 1) at No. 3 Chicago
On a neutral field, would pick Texans. Not in Soldier Field, especially at night.
BEARS, 19-16
No. 32 Kansas City (plus 12 1/2) at No. 10 Pittsburgh, Monday night
Steelers getting back to power game, will pummel awful Chiefs.
STEELERS, 30-13
No. 1 Atlanta (minus 2) at No. 17 New Orleans
Falcons will lose this season, just not here.
FALCONS, 34-28
No. 28 Buffalo (plus 11) at No. 6 (tie) New England
Simple fact: Patriots are matchup nightmare for Bills.
PATRIOTS, 36-23
No. 27 Oakland (plus 7 1/2) at No. 9 Baltimore
Simple fact II: Raiders don’t handle travel to East Coast very well.
RAVENS, 30-21
No. 19 Dallas (pick ‘em) at No. 20 Philadelphia
Once a prime matchup, now just an eyesore.
COWBOYS, 21-17
No. 26 St. Louis (plus 11 1/2) at No. 4 San Francisco
Niners don’t often have such a big spread. Maybe too big ...
49ERS, 20-10
No. 6 (tie) New York Giants (minus 4) at No. 22 Cincinnati
Giants need to rekindle offense and sliding Bengals might provide opportunity.
GIANTS, 22-17
No. 16 San Diego (plus 3) at No. 14 Tampa Bay
Vincent Jackson can’t wait to get back at Chargers.
BUCCANEERS, 33-17
No. 29 Tennessee (plus 6) at No. 15 Miami
Until Titans stop someone on defense, we’re not picking them.
DOLPHINS, 26-14
No. 24 New York Jets (plus 6 1/2) at No. 11 Seattle
Watch out for Seahawks in NFC wild-card race.
SEAHAWKS, 17-13
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2012 RECORD:
Against spread: 9-5 (53-75-3). Straight up: 10-4 (76-56)
Best Bet: 4-4-1 against spread, 7-2 straight up.
Upset special: 6-3 against spread, 4-5 straight up.
Pro
Pro football picks:
Surging Colts show up in prime time
- Pro
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Senators relish chance to even series with Penguins
After a win in Game 3, the Ottawa Senators are confident they can tie their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Snider’s grand slam lifts Bucs over Cubs
Travis Snider took a pregame pep talk from his manager to heart. Relaxed and with a clear head, he delivered a crucial sixth-inning home run for the second time in five games.
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Humbled Steelers ready to forget offseason
Troy Polamalu walked off the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice field on Tuesday with rookie safety Shamarko Thomas hanging on the veteran safety’s every word.
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Goalie Anderson gives Senators a chance
Craig Anderson has his game back, and just in time to give the Senators a chance.
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Ottawa rallies to top Pittsburgh
Colin Greening scored 7:39 into double overtime, and the Ottawa Senators rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins that cut their series deficit to 2-1 on Sunday night.
Daniel Alfredsson got Ottawa even 1-1 by scoring a short-handed goal with 29 seconds left in regulation just after the Senators pulled goalie Craig Anderson for an extra skater. -
Locke grinds through as Pirates blank Astros
Jeff Locke didn’t have his best stuff Sunday. He didn’t need it to shut down the majors’ worst team.
Locke allowed three hits over seven innings, Pedro Alvarez homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates won for the eighth time in 10 games, 1-0 over the Houston.
Locke (4-1) won his fourth straight decision and gave up one run or fewer for the fifth time in his past eight outings. He struck out four and walked three. -
Bengals’ Hawkins visits Windber for charity tourney
Andrew Hawkins never forgets his roots.
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Astros beat Bucs in extra innings
Jason Castro led off the 11th inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run on a close play at the plate as the Houston Astros topped the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Saturday night.
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Senators offense to get boost vs. Pens
Jason Spezza doesn’t have much time to return to form if the Ottawa Senators want to extend their season.
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Crosby hat trick gives Pens 2-0 series lead
The Ottawa Senators have plenty of respect for Sidney Crosby.
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