Current Odds

The Colts have fluctuated between a 5 to 6-point home favorite during the past week and currently stand -5½ in most locations. The Over/Under on this game opened at 49 and has since risen to the key number of 51. The public is looking for a high-scoring game as 65% of the Covers.com consensus is supporting the Over, while 61% of the public is backing the Colts.

Injury Report

The Colts are missing three key players on offense as wide receiver Austin Collie, tight end Dallas Clark, and running back Joseph Addai are all out this week. Collie, Clark, and Addai are ranked second, third, and fourth in receptions this season, combining for 99 catches for 968 yards with 9 touchdowns. Addai is also the Colts’ leading rusher with 406 yards (4.4 ypr) and 3 touchdowns.

Houston has five players listed as questionable due to various knee and hamstring injuries. Defensive end Jesse Nading missed practice, while wide receiver Dorin Dickerson, cornerback Sherrick McManis, and linebackers Xavier Adibi and Kevin Bentley all participated in practice after missing last week’s game.

No Dallas in Indianapolis

The Indianapolis Colts suffered a big blow when they lost tight end Dallas Clark to a season-ending wrist injury in their game against the Redskins two weeks ago. Clark is one of, if not the best, tight ends in the NFL and without him on the field is going to be a huge void to fill for the Colts.

Opposing teams will now play with five or six defensive backs, daring the Colts to run the football, something they cannot do consistently. The Colts average just 95 rushing yards per game on 3.7 yards per rush and they’ve only gained more than 100 yards on the ground in two of their six games.

”It’s going to be interesting,” Peyton Manning conceded. “There’s definitely some unknown there. We’ll have some groupings in there that we've never had before because Dallas is a guy that never left the field. You still have the same expectations, but you may have to make some adjustments. To sit here and say there's not an adjustment without Dallas Clark, we can't say that. He’s too great of a player not to have an effect.”

All Aboard the Foster Train

The Colts and Texans met in Week 1, and Houston running back Arian Foster had a career-game running the football. Foster ran for 231 yards on 33 carries as the Texans gashed the Indianapolis defense for 6.1 yards per rush. The Texans won that game 34-24 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicates.

”We made the decision to run the ball that game,” Foster said. “I ended up with 30-something carries and any time you get into that rhythm, you just see the field better. The offensive line was tremendous. The tight ends and receivers blocked well. Everything was working.”

Can Foster repeat that effort again? It is highly unlikely because the Colts will be game planning to stop Foster and the Texans running game now. And that should lead to some good opportunities for quarterback Matt Schaub and the Houston passing attack. And these comments by Foster make us believe that the Texans will be looking to pass the ball in this game. “We have a high-powered offense,” Foster said. “They (Colts) can’t go into this game with their attention on one individual. I think we have a good game plan in place and if we go in and execute the way I know we can, we are going to be just fine.”

A Drunk Punter? Say It Ain’t So

Indianapolis has one of the best punter/kickoff specialists in the league with Pat McAfee. But the Colts will be without McAfee for this game as he is suspended for one-game after his arrest for public intoxication during Indianapolis’ bye week. The absence of McAfee is huge for the Colts here, but since he’s not a high-profile offensive or defensive player, this news is flying well under the radar.

The Colts have signed former Green Bay punter Jeremy Kapinos to kick for McAfee in this game. But this is a huge downgrade as some fantasy pundits have called Kapinos the ‘worst punter in football.’ Kapinos was so bad for the Packers that head coach Mike McCarthy publicly called him out twice for his terrible kicking during his time in Green Bay.

Indianapolis’ specials teams have been thinned by injuries and they have several regulars who could be required to play extensively on offense because of their multiple injuries on that side of the ball. It’s clear that the Colts have a big liability in this game on their special teams so you cannot overlook that fact when analyzing this match-up.