Brown's FG lifts Texans past Colts
Football Betting Lines
12/24/2006 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Dayne rushed for a career-high 153 yards and scored two touchdowns, and Kris Brown booted a 48-yard field goal as time expired, as Houston stunned Indianapolis with a 27-24 victory, the first win in 10 all-time meetings.
David Carr completed 16-of-23 passes for 163 yards with a touchdown for the Texans (5-10), who ended a two-game slide. Dayne also surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time since the 2001 season, when he was a member of the New York Giants.
Vonta Leach caught his first touchdown pass of the season for Houston, which scored the game's first 14 points to take control early.
Peyton Manning went 21-for-27 for 205 yards and three touchdowns for the Colts (11-4), who have lost four of their last five. Manning also surpassed the 4,000-yard passing mark for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, setting a new NFL record.
Marvin Harrison hauled in eight passes for 112 yards and two scores while Joseph Addai ran for 100 yards for Indianapolis, which has already won the AFC South championship for the fourth straight year. The Colts could have secured a first-round playoff bye with a win and a Baltimore loss.
After Indy tied the contest at 24-24 with just under three minutes left in the fourth, Houston's Dexter Wynn returned the kickoff 38 yards to the Houston 39. Carr then moved the Texans down to the 33-yard line, setting up Brown for a game-winning field goal attempt. After the Colts took two timeouts, attempting to ice the kicker with three seconds left, Brown stepped up and split the uprights with a 48-yard field goal to win it for Houston.
The Texans scored on the opening drive of the game to take an early 7-0 lead. Dayne capped a 10-play, 61-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown up the middle. The key play on the drive was a 25-yard pass to Mark Bruener while Dayne had 21 yards rushing.
After recovering a Dominic Rhodes fumble on the following drive, Houston put together a nine-play, 47-yard drive that ended with Dayne barreling his way across the goal line from six yards out for his second touchdown of the game with 5:46 left in the first.
With less than a minute left in the opening quarter, the Colts got on the board and made it 14-7 after Manning connected with a wide-open Harrison for a 37-yard touchdown.
Indianapolis evened the score at 14-14 with 8:16 left in the second stanza after Manning found Aaron Moorehead open just over the goal line for a nine- yard touchdown pass.
Houston went into halftime with a 21-14 lead after Carr connected with Leach for a three-yard touchdown reception with just 16 seconds remaining in the first half. The Texans marched 75 yards on 14 plays during the scoring drive that spanned eight minutes.
With 6:08 left in the third quarter, the Colts pulled to within 21-17 after Adam Vinatieri split the uprights with a 33-yard field goal. Vinatieri's three points highlighted an 11-play, 65-yard drive.
Brown extended Houston's lead to 24-17 with 6:54 left in the contest after hitting a 42-yard field goal. Brown's field goal ended a mammoth drive for the Texans that went 51 yards on 15 plays and lasted almost 9 1/2 minutes.
Manning and the Colts though tied the game at 24-24 after Harrison hauled in his second touchdown of the game, a seven-yard reception over the middle of the end zone with 2:41 remaining.
Game Notes
The Colts had won all nine head-to-head meetings with the Texans all-time, including a 43-24 home triumph in Week 2 this season...Dayne has five touchdowns over his last four games...Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson had four catches for 48 yards and...The Texans outgained the Colts in total net yards, 354-319...The Colts close out the regular season next Sunday at home against the Miami Dolphins while the Texans host the Cleveland Browns in their season finale.
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers bolstered their rotation by coming to terms with free agent Jeff Suppan on a four-year deal with a club option for a fifth season. The contract is pending completion of a physica
<< Browns lifts Texans past Colts for first time in franchise history
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Dayne rushed for a career-high 153 yards
and scored two touchdowns, and Kris Brown booted a 48-yard field goal as time
expired, as Houston stunned Indianapolis with a 27-24 victory, the first win
in 10 a
<< Strahan back on the field for New York
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Giants defensive end Michael
Strahan returned to the lineup on Sunday against the Saints after missing the
last six games with a sprained foot ligament.
Strahan hasn't played since injurin
<< Springs breaks shoulder blade
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Redskins defensive back Shawn
Springs broke a shoulder blade in the first quarter of Sunday's game against
St. Louis.
Springs had surgery to repair a minor tear in his abdominal muscle earli
<< Vick becomes first QB to top 1,000 yards rushing
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick
needed only 10 yards rushing in Sunday's game against Carolina to become the
first quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.
He got all of it
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Pittman ran for 86 yards and a touchdown, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers battered Cleveland, 22-7. Derrick Brooks returned an interception for a touchdown for the Buccaneers (4-11), who snap
Vick sets running record, but Falcons fall to Panthers >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Vick became the first quarterback in
NFL history to top 1,000 yards rushing, but did little else as the Atlanta
Falcons continued to fade out of the uninspiring NFC wild-card picture, losing
10-3 to
New England clinches AFC East with win over Jacksonville >>
Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Brady threw for 249 yards and a
touchdown as New England edged Jacksonville, 24-21, to win its fourth
consecutive AFC East title at Alltel Stadium.
Brady completed 28-of-39 passes for t
Young leads streaking Titans past Bills >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Vince Young threw for 183 yards and
two touchdowns, and also ran for 61 yards and a score, as Tennessee edged
Buffalo, 30-29, to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
Young, who completed 13-of-20
Ravens stop Steelers, vault into No. 2 seed in AFC >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve McNair threw three touchdowns as
Baltimore moved in to the second seed in the AFC with a 31-7 shellacking
of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field.
McNair went 21-of-31 with 256 yards a
NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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