The Indianapolis Colts, looking to maintain at least a share of the AFC South lead, are road favorites across mobile sportsbooks in Indiana for their first trip to Las Vegas to face the Raiders on Sunday, while bettors in Illinois will have to consider the Chicago Bears as home underdogs in their Week 14 matchup with the Houston Texans.
The Colts (8-4) are looking for their fourth consecutive road victory after holding off the Texans 26-20 in Houston last weekend. Philip Rivers had two first-half touchdown passes, but it was the defense that recorded Indianapolis’ only points of the second half as Justin Houston sacked DeShaun Watson in the end zone for a fourth-quarter safety.
The Bears (5-7), meanwhile, have lost six straight after a late-game collapse led to a 34-30 home loss to Detroit last Sunday. Mitch Trubisky threw for 267 yards and a touchdown, but his fumble on a sack-strip deep with 2:18 to play gifted the Lions the ball at the Chicago 7-yard line, leading to the go-ahead score.
Oddsmakers see value in Colts being road favorites
Being a road favorite is nothing new to the Colts, whom oddsmakers have preferred in four of their previous five games outside Lucas Oil Stadium. Most sportsboooks on Friday morning had Indianapolis — which sports a 3-2 record against the spread on the road — listed as a 3-point favorite in Las Vegas, with only BetMGM breaking away from the pack at -2.5.
William Hill was offering even money (+100) for laying the field goal with the Colts, with FanDuel (-104), PointsBet (-105), and the Kambi platform for DraftKings and BetRivers (-107) not far behind. The low-side hook at BetMGM meant the Colts could be had at -115 there.
The moneyline was also in a narrow range from -150 at PointsBet and William Hill to -159 at BetRivers and DraftKings. The over/under could be grabbed as low as 50.5 points at FanDuel, BetRivers, and DraftKings, with the latter pair offering a -113/-108 split. William Hill and PointsBet had the standard -110 in each direction at 51 points, and BetMGM offered a -105/-115 split at 51.5 points.
For those interested on over/unders for team totals for the Colts, FanDuel had a -112/-108 split at 26.5 points, while BetRivers countered at -120/-109. BetMGM gives bettors three options for that play — 23.5 points (-190/+145); 26.5 points (-120/-105); and 29.5 points (+135/-175). PointsBet is offering 27 at -110.
There is more variety among first-half offerings, where BetMGM has the best moneyline offering at -135. The spread ranges from the Colts -1 to -2, with both BetMGM and FanDuel asking to lay the point at -110. William Hill has the best offering at -1.5 (-110), while PointsBet has Indianapolis -2 at -110.
The over/under for the opening two quarters could be had as low as 24.5 points at PointsBet (+100/-121), BetMGM (+100/-125), and William Hill (-110) and up to 26 points at FanDuel (+105/-130).
Bears getting some steam for a change
Though the Bears are on track to be home underdogs for the fourth time in seven games, bettors appear to think they are primed to cover for the first time in five contests. The line opened with the Texans as 2.5-point favorites but has gradually tightened during the week.
Among the five mobile sportsbooks available in Illinois, three — PointsBet and the Kambi platform powering DraftKings and BetRivers — have Houston favored by one point, with PointsBet the better play for the Bears at -105 compared to -112. FanDuel and William Hill each have the Bears as 1.5-point underdogs at -110.
PointsBet is offering the best moneyline on the Bears at +105, with FanDuel, BetRivers and DraftKings at +102 and William Hill at even money. All five books are in sync with the over/under at 45.5 points, though the splits vary greatly. William Hill has the standard -110 in both directions, PointsBet has -115/-105, FanDuel has -108/-112, and BetRivers and DraftKings both list -109/-112 splits.
Though bettors can get plus-money picks for the game, it is a different story for the first-half offerings. FanDuel was the best of the bunch at -104, though the range only extended -108 on the moneyline. Bettors at FanDuel, though, could get the Bears at even money with a pick’ em spread in the first half.
William Hill (-120) and PointsBet (-125) had the Bears as half-point underdogs, while BetRivers and DraftKings had them at +1.5 with a far higher price for that point at -141. The first-half over/under was 22 at William Hill with a standard -110 offering, while PointsBet ticked higher to 22.5 points (-115/-105).
FanDuel was offering 23 points with a -105/-115 split, and DraftKings and BetRivers were higher still at 23.5 points, offering a +100/-132 split.