Indianapolis Colts vs Seattle Seahawks 9/12/21 NFL Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Indianapolis Colts meet the Seattle Seahawks Sunday in week 1 NFL action at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Seattle Seahawks are coming off a 12-win season and have made the playoffs in eight of the last nine years. The Indianapolis Colts won 11 games last year and hope to make the playoffs back-to-back years for the first time since 2013-14.

The Seattle Seahawks still have quarterback Russell Wilson despite a lot of rumors over the summer, but there’s no doubt there’s pressure on this franchise to find real playoff success for the first time since the 2014 Super Bowl. Offensively, the Seahawks have the weapons in receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, while running back Chris Carson has quietly topped 1,000 rushing yards twice in the last three years. Defensively, a full season of Carlos Dunlap II will give the Seahawks a more consistent pass rush from the jump and Jamal Adams should be more comfortable in his second season with Seattle. With Bobby Wagner still around and guys such as Quandre Diggs and DJ Reed fresh off their best seasons yet, the Seahawks could have their best defense since the LOB days. However, it feels like the pressure is on the Seahawks to have a special season. This could be Super Bowl or bust.  

The Indianapolis Colts believe they’re not that far from Super Bowl contention and they’ll have a different quarterback for the fourth straight season. Carson Wentz is the new signal-caller for the Colts, as he rejoins coach Frank Reich, who was once the offensive coordinator for the Eagles. Jonathan Taylor is coming off 1,000 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns as a rookie and wide receiver T.Y. Hilton should still have something left in his legs given that he’s still just 31 years old. Defensively, the Colts have two cornerstones in DeForest Buckner and Darius Leonard. Zaire Franklin should thrive in a more expanded role at linebacker and rookie Kwity Paye could be that missing piece as a pass rusher. If everything breaks well and Eric Fisher could eventually return to the offensive line, the Colts could be a dark horse title contender. This has the potential to be a fun season for the Colts.

The Seahawks are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 road games and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Colts are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games and 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog. The under is 7-2 in Seahawks last 9 games overall. The over is 9-4 in Colts last 13 games overall. The home team is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings. The favorite is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings.

There’s a ton of hype surrounding the Colts this season and it seems like bettors are feeding into it a bit. While maybe there’s good reason the Colts are getting love, the Seahawks are still a more the respectable team and probably have more benefit of the doubt than the Colts do at this point. While Seahawks have better success at home, they’re a tough team to turn down in the underdog role or with cheap lines. The Seahawks defense is loaded and Russell Wilson is still an elite quarterback. I need to see more evidence from the Colts side before jumping on the bandwagon. Give me the Seahawks.