Sharp bettors back side, total in Raiders-Colts game

The line on the Raiders-Colts game at Allegiant Stadium has been on a roller coaster ride.

The Raiders opened as 6-point favorites and the line inched up to 6½ when Indianapolis named Jeff Saturday interim coach Monday after it fired Frank Reich.

But the consensus line dropped to 4½ on Thursday when the Raiders placed tight end Darren Waller and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow on injured reserve and Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was a full participant in practice.

Sharp bettors are all over Indianapolis, taking it at +6½, +6 and +5 at the South Point sportsbook and at +6 at the Westgate SuperBook.

Circa also took sharp money on the Colts and Sunday’s game to go under the total, which is at 41½.

Ticket counts clearly favor the Raiders at Station Casinos, where 76 percent of bets are on them.

“This is a must-win game for the Raiders,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “We’re still going to be Colts fans at kickoff.”

At Caesars, 71.9 percent of the tickets are on the Raiders, but 58.8 percent of the money is on the Colts.

Indianapolis (3-5-1, 3-6 ATS) fired Reich after getting whipped by the Patriots 26-3 on Sunday in its third straight loss. Saturday, a five-time Pro Bowl center for the Colts, has no prior NFL or college coaching experience.

“As much as people are questioning the coaching change with Jeff Saturday, sometimes that can be a lift,” Caesars assistant director of trading Adam Pullen said. “There are a lot of teams that look down and out, and switching it up can be a boost.

“If Jonathan Taylor is back for the Colts, that would be huge, too. The Colts couldn’t ask for a better team to go up against with Saturday. The Raiders are struggling tremendously. They have injury concerns with Waller and Renfrow out. I just think that the Colts ran into the right team on their schedule after their coaching switch.”

The Raiders (2-6, 3-5 ATS) have suffered back-to-back losses. They lost 24-0 at New Orleans on Oct. 30 before blowing a 17-0 lead in Sunday’s 27-20 setback at Jacksonville. It was the third time this season that the Raiders have blown a lead of 17 points or more in a loss.

Professional sports bettor Jeff Whitelaw leans to the Colts.

“I think Saturday, as stupid as it is to hire him as coach, will motivate the team. He was extremely well-liked in the organization,” he said. “In the long term, it won’t be a good move, but for the first week it might.

“Having Jonathan Taylor back will certainly help the Colts and the Raiders don’t seem to be playing well defensively and have so many injuries. They’re both bad, but I’ll take the points.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.