American Football
NFL Week 6 preview: Jaguars to bare their teeth
The NFL circus continues as we head into week six of the season and the divsions are beginning to take shape across the NFC and AFC.
This week we preview two tight matchups between teams that have started the season in good form.
Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars
The Indianapolis Colts met the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 1 where it was the Jaguars that emerged victorious, with a devastating final quarter where they scored 14 points to no reply to give them a 31-21 triumph. Since then both teams have been going well in AFC South, with each 3-2 and lying first and second in their conference.
The Jaguars have been scoring consistently in their five games so far with over 20-point totals in three of their five weeks. Doug Pederson’s side come here in particularly good form, having won their last two, including an impressive 25-20 win over the Buffalo Bills last week. Running back Travis Etienne Jr. was the star of last week, scoring two touch downs, and he will be a threat to the Colts defence.
The Colts suffered a narrow 23-29 defeat against the Los Angeles Rams in week 4, but bounced back last week when beating the Tennessee Titans 23-16 at home. The Colts don’t find scoring a challenge, but they have conceded 115 points – meaning they have the fourth worst defence in AFC – and that could leave them vulnerable.
While the Colts have a far superior head-to-head record at 27 wins to 18 when facing the Jaguars, it’s the road side that come here as 10/21 favourites after their impressive recent form and might be able to keep their winning run going. The Colts arrived as 9/5 underdogs, but with the spread only +/-4 points (10/11) it looks like a game that will go to the wire.
Detroit Lions @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Detroit haven’t been a serious force in NFL for some time, but it may be that this season the sleeping Lions are beginning to wake. They added several key additions to their squad in the off season and it seems to have paid dividends as they are 4-1 so far in NFC North.
After an impressive 21-20 opening weekend victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, they fell to a narrow defeat in Seattle, but have since bounced back with three convincing wins, including when crushing the Carolina Panthers 42-24 last week. They’ve built a formidable offence that have scored 19 touchdowns already – only two sides in the NFL have scored more – with quarterback Jared Goff throwing nine of those. The Lions have many players capable of receiving the crucial pass, with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta both receiving two and three touchdowns respectively so far this campaign. The Lions will travel to Florida full of confidence and arrive as 10/17 favourites.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been ticking along well with a record of 3-1 in NFC South. They have one of the best defensive records around, conceding only 68 points across their four games. Last week they had far too much for New Orleans Saints, winning 25-9, and that will give them motivation ahead of this more testing clash. However, they might struggle to outscore the Lion and are priced accordingly as the 6/4 underdogs.
