The Indianapolis Colts will try to clinch an AFC postseason berth on Thursday when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup plus the sports betting picks rundown.

The Gridiron Spotlight

Winners of seven games in a row, Peyton Manning and company can lock up a Wild Card berth by beating the division-rival Jaguars on Thursday night. However, while the Colts are now a healthy 10-4 straight-up on the season, they’re just 5-9 against-the-spread through 14 games. That ATS mark didn’t get any help last week as the Colts only managed to beat the winless Lions 31-21; Detroit actually tied up that contest in the fourth quarter before Indy pulled away.

The Jaguars have been even worse for the bankroll this season, going 4-10 ATS. Jacksonville, though, hasn’t been able to get straight-up wins either, as they’ve picked up just five victories this season to sit in last place in the AFC South and well out of playoff contention. The Jags did manage to get a win last week, however, as they beat the Packers 20-16 at home. David Garrard threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the win, and Maurice Jones-Drew had two scores.

Oddsmakers have the Colts pegged as 6.5-point favorites on the road for Thursday night, with the game’s total at 44 points. Indianapolis is an even 7-7 on the OVER/UNDER so far this season, while Jacksonville is 5-8-1. The Jags actually beat Indy 23-21 in their first meeting of the season on September 21; the Colts had been favored by 4 points at home and the combined score was an OVER result. Indianapolis won both of their games against Jacksonville last year.

Other Notable Events

The NBA offers up a strong doubleheader on TNT on Thursday night, with San Antonio at Orlando in the early game, and Phoenix at Portland in the late game. The Magic sit at 19-6 SU and 15-9-1 ATS on the season, and they’re hoping that Dwight Howard can return to action on Thursday night; the team’s big man has been missing time with a knee injury, but plans on playing against San Antonio.

The Suns have had a middling start to the season (15-10 SU, 10-15 ATS), but they’ve won each of their last two games to stay within shouting distance of the first-place Lakers in the Pacific Division. Phoenix got past New York and ex-coach Mike D’Antoni by a score of 111-103 at home in their last game, with Shaquille O’Neal picking up 23 points and adding 12 rebounds in that matchup. 

The Rest of the Schedule

There are nine games on the ice on Thursday night, including Philadelphia at Montreal at the Bell Centre. Flyers starting netminder Martin Biron missed the team’s game on Tuesday night with an illness, while the Habs have been playing without top goaltender Carey Price, who has a lower-body injury. Montreal also has forwards Saku Koivu (lower body) and Christopher Higgins (shoulder) out.

The top Western matchup on Thursday has San Jose at Detroit, with the Sharks looking to take a bite out of the defending champions. Rounding out the slate: Toronto at Boston, Florida at Carolina, St. Louis at Washington, Pittsburgh at Atlanta, Colorado at Tampa Bay, Columbus at Dallas, and Nashville at Phoenix.

Finally, No. 1 North Carolina will be looking to run their season record to 10-0 when they host Evansville on Thursday night. Two other college hoops games involve ranked teams on Thursday, as No. 8 Gonzaga will greet Texas Southern at McCarthey Athletic Center, and No. 9 Louisville will get a visit from Mississippi.

News from the Wire

Giants RB Brandon Jacobs (knee) is expected to play in the team’s big game against the Panthers this weekend . . . Bears RB Matt Forte (toe) and QB Kyle Orton (ankle) are both expected to be fine for Chicago’s Monday night meeting with the Packers . . . Pacers G T.J. Ford sat out on Wednesday night with a groin injury . . . Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro isn’t likely to return before the New Year.

A Peek at the Future

There are a dozen NBA games on tap for Friday, including Chicago at Boston, Dallas at New Jersey, the Lakers at Miami, Utah at Detroit, and Cleveland at Denver . . . the NHL has a couple of Saturday matinees this week, with both Carolina at Boston and Washington at Philadelphia at 1:00pm ET . . . the Cowboys are listed as 4-point home favorites against the Ravens for Saturday.