AFC Championship Game 2015: Early Odds and Predictions for Colts vs. Patriots

After two of the wildest rounds in recent postseason history, the 2015 AFC Championship Game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots has the potential to live up to the lofty expectations set in the wild card and divisional rounds.

New England was the top team in the AFC throughout the season, earning a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the playoffs, but the Patriots will now face off against an Indianapolis franchise that beat Cincinnati and Denver in back-to-back weeks to earn a spot in the AFC title game.

Here are the early odds for the conference championship, the predicted winner and player under the most pressure to perform at an elite level.

Date	Time (ET)	TV	Odds	Predicted Winner
Jan. 18	6:40 p.m.	CBS	NE (5-14), IND (51-20)	New England

*Odds via OddsShark.com as of Jan. 13 at 7 a.m. ET.

Player Under the Most Pressure: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Al Bello/Getty Images

There will be a plethora of players on both teams with hefty expectations coming into the AFC Championship Game, but few have as much pressure on their shoulders as New England Patriots veteran quarterback Tom Brady.

After earning a first-round bye, New England squared off with the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. Baltimore had given Brady and the Patriots trouble in the past, but the veteran quarterback managed to rack up 367 yards and three passing touchdowns and helped lead his team to another postseason win.

Brady also managed to surpass NFL legend Joe Montana’s postseason touchdown record in the divisional round (46 TDs), and New England head coach Bill Belichick told Lee Schechter of ESPN.com about what the honor means:

"

He deserves it. Tom's a great, clutch player with tremendous poise, vision, accuracy. So, he's done it with a lot of different receivers, a lot of different situations against a lot of different defenses. I think that speaks to his greatness and his ability to perform consistently under pressure. No quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady.

"

One of Brady’s biggest strengths is his ability to get the ball out quickly before the defense can react, and Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald talked about his success rate in that situation:

Playing the Colts on Sunday may be the ideal situation for New England. Not only will Brady get a chance to duel with Andrew Luck after the prodigy defeated Peyton Manning in the divisional round, but he will also get the chance to prove the victory over Indianapolis earlier this season wasn’t a fluke.

The Colts defense has played well, though, shutting down Manning and the Broncos for only 211 passing yards and one touchdown. Add in the fact that Indianapolis held Andy Dalton and Cincinnati’s offense to just 155 yards and zero touchdowns passing, and Brady will be facing one of the hottest defensive units in the league.

Brady’s experience in big games will be his biggest edge, and the offensive players around him will step up when needed the most. As well as the Colts have played this postseason, Brady is poised to lead the Patriots to yet another Super Bowl appearance.

Predicted Final Score: New England 33, Indianapolis 30

*Stats via NFL.com.