The Indianapolis Colts’ playoff chances aren’t great. But that doesn’t mean a postseason appearance is impossible.
Indy is coming off a 30-20 home loss to the Buffalo Bills. It was their third loss in a row. The team now owns a 4-6 record, good for second-best in the AFC South.
With the loss to Buffalo, the Colts’ chances of making the playoffs dropped to just 19 percent. Again, their chances aren’t very great. But anything can happen with seven games remaining on the schedule.
The Indianapolis Colts Playoff Chances Are Damaged, but Not Extinguished
The Colts Have a Ton of Talent
It has been a rough season for the Colts. But one good thing is that they possess a lot of talented players. Defensively, they have contributors like DeForest Buckner and Kenny Moore II. And on offense, there’s star running back Jonathan Taylor and solid receivers like Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce.
The Colts just have one really small problem. Okay, it’s a major problem. They have an issue at quarterback. Anthony Richardson has struggled mightily this year, completing just 44.4 percent of his passes. Plus, he had the infamous “tap out for being too tired” incident.
Richardson, of course, was benched in favor of Joe Flacco. Since replacing the Florida product, Flacco has struggled the past two games as the starter. He threw three interceptions during the recent loss to the Bills. If Richardson or Flacco can somehow come through, the Colts will have a much better shot at reaching the playoffs.
Will They Make the Playoffs?
It seems like the Colts haven’t made the playoffs in decades. But actually, it’s only been four years. That season (2020-21), the Colts went 11-5 with Philip Rivers starting at quarterback. They wound up losing to Buffalo 27-24 in the Wild Card round. The 9-8 Colts nearly returned to the playoffs last season but lost their regular-season finale to the Houston Texans.
Will Indy end their playoff drought this year? Well, they’re not going to win the AFC South unless the Texans completely fall apart. The Texans will more than likely repeat as division champions. That means the Colts will have to grab one of the final wild card spots if they want to get in.
Indianapolis is currently one game behind the 5-5 Denver Broncos for the final AFC wild-card spot. The Colts will compete with teams like the Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals (4-6), and New York Jets (3-7) to reach the playoffs.
The next two games on the Colts’ schedule are tough. They’ll face the Jets on the road and then return home to play the Detroit Lions.
Life gets a lot easier after that. The Colts will close the season, by taking on the New England Patriots, Broncos, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
When it’s all said and done, though, the Colts likely won’t reach the playoffs this year. They’re not a playoff-caliber team, especially with their quarterback issues. It doesn’t appear that Richardson (at least not this season) or Flacco is the answer. And as every NFL fan knows, if you have poor quarterback play, finding success is insanely difficult.
Main Image: Grace Hollars – USA Today Sports
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