Indianapolis Colts: Uncertain Playoff Outlook

The Indianapolis Colts clinched the AFC South Championship this past Sunday with their win over the Houston Texans. They also joined the Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos in solidifying their playoff entry for this season. It would be easy to assume that since the Colts are one the first teams to clinch a playoff run, that they would also have high expectations for the playoffs. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Colts have benefited from a relatively easy schedule.

So far the Colts have only lost to four teams. That’s pretty good for any team in the NFL. With a 10-4 record the Colts are tied for fourth best record in the NFL. The uncertainty lies in the Colts’ schedule. The Colts’ losses have been to good teams which is encouraging. At least the team isn’t losing to the likes of the Oakland Raiders.

The Colts have lost to the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. Those teams have a combined winning percentage of .714. The problem becomes evident when you see the teams that the Colts beat this season. The Colts have won against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns. Those teams have a combined winning percentage of .396. Five of those teams are already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The Ravens, Bengals and Browns are the only possible playoff contenders from that list and none of those teams have high playoff expectations if they make it. Out of those three teams the Colts only dominated the Bengals. The other two were within one score.

The Steelers and the Patriots both manhandled the Colts in their respective games and both are possible playoff matchups in the future. All of this doesn’t paint a good picture for the Indianapolis Colts. They haven’t performed well in games against difficult opponents. The defense and the offense have been inconsistent. The special teams squad looks great, but it’s not good when that’s your best bragging point.

The Colts are also banged up, bandaged and bruised. They lost Ahmad Bradshaw for the rest of the season. They recently discovered that Reggie Wayne is playing hurt. Hugh Thornton and Joe Reitz will be missing this next game, leaving the guard position shorthanded. T.Y. Hilton‘s MRI came back negative, but he’s still banged up. They aren’t playing with the full complement that they started the season with and they’ve had to adjust their running game significantly.

With all of this in mind it can’t be said that the Colts are entering the playoffs as Super Bowl favorites. It also can’t be said that they’re sure to lose. This is the team lead by Andrew Luck, the ultimate comeback kid. They did win their division. They have the possibility of sweeping their division. They are ending the season with a great record. You can doubt them, but you can’t count them out. The Colts have been unpredictable since Luck took the helm. Their chances are simply uncertain. I wouldn’t bet on them but there’s no way that I wouldn’t bet against them.