Grading the Colts bye week as they begin their battle for an AFC playoff spot down the stretch
The Indianapolis Colts got to sit at home and get some much-needed rest in Week 14 with the team on a bye. The results from the Week 14 slate had some positives and negatives for the Colts. And with the team set to return to the office, let's break down where things now stand ahead of […]
The Indianapolis Colts got to sit at home and get some much-needed rest in Week 14 with the team on a bye.
The results from the Week 14 slate had some positives and negatives for the Colts. And with the team set to return to the office, let's break down where things now stand ahead of their crucial Week 15 matchup against the Denver Broncos.
Colts' bye week wins
The Colts' first win from their bye week came during the Week 14 matchup between two of their AFC South rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans. Both teams have seen their 2024 seasons fall off the rails, making neither a threat for the AFC South crown or an AFC wildcard spot. Instead, both are in the hunt for one of the top picks in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft. Heading into Week 14, the Jaguars were in position to end with the number one overall pick with a 2-10 record. That changed with the Jaguars pulling out the win over the Titans. This means both teams now sit with a 3-10 record, and if the season ended today, the Jagusrs would own the fifth pick, and the Titans would own the sixth. Neither being in strong position to land the top pick is a big win for the Colts.
The next win came during Sunday Night Football, with the Los Angeles Chargers falling to the Kansas City Chiefs. This result now means each of the current wildcard spot holders has an 8-5 record, which has the Cotls two games behind each at 6-7. It may not seem much, but this gives the Colts a chance to fight for any of the three wildcard spots late into the season instead of just the one that looked reasonable to discuss prior. But it doesn't matter if the Colts don't take care of business in Week 15, in what could be the biggest game of the regular season for both the Colts and the Broncos.
Colts bye week losses
The first loss of the week for the Colts was so close to being a favorable result for the team. With the New York Jets taking the Miami Dolphins to overtime. The Colts currently sit one game ahead of the Dolphins, so a loss for Miami would have given Indianapolis some extra cushion in the AFC playoff race. Instead, the Jets blew a multi-score lead and lost the game in overtime. So the Dolphins improved to 6-7 on the year the same record as the Colts. But thankfully, the Colts have the tie-breaker over the Dolphins thanks to their Week 7 win.
The other loss for the Colts came even before the week began. That was the fact that the Colts, two teams standing directly in the team's way for a playoff spot, were also on bye. Those teams are the Broncos and the Houston Texans. Therefore the Colts were unable to make up any ground on their most logical route to a playoff spot. One is who the Colts are chasing for a wildcard spot in the Broncos, and the other is their direct competition for the AFC South crown in the Texans. Both also got to rest. up and get healthy this week and will now attack the rest of the season, with their main goal to keep the Colts behind them in the standings.
Colts Bye Week Grade: C+
The schedule didn't allow the Colts to pick up any big help due to the Texans and Broncos both being on bye as well in Week 14. But as you read above, the positives outweighed the negatives. And there is reason to believe that the Colts picked up at least one extra path to the playoffs with the Chargers' loss. Overall, though, nothing really changes for the Colts, with them needing to win each of their remaining four games to give themselves the best shot at a spot in the playoffs, whether that is as a wildcard team or a divisional champ, will depend on how the teams ahead of them perform down the stretch.
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