Home Opener is a Must-Win for Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts will be in fairly unfamiliar territory, when they open their 2013 NFL season at home on Sunday, against the Oakland Raiders. The fact that the Colts are hosting the Raiders is rare enough as it is, but the fact that the Colts are hosting their first game of the season, is pretty rare as well.

Indianapolis hasn’t hosted a home game on kickoff weekend since 2009, when they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last season, the reloaded Colts traveled to battle the Chicago Bears on kickoff Sunday, and took a pretty good thrashing, on their way to an eventual 11-5 surprise season. In 2011, with Kerry Collins filling in for an injured Peyton Manning, the Colts got destroyed by the Houston Texans in week one, to begin a terrible 2-14 season.

Having a home-opening game on kickoff weekend is big enough, but winning that first game is just as important. Getting the home fans excited to start the season will help spark a fire that needs to run for the next six months, but it all begins with beating a very beatable Oakland team. Since arriving in Indianapolis, the Colts are 15-15 in their opening games of the season. The new horseshoe, headed by Andrew Luck and Chuck Pagano, are looking to open up a new opening week streak, for the next 30 years of this team.