Indianapolis Colts Benefit From NFL Bye Week

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Colts needed a breath of fresh air.

When the 2013 schedule for the Indianapolis Colts was released earlier this year, the month of October immediately looked to be a bear. The Colts would begin the month by hosting  the defensive-minded Seattle Seahawks, followed by a trip to the San Diego Chargers on Monday night football. Before their bye in week eight, the Colts would find themselves hosting the Denver Broncos, and the return of Peyton Manning. Some pundits predicted the possibility of the Colts going winless in October, and maybe even being under .500 going into their NFL bye week.

The Colts went 2-1 in those three October games, with their only loss coming against the Chargers. In some ways, the wins against Seattle and Denver were not only surprising, but downright shocking. Indianapolis held home court in October, sending Seattle and Denver back from Lucas Oil Stadium with their first losses of the season.

The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Colts. Indianapolis is banged up in many ways, and even the fairly healthy players could surely have used the rest. With various injuries across the board, the Colts are literally exhausting all of the player options on their roster.

Indianapolis will head into the halfway point of the 2013 season in week nine, with a divisional away game against the struggling AFC South champion Houston Texans. Regardless of how sloppy the Texans may be playing so far this season, they are still a dangerously loaded team. The Colts are going to have to run through the Texans, if they hope to stay in stride following their bye week.