The Indianapolis Colts dropped their season opener to the Bills on Sunday. This prompted many a hot take about the team’s Super Bowl chances and whether or not the Colts have what it takes to win outside of the AFC South. All this after Week 1 of the long NFL season.
We’ll look back in October and laugh about how panicked people were after one game. But even though Week 1 games can be taken with a grain of salt, we still have Power Rankings from around the net. Every major outlet has put together their thoughts on the past week’s slate of games and ranked the teams based on how they performed.
Here’s how the Colts fared after Week 1:
"What’s the worst trend developing for the Colts in their past two games (including playoffs) — Andrew Luck‘s 46.3 completion percentage or the Colts allowing five rushing TDs in those games?"
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The team has been completely revamped, but by all means let’s go back to what happened last season. The only thing Sunday’s game had in common with the AFC Championship was the rain. The biggest problem for the Colts? Luck was off for most of the afternoon.
Doubt that becomes anything resembling a trend. And the run game? Much better even with TyRod Taylor scrambling (don’t just box score gaze either, that’s lazy). Nothing on Sunday can’t be fixed with Luck playing better and getting a little more out of his receivers not named T.Y. Hilton (also, the Bills defense is pretty good).
CBS Sports Pete Prisco: 13th (last week 8th)
"It’s hard to believe that was a Super Bowl contender we saw in Buffalo. They have to right things quickly to be in that conversation."
15 more games to go and they’re in the AFC South, getting a win in September will right the ship. The Colts lost their first two games last season and still finished 11-5. Would not be surprised at all if the Colts absolutely steamroll the Jets Monday night.
Yahoo Sports Frank Schwab: 5th (last week 4th)
"Maybe the Colts have become tough to gauge because of their division. They’re 12-0 in divisional games, as they play in the worst division in football, since the start of 2013. They’re 10-11 playing everyone else."
A better take that doesn’t overreact. The Colts have to do better outside of the division, and likely need to win 12-13 games if they want home field advantage in the playoffs (and yes, with this division, the playoffs are a given).
NFL.com Elliot Harrison: 10th (last week 7th)
"Looks like the Horseshoe dodged a tack with T.Y. Hilton’s knee injury, which should only keep the receiver out for one or two games. Good news. Maybe everyone should pump the brakes on fitting Andrew Luck for that Hall of Fame jacket just yet. I have no doubt Luck will rebound, but the Colts were flat outplayed in Buffalo. Moreover, Luck was outplayed by Tyrod Taylor. Having new parts on offense is fantastic, but the benefits of continuity often trump the benefits of adding new parts. Let’s see how Indy handles this."
Luck was not outplayed by Taylor, they are not infact playing each other nor are they facing the same defense. The Bills have a much better defense than the Colts, and that helped tremendously. I don’t recall seeing multiple blown coverages by the Bills secondary on Sunday like we saw from the Colts. The Colts also didn’t record multiple sacks and QB hits.
And one rough game and you’re declaring Luck won’t be a Hall of Famer? Maybe he won’t be but QBs have bad games all the time, Peyton Manning‘s stat line Sunday was atrocious (zero touchdowns, one interception). Luck will rebound, if not next week versus the Jets, then against the Titans and Jags the following two weeks.
Peter King at the MMQB had the Colts out of his top 15 teams, but receiving votes (although I’m not entirely sure who is voting besides King). It wasn’t just a list of the teams that won in Week 1 either, as Philly, Baltimore, and Seattle all made the list despite losing (with the last two being in the top five).
There shouldn’t be much movement after Week 1 in the NFL in a Power Ranking, and the Colts didn’t drop too far after a disappointing debut. They’ll have an extra day to get ready for the Jets for Week 2 and the home opener in an attempt to rebound and get back on a winning track.