Best and Worst Case Scenarios for the Colts
The Colts are at a crossroads in their season. On one hand they are on the cusp of a division title, but on the other hand they are on the cusp of missing the Playoffs all together.
The Colts have no doubt been difficult to watch over the past few weeks. They’ve been utterly dominated in every facet of the game, and it leaves one questioning if they are even worthy of the Playoffs. Luckily, no team in the AFC South is worthy of a Playoff spot.
I’m normally a pretty positive guy when it comes to the fate of the Colts. I am a firm believer in karma and all that stuff, so I’ll never smack talk or anything of that sort. However, I just have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about the rest of the season. Especially since the biggest game of the year is coming this Sunday against Houston.
So I thought I’d lay out the best and worst possible scenarios for the rest of this Colts season. We’ll start with the best.
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Best Case Scenario
It’s fairly clear that the best case scenario for the Colts would be to have Andrew Luck miraculously return for this week’s game versus Houston. That would give Indianapolis a favorable advantage, at least on the offensive side of the ball, as Houston is planning on starting T.J. Yates at quarterback this week.
I would say if Luck plays on Sunday, the Colts will beat the Texans. This would put their record at 7-7 and really bolster their chances for the Playoffs. With Luck back under center, the Colts will win their final three games.
Now that’s not false confidence coming out of me. Luck adds a sizable advantage to a Colts offense that is in need of a quarterback that knows the offense. They can beat Houston, and they can definitely beat Tennessee the following week. Lastly, they can beat a lowly Miami team the final week of the season.
This puts the Colts at 9-7 and in the Playoffs with another AFC South division title. They’d be riding high heading into the Playoffs with the three game win streak, and could be a dark horse team in the Playoffs. This would make a seemingly nightmarish season, less, well, nightmarish.
With Luck practicing this week it’s a good sign of him possibly playing on Sunday, but Chuck Pagano isn’t confident and neither am I.
Okay Case Scenario
Obviously, every Colts fan wants Andrew Luck back on the field, but in the event that he doesn’t there is an okay alternative. This scenario hinges on Matt Hasselbeck being healthy and playing this week against Houston.
Hasselbeck played one of his better games against Houston the first time these two teams met. He would have a decent chance at playing well again, even though he hasn’t been playing well the past few weeks.
If Hasselbeck can play, I think the Colts have a chance at beating the Texans. Obviously the chances would not be as good compared to if Luck was playing. The Colts could be 7-7 after the Houston game, but the odds are not as favorable, and if they lose their season is seemingly over.
However, if they win they’d be in control of their own destiny if Hasselbeck remained the starter until the end of the regular season. I think they beat the Titans regardless of who the quarterback is, but that Miami game may have a different outcome if Luck misses that game as well.
The odds of Luck not returning at all this season are not especially high, but it’s possible. If Hasselbeck’s under center, I think the Colts will end up 8-8 and they would have to have a lot of things happen in their favor if they wanted to make the Playoffs.
Worst Case Scenario
This is the worst of all, and the most pessimistic of all these musings. In this scenario, Charlie Whitehurst starts this week against Houston. If Whitehurst starts I think the Colts will definitely lose to Houston come Sunday. Which would put them at 6-8 and out of the division lead.
I mean, I love Whitehurst, and his hair as much as the next Colts fan, but he just isn’t a formidable quarterback for a game of this magnitude. Ultimately, if they lose this game to Houston, I think they end the season either at 8-8 or 7-9 which would most certainly leave them out of the Playoffs.
In the end, the Colts need Andrew Luck back to make this final Playoff push. They can only hang around for so long with Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst as the quarterback.
Let’s hope for the best, because in the event of the worst, I and many other Colts fans, may end up watching Seinfeld re-runs come Playoff time, instead of the Colts.