Indianapolis Colts: A Deeper Look Into the 2018 Schedule
By Philip Tor
Do the Colts have a decent shot at the playoffs?
Long story short. Yes.
Given their favorable schedule, Indy does have a fighting chance at making it back to the promised land.
If the Colts do manage to take care of business and win the games I marked, they would hold a 10-6 record. Even if they drop one or two more games, depending on the rest of the league, the Colts could still have a shot. That being said, we have all seen teams that sit at 10-6 or even 11-5 that have missed the playoffs because of divisional seeding or other factors in the conference.
One thing to consider is the rest of the division’s strength of schedule.
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While the Colts have the tenth-easiest campaign, that is actually the most difficult among the other three southern teams. The defending AFC South champion Jaguars hold the fourth-easiest mark, tied with four other teams whose 2018 opponents record sat at 122-134 in 2017. This is followed by the Titans who have the second-easiest schedule, with the Texans have the easiest season ahead of them.
If the Titans and Jaguars run through their easy schedules successfully, the Colts may have to hope for some chaos in the other three divisions. IF that is the case, there could very well be another 10-6 team who misses the 2018 playoffs.
Colts fans must also consider this. Your team is in the middle of a (hopefully) successful rebuild, that will set the team up for years to come. If the Colts manage to pull out 10, 9, or even 8 victories this year, that would be a MASSIVE step in the right direction.
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They have a chance to make some noise, turn some heads, and catch some wins. The AFC better look out, because the Colts are coming up, and coming up fast.