How good is this Colts team?

Now that they are finally starting to get healthy, just how good is this Colts team? Are they for real? Or are their wins just a result of playing worse teams?

The Colts won on Sunday against the Raiders 42-28. That jumps their record up to 3-5. They have also won two straight for the first time since 2016. They seem to be trending upward. But just how good of a team is this Colts team?

Taking a look at their wins, they don’t look super impressive. Their last two wins have come against the hapless Bills and the dysfunctional Raiders. Both teams will likely be fighting at the bottom for one of the top picks in next year’s draft.

But then you look at their first win. They beat the Redskins 21-9 in week 2. Those Redskins are currently 5-2 and in first place of the NFC East. Adrian Peterson has been running over teams. Meanwhile, he managed just 20 yards on 11 carries against the Colts.

That win was also before this team started getting demolished by injuries. Key players went down left and right. Although they still didn’t have starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo at that point. But after that game, they were without several starters for several games.

Injuries really play a big part in this story. Now that the Colts are finally getting healthier, it looks like this might be a good team. But they have only played two relatively healthy games all season long, and they were against bad competition.

The next few games are critical for them. After the bye week, they play the next three games at home, and two are divisional opponents. That three game stretch will tell us if this team is for real or not. Because winning those three games puts them square in the playoff conversation.