What do the Colts’ playoff chances look like?

After the Colts beat Houston on Sunday, they kept their playoff hopes alive. But what do they need to do to sneak in?

The Colts beat Houston in a must-win game on Sunday 24-21. In doing so, they kept their slim divisional winning hopes alive. What is much more realistic is getting into the 6th seed. Those hopes were greatly improved yesterday for a variety of reasons.

First off, the Colts themselves won. Winning the game on Sunday is a great thing for the team’s chances. They improve to 7-6 on the year and are now tied with the current 6th seed in terms of record. But that sixth seed did lose on Sunday.

That current sixth seed is Baltimore. They lost to the Chiefs in overtime, dropping them down to 7-6. They currently hold a tiebreaker over the Colts with them owning a better conference record. But they still play the Chargers in the second to last game of the season, as well as the pesky Browns.

It also helped that Denver lost. That puts them down to 6-7 and almost eliminated from the discussion completely. The Colts shouldn’t have to worry about them down the stretch. They do still have to worry about a few other teams though.

It hurt that Miami won on a last second miracle against New England. That brings them to 7-6. The Colts have the head-to-head tiebreaker over them, but it still isn’t ideal to be tied with them. Tennessee is the same deal. Colts hold that tiebreaker over them, but it would be easier if they keep losing.

The single most important thing for the Colts is for them to keep winning. If they can do that, they put pressure on Baltimore to do the same. And all the Colts need is one loss from Baltimore to pass them. That is a very achievable goal moving forward.