The ultimate goal for this Colts team is to win a Super Bowl. They went to the playoffs last year, and are good enough to win everything. These are the teams that could stand in their way.
Everyone knows that the expectations for the Colts have changed for this season. They go from being in the middle of a rebuild into a contender almost overnight. That is because of the great roster building the front office has done. But now they have changed what fans will expect.
They need to get further in the playoffs than they did last year. They were two games away from making the Super Bowl. In their playoff loss in Kansas City, they looked lost. They didn’t look like the team that won nine of their final ten games to get there.
Looking at the rest of the league pre-draft, there are only four teams that can keep the Colts from holding the Lombardi right now. Two of those teams reside in the AFC, while two are in the NFC. First, we take a look at the two teams in the AFC.
The first team is the team the Colts lost to in the divisional round, the Chiefs. Kansas City’s offense gave the Colts problems in the second half, and Patrick Mahomes carved them up. But they did lose some valuable pieces on defense, including Justin Houston to the Colts.
These two teams are about on equal footing right now. It looks like the end of free agency and the draft is what could vault the Colts ahead. The Colts have improved more than the Chiefs have gotten worse, so it ends up being about even.
The other team in the AFC is the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots. They are still kings of the AFC as long as Tom Brady is under center. While he did lose a valuable target in Gronk, it would be foolish to say they won’t be contenders yet again this season.
In the NFC, the Rams and the Saints are two very talented teams. Both teams have great offenses and pretty good defenses. The Rams have lost more than the Saints on that side of the ball, but both could pose some big challenges should the Colts meet them in the end.
There is still a long way to go in the offseason, so all of this is easily subject to change. But right now, Colts fans have to be happy with the way they matchup to the rest of the league.