The Indianapolis Colts return from their bye week in much better playoff standing.
Heading into their Week 14 bye, the Indianapolis Colts were 7-6 and on the outside of the playoffs looking in. As the team prepares to return for Week 15, they now hold a playoff spot and control their destiny.
While Indianapolis was at home resting, other teams were giving the Colts a little bit of help. Entering the Sunday slate, Indy was one spot out of the playoffs, a game behind the Buffalo Bills. Thanks to Indianapolis’ Week 11 victory over Buffalo, the Colts have the tiebreaker if both teams have the same record, so all Indy needed was for the Bills to lose.
Thanks to the archenemy of Indianapolis, that is exactly what happened as Tom Brady and the Buccaneers defeated Buffalo moving Indy into the playoffs.
Buccaneers win gives Colts a playoff spot
Brady has saddened Indy fans for years, and just as recently as two weeks ago, he came to town to do it again. On Sunday, however, Indianapolis fans were thrilled to see Brady enact some of the late-game heroics that they’ve been victim to many times.
Tampa Bay led the game 24-3 at halftime and Colts fans were ready to celebrate. After a strong second half from Buffalo, the game ended up going into overtime and Indy fans found themselves in a nail-biter even though their team was off this week.
The Buccaneers pulled out the W after a game-winning touchdown pass from Brady to Breshad Perriman, but more importantly, Indianapolis is now in the driver seat of its playoff hopes.
AFC playoff picture after 14 weeks:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 13, 2021
1) Patriots: 9-4
2) Titans: 9-4
3) Chiefs: 9-4
4) Ravens: 8-5
5) Chargers: 8-5
6) Colts: 7-6
7) Bills: 7-6
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Browns: 7-6
Bengals: 7-6
Broncos: 7-6
Steelers: 6-6-1
Raiders: 6-7
Dolphins: 6-7
Colts control their playoff destiny
Indy is now the sixth seed, with four weeks left in the regular season, but as seen above, there are five total AFC teams with a 7-6 record. That means every game will be critical and one loss may be the difference between being the sixth seed or 11th in the conference and missing the postseason.
While the Colts are in the driver’s seat, they will have to traverse a bumpy road. In the next two weeks, Indianapolis plays the NFL’s top two teams in Saturday night primetime matchups. First the Patriots in Week 15 then the Cardinals on Christmas evening and both should be challenging games.
Getting this playoff spot is huge for Indy, but the celebration has to be short-lived as the team gets back to work to prepare for the biggest two challenges of the season. Getting into the postseason was hard for Indianapolis, but holding on to this spot will be even harder.
3 Colts whose snap counts should increase down stretch
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