How the Colts can be the 7th seed
The seventh seed is the final playoff seed and often the least favorable. The way Indianapolis can end up here is by winning on Sunday, and also having the Raiders beat the Chargers and the Patriots win against the Dolphins.
Seventh Seed: Colts win + Patriots win + Raiders win
Landing in the seventh spot will lock Indy in a first round matchup with the No. 2 seed. As things stand, that will either be the Tennessee Titans or the Kansas City Chiefs.
Pros of being the 7th seed
If Indianapolis matches up with the Titans, that may bring the Colts and their fans a small amount of joy. The past few seasons, these two franchises have battled for AFC South supremacy. This year, Tennessee has gotten the best of the rivalry, defeating Indianapolis in two close matchups.
Its safe to assume that Indy will love the opportunity to get its revenge by knocking the Titans out of the playoffs. Not to mention, Tennessee is probably the team the Colts matchup with best.
As far as the Chiefs, the one pro to facing them is that their defense is extremely vulnerable.
Cons of being the 7th seed
One of the cons to being the seventh seed is that it’s guaranteed Indy will always be on the road. As the lowest seed, Indianapolis will always have to travel no matter the matchup.
As far as the matchups, one of the drawbacks to facing Tennessee in the first round is that Derrick Henry has returned to practice and it appears that he will be ready to go for the playoffs.
The Titans are a completely different team with Henry and if he is running like he was before his injury, Tennessee has a chance against anyone.
For the Chiefs, the tradeoff to facing them is that they’ve been looking like the team that finished last season as the Super Bowl runner-up. They are loaded on offense and have the ability to explode on any defense in the league.
Indianapolis’ priority this weekend is winning its game, that’s all it can control. After that, the Colts just have to wait and see where the chips fall. Some matchups are more advantageous than others, but if the goal is a Super Bowl, Indy is going to have to get through all the tough teams anyway.
Colts’ 3 biggest strengths entering playoffs
With the playoffs approaching, the Indianapolis Colts will have to lean on the things that made them successful for a strong run.