Are the Colts already in must-win territory entering Week 5?
The Indianapolis Colts enter Week 5 at 1-2-1. Although it’s early, can Thursday’s game against the Denver Broncos be considered a must-win?
Entering the 2022 season, the Indianapolis Colts were a team with a lot of expectations. They were expected to win the AFC South. They were expected to be a top-contending team in the postseason. They were also expected to have an elite run game and a quality defense. Four weeks into the season, Indianapolis isn’t off to its best start in meeting those expectations.
While the defense has been pretty good for the Colts, Indy currently has the worst scoring offense in the NFL and has had some abysmal outings, resulting in the 1-2-1 record. Now, Indianapolis is challenged with a short week, facing the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. Denver is a team that is off to an underwhelming start as well and will be looking to find some rhythm against the Colts.
Although Thursday’s game is just a Week 5 matchup, with all that has been going wrong in Indianapolis, it’s fair to ask if the game against Denver is a must-win for the Colts.
Can the Colts afford to lose to the Broncos?
A loss on Thursday would move Indianapolis to 1-3-1 with 12 games left to play. While starting with that record isn’t ideal, it wouldn’t be the end of the season for Indy and a look back at recent seasons shows why. In 2018, Frank Reich’s first season as head coach, Indianapolis started the year 1-5. The team went on to win 10 of their remaining 12 games and made it into the playoffs. They even won a Wild Card game against the AFC South division-winning Houston Texans.
Just last year, the Colts started the season 1-4. With everybody ready to count them out, they won eight of their next 10 games and had the opportunity to win their way into the postseason. All Indy needed to do was win one of the remaining two games. Obviously, that didn’t happen but it shows a slow start doesn’t necessarily mean the race is over.
So ultimately, no, Thursday isn’t a must-win game for the Colts. However, it would be really great if they did win. While Indy has shown it can climb out of holes and get back in the mix, it’s better to avoid having to come from behind altogether. Indy needs to win on Thursday so the team doesn’t have to be nearly perfect down the stretch.
