3 things Colts can do to be in the Super Bowl next season

The Indianapolis Colts finished this season 4-12-1 but with a productive offseason, they could be competing for next year’s Super Bowl.

On Sunday, Super Bowl 57 will be played between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. Entering the season, the Indianapolis Colts were hoping that they would be playing in this game. Obviously, that’s the hope of every team, but some franchises’ hopes are a bit more realistic than others. Indy’s Super Bowl aspirations were viewed as realistic entering the 2022 NFL season.

The Colts were coming off a 9-8 season in 2021 where they had a league-high seven Pro Bowlers. Indy was returning talents like Jonathan Taylor and Shaquille Leonard but had also added guys like Matt Ryan, Stephon Gilmore, and Yannick Ngakoue. With those skilled veterans, Indy was expected to be in the mix. Instead, the Colts went an embarrassing 4-12-1.

Now, Indianapolis is in the process of choosing a new head coach. Once that decision is met, Indy will turn its attention to addressing its roster. Contrary to the 4-12-1 record, the Colts aren’t that far from being a contending team. They have a lot of talent but also some obvious issues. If those issues can be addressed this offseason, there’s a chance Indianapolis could be playing in next year’s Super Bowl.

Here are the three things the Colts can do to be in next season’s Super Bowl.

3. Colts must continue building their pass rush for a chance at the Super Bowl

This is something Indianapolis has been working to develop for years, and the team finally saw some results. With the addition of Yannick Ngakoue, Indy had 44 sacks, the most team sacks it has had in a single season since 2005. Ngakoue led the way with 9.5, and an emerging Kwity Paye and dominant DeForest Buckner also helped lead the charge. However, entering the offseason, there are still some problems surrounding the pass rush.

One of the biggest problems is that Yannick Ngakoue will be a free agent. In addition to that, there’s still a ton of room for improvement in Indy’s pass rush. The rush was better than it has been in recent years but it isn’t quite dominant yet. It will need to be if the Colts want to really compete for a Super Bowl.

Every year, people talk about how important pass rushing is to being competitive late in the season. That isn’t just talk though, as it consistently proves to be true. The two teams in the Super Bowl are the two teams with the most sacks. The Eagles had 70 sacks on the season and Kansas City had 55. People are giving Philadelphia the edge in the Super Bowl because of their pass rush.

For the Colts to be relevant in January and February, they’ll need to find a significant replacement for Ngakoue or they’ll have to re-sign Yannick and add even more pieces that could help Indy have a relentless pass rush.