When the bye week hit, if someone were to tell an Indianapolis Colts fan that their team would most likely miss out on not only the division but the playoffs as a whole, they would have called you crazy. They might even have said that there was a better chance of Philip Rivers coming out of a five-year retirement to play again than the 2025 Indianapolis Colts not making the playoffs.
Nonetheless, that's where the Colts' playoff chances stand with just two weeks left in the season. There's only one scenario where the Colts can still make the playoffs, and to accomplish that, the first thing they need to do is win out.
That's going to be a tough ask, as to finish the season, Indy faces the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans back-to-back, both teams being divisional rivals that Indy has already lost to once each, respectively. Still, if there were any team to pull off the most unexpected scenario possible, it would be the 2025 Colts.
Prediction No. 1: The Indianapolis Colts stay alive in the playoff race
That's right, the same Indianapolis Colts who haven't won a game since the bye week, the same Indianapolis Colts who have started former retiree Philip Rivers at quarterback for the first two weeks, will snap their losing streak against a divisional rival and one of the very best teams in the league.
Not only that, but the Houston Texans will lose to the LA Chargers, forcing a Week 18 showdown between Indy and Houston for the final playoff spot. If these two things happen, Indy will stay alive in the playoff race, but any other scenario results in their elimination.
It will be a tall order against a red-hot Jacksonville Jaguars team coming straight off of their best win of the season, but this could be a textbook case of Jacksonville overlooking a team that they probably see as an inferior opponent. Wilder things have happened, and Indy will rise to the occasion in Week 17.
Prediction No. 2: Trevor Lawrence will throw his first interception since November
Trevor Lawrence threw three interceptions against the Arizona Cardinals back on November 23rd. Since then, the quarterback has been on an absolute tear, throwing for 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions through his last four games.
It's going to be a tall task for an Indianapolis Colts team that just gave up 48 points to the San Francisco 49ers to stop what is arguably the hottest offense in football right now, but even against the 49ers, Cam Bynum was able to reel in an interception. The man might just have enough magic in him to pull off that same feat yet again.
The Colts are going to need a Herculean offensive effort to overcome what will most likely be a very tough outing for their defense, but any turnovers are going to go very far in turning the tides of the game in Indy's favor.
Prediction No. 3: Indianapolis kicker Blake Grupe outperforms Jaguars Cam Little
Cam Little has been one of the best kickers in football this season. The man not only broke the record for longest NFL field goal in just his rookie year, but he's also only missed four total field goal attempts this season.
A snide Colts fan might reply that Grupe has yet to miss a kick the entire year, but let's still keep in mind that recent signee Grupe has only played in two games. Little has cemented himself as one of the league's premier young kicking talents, but it only takes one bad miss for a kicker to have a catastrophic game.
It's definitely not out of the question that Cam Little ends up missing the mark on a field goal attempt. If that happens, and Blake Grupe manages to stay perfect on the year, he will have outperformed the talented young Jaguar kicker. Still, no Colts fan will care which kicker performed better if the team loses the game. This is a contest to save their season, and the Colts have to rise to the challenge.