The Indianapolis Colts won't have an easy path to travel next season; that much is certain. Even with Daniel Jones returning from injury, the Colts' offense should look good, much like it did last season before Jones's season-ending injury. Getting out of their division could be nightmarish.Â
The Jacksonville Jaguars are expected to continue from where they left off last season, with Trevor Lawrence playing the best football of his career. The Tennessee Titans, on the other hand, aren't expected to be a threat in the AFC South or anywhere else in the NFL. As for the Colts' other rival, the Houston Texans are the most interesting story in the division.Â
The Texans fell flat in the playoffs last year. Had the Colts been healthy, perhaps they and the Texans could have switched seeds in the end. Nevertheless, should the Jaguars and Texans be playoff contenders next season, where does that leave the Colts? Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer has a Texans take that spells bad news for Indianapolis fans.Â
SI's Albert Breer tabs the Indianapolis Colts a 'playoff-hunting team'; the Houston Texans a 'Super Bowl-level' one
Simply put, many things outside of the Colts have to fall their way if this season is going to be the one where they snap their five-year playoff drought. The problem is that the Jaguars could be dangerous as long as Lawrence doesn't step backward (again). It's the Texans, though, that could wind up being the real problem standing in the Colts' way.Â
Everyone knows about the Texans' defense; what everyone is trying to figure out is who the real C.J. Stroud is. He hasn't looked anything close to resembling his rookie self since that first year, and the Texans have suffered for it. They have made the playoffs every year since Stroud's arrival, but none of their postseason trips have looked convincing.Â
According to Breer, this season could be different as long as a few important questions are answered with the right answers. If they do and Stroud returns to his rookie form, it would make the Colts' path to the playoffs more challenging.
Breer recently wrote that the Colts can be a team hunting for the playoffs as long as Jones is healthy. What Breer said about the Texans, however, could make the Colts' hunt irrelevant.Â
"The Texans are in a championship window, without question, and the defense is already at that level," Breer wrote. "All the questions are on offense. Can C.J. Stroud, healthier this offseason than he was last, finally put the puzzle together? Can Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel build on big springs to supercharge the Nico Collins–centered receiver room? And will Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller and Keylan Rutledge change the face of a line that’s been a problem the past two years? If the answers to those questions are yes, then this is a Super Bowl–level team."
Just like the Colts would need several things to go their way outside their own team, several things have to go the Texans' way only within their team, as Breer points out. Breer poses many questions the Texans would need to answer correctly, and then, yes, Houston would be an incredibly dangerous team next year.Â
Their defense alone is Super Bowl caliber. The questions about the offensive line and wide receiver room are legitimate. At the end of the day, though, much like it is with the Colts, everything will come down to the quarterback. What version of Stroud will the Texans get? Whichever version they get could mean a real shot at the playoffs for the Colts or another miss.Â
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