Looks like it will take more than one game to convince some people that the Indianapolis Colts might actually be pretty good this year. In the latest NFL Spin Zone Power Rankings, FanSided’s Lou Scataglia has the Colts at number 22. They are the lowest-rated of any team that triumphed in Week 1.
That’s not too surprising. As Scataglia points out, Indy was playing a moribund Miami Dolphin team. They were playing at home and honoring late owner Jim Irsay. There were a lot of things in their favor, and Daniel Jones and company took full advantage on their way to a 33-8 victory.
Scataglia correctly points out that Indy will get a much stiffer test when the Denver Broncos come to town this Sunday. Denver has one of the best defenses in all of football and an evolving offense led by second-year QB Bo Nix.
The Broncos registered six sacks against Cam Ward and the Titans in Week 1 and held Tennessee to a stunning 62 yards passing. Denver currently sits at number eight in the Spin Zone Power Rankings.
Do the Indianapolis Colts deserve a little more respect after one win?
I’m all for waiting and seeing how things pan out, but I’m also a big supporter of bragging on your boys whenever you can. And Indy can brag this week. When you consider the three one-win teams that are ranked immediately ahead of Indy – one of which is eight spots clear of the Colts – I think you can make the case that Shane Steichen’s squad is getting some major disrespect.
Las Vegas (#20), Jacksonville (#19), and Arizona (#14) are all ranked ahead of Indianapolis. Do they deserve to be?
Remember that part of the logic for keeping Indy in the bottom half of the league despite their Week 1 victory is the quality of that Week 1 opponent. Miami is ranked 31st out of 32 teams this week. But the Raiders took on the 26th-ranked Patriots and came away with a seven-point win. Indy, as you recall, annihilated the Dolphins by 25 and had them shut out until midway through the fourth quarter.
You can argue that Vegas had to go on the road, traveling west to east, which is always a chore. The actual game stats – yards, yards-per-play, first downs, time of possession – were all close, but the Raiders held an edge in each key category.
Fair enough.
What about Jacksonville, which is ranked three spots ahead of Indy? They played at home against Carolina – Spin Zone’s 30th-ranked team. Yep, the Panthers are just one spot clear of Indy’s opponent, Miami. Jacksonville did win by 16 (I’ll remind you that Indy won by 25) and had a clear advantage in yards and first downs.
Not as big an advantage as Indy had, but it was still pretty good. And Trevor Lawrence still has good hair, so I guess that counts for something. Nobody likes Daniel Jones’ hair.
For me, I’d reward Indy by putting them ahead of Jacksonville but maybe keep them behind the Raiders. The Raiders win on the road against New England is a far more impressive achievement than what the Jaguars managed.
But the team I really want to talk about plays out in the desert.
The Cardinals did go on the road, traveling almost 1,500 miles, and beat the Saints. However, the Saints are dead last in the current Power Rankings. That’s right, they are actually a weaker opponent than Miami. And on the field, the two games were not even close.
Indy decimated Miami. They outgained the Dolphins by two-to-one. First downs and time of possession were also two-to-one in favor of the Colts. They averaged a yard-and-a-half more per play. And did I mention, they were up 30-0 late and won by 25.
Meanwhile, the 14th ranked Cardinals beat the 32nd ranked Saints by seven. That’s the Spencer Rattler-led Saints. And on the field, Rattler and his woeful Saints actually outgained Kyler Murray and the Cardinals by 50 yards. Their yards-per-play was higher. They had more first downs. They lost in part because they had 13 penalties – and in part because the Cardinals are a clearly better team.
But did that shaky performance against the worst team in the NFL merit an overall ranking of 14, while the unloved Indy Colts took care of business by blowing the doors off Miami? I think not.
These things change throughout the year, and by next week, I might be agreeing that the Colts' Week 1 performance was an anomaly, while Arizona is a genuine contender. But I’m sure not saying that right now. I’m going to throw some love to the unloved Indy Colts as long as they show they deserve it on the field.