The Indianapolis Colts have been one of the NFL’s most surprising teams in 2023. Entering the year, everyone expected that Indy would have another abysmal season and be picking near the top of the draft again. However, entering Week 13, the Colts are currently 6-5, and if the playoffs started today, they’d be the No. 7 seed.
Despite that being the case, there isn’t a lot of fear about Indianapolis entering the postseason and making a run. In fact, Indy is considered one of the least-threatening possible playoff teams. Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report recently ranked the most dangerous teams fighting for a playoff spot: the teams in the AFC and NFC that are between No. 7 and No. 10 in current standings.
In the AFC, that’s the Colts, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, and Buffalo Bills. In the NFC, that’s the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints. Of those eight teams, Ballentine belives Indianapolis is the least dangerous.
Bleacher Report doesn’t consider Colts a threat in playoffs
Ballentine commended Indianapolis for being a resilient squad with a first-year head coach that has been able to overcome several big challenges, however, Ballentine argues that Indy is ultimately just “a feel-good story and a great sign for the future of the organization,” going on to say that no contenders would be worried about running into the Colts.
To support this argument, Ballentine used Indy’s schedule of struggling opponents to say that the team doesn’t have many good wins. Acknowledging the Week 3 win over the Baltimore Ravens, the current top team in the AFC, Ballentine essentially disregarded it because of how long ago it happened.
There are some fair points brought up by Ballentine, mainly the fact that Indy has a pretty easy schedule. Regardless, the Colts have competed with everyone that they’ve been on the field with. With their ability to run the ball on offense, and the playmakers Indy has on defense, it’s not unrealistic to think that Indianapolis could find a way to compete with anyone.
All season, the Colts have been resilient competitors and head coach Shane Steichen has equipped the team with the perfect mindset to exceed expectations. Indianapolis has been doing it all season, so rankings like this one just gives Indy another opportunity to surprise everyone.