Stampede Blue
There are two ways to look at Indy’s unlikely path to the playoffs: Lloyd Christmas’s ‘So you’re telling me there’s a chance?’ or Jim Mora’s ‘Playoffs?!?’
The Indianapolis Colts hurt their playoff chances drastically after losing to the Denver Broncos a week ago. Despite this, there remains a highly unlikely yet possible shot of them sneaking into the big dance. That is if everything falls in their favor, and there’s a lot that needs to happen.
A last-place Wild Card berth is still (somehow) in the cards. However, Indy’s hopes of winning the AFC South are once again dead before the season itself has concluded. That’s a decade straight of the division going to anyone besides the Indianapolis Colts.
Even if the Colts were to win out and the first-placed Houston Texans were to lose out, both teams would finish the 2024 regular season with 9-8 records and the tiebreaker would favor Houston since they swept Indy in both of their matchups earlier in the year.
Again, the Colts technically aren’t mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. It’ll certainly be an uphill battle regardless of the level of competition their remaining schedule provides.
According to NFL.com, Indianapolis now has a 10% chance of making the playoffs after losing to the Broncos in Week 15. Denver’s odds to make the playoffs shot up to 92% following the win over Indy.
Had the Colts taken care of business at Mile High Stadium, Indianapolis would’ve had a 55% chance to make the playoffs. Similar to their divisional fate with the Houston Texans, even if the Colts close out the regular season with three wins while the Broncos lose out, Denver would still possess the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indianapolis.
Playoff scenarios are still up in the air as the Los Angeles Chargers Week 15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offers an avenue where LA could be passed or tied with the Colts, Bengals, or Dolphins once it’s all said and done. As it stands, NFL.com’s playoff predictor gives the Chargers an 87% shot of making the playoffs whereas the Dolphins (7%) and Bengals (5%) are both under 10 percent.
Believe it or not, the Indianapolis Colts finishing the 2024 season with a winning record is still possible. Entering Week 16, the Colts have the easiest remaining schedule of any team in the league. All three of Indy’s remaining opponents have losing records: the Titans (3-11), Giants (2-12), and Jaguars (3-11).
As previously mentioned, not only do the Colts need to do their part in winning out, but Indy’s mere 10% chance of making the playoffs likely lies in the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers. Starting this evening on Thursday Night Football, Colts fans far and wide should root for the team that just bested them a week ago, as it remains their best chance by far.
Though the far more unlikely option, the Colts could also get help from the Baltimore Ravens if they were to lose out, thanks to hypothetical conference tiebreakers...
