Getty Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck
The Indianapolis Colts squeaked into the AFC playoffs by pummeling the Tennessee Titans 33-17 in Week 17 of the regular season. As the six seed, the Colts have an uphill battle paved with three road games if they want to secure a spot in Super Bowl LIII. The Colts finished the regular season 10-6 but only went 4-4 on the road.
The Colts are the hottest team in the league right now, winning nine of their last 10 games after starting the year with a disappointing 1-5 stretch. Let’s take a look at their path to the Super Bowl.
AFC Wild-Card Game: Colts at Texans
GettyT.Y. Hilton
The Colts square off against the AFC South divisional foe Houston Texans on Saturday, January 5 at 4:35 p.m. ET.
Indy split its two games against the Houston in the regular season. The road team, however, won both matchups. Can the Colts win for a second time at NRG Stadium in one season? We’ll see. The Colts’ win at Houston on December 9 jumpstarted the four-game winning streak that led to the Colts making the playoffs. And remember, Houston needed overtime to defeat the Colts in their September 30 matchup.
Colts star quarterback Andrew Luck has sliced the Texans defense for an average of 431.5 passing yards this year. Whatever edge the Texans have at home against the Colts will be mostly nullified if Luck has another 400-plus yard game.
AFC Divisional Round: Colts at Chiefs
GettyMarlon Mack
If the Colts make it past the Texans, they’ll head to Arrowhead Stadium to meet the high flying Kansas City Chiefs led by likely NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes II on Saturday, January 12 at 4:35 p.m. ET.
The two teams haven’t met since the 2016 regular season, a game in which the Chiefs won 30-14. Both of these teams look very different from the 2016 season, especially the Chiefs.
While the Colts have a great offense (5th in points), the Chiefs No. 1 rated offense is markedly better in terms of points scored per game. The Colts, however, have the edge on defense. Kansas City is next-to-last in both passing yards and total yards allowed per game.
If the Colts make it to the divisional round, Luck could certainly rack up a ton of passing yards against a porous Chiefs secondary. Will they be able to out score the Chiefs in what could easily become a track meet? That would be interesting to see.
AFC Championship: Colts at Patriots/Chargers/Ravens
GettyKenny Moore
The Colts could face one of three teams in the AFC Championship: New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, or the Baltimore Ravens. The AFC Championship is scheduled for Sunday, January 20 at 6:40 p.m. ET.
The Colts lost to the Patriots in week five at Gillette Stadium to the tune of 38-24. As for the other possible matchups, the Colts lost to the Ravens in a (meaningless) pre-season game, and they haven’t played the Chargers since the 2016 regular season.
Regardless of who they played, the Colts would almost assuredly be the underdog.
Super Bowl LIII: Colts vs. NFC Champs
GettyAndrew Luck
Super Bowl LIII kicks off in Atlanta on Sunday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET. In our hypothetical scenario, the Colts would play the NFC champs: Saints, Rams, Bears, Cowboys, Seahawks, or Eagles.
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