A few weeks ago, I wrote an article after the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Green Bay Packers 30-27. In a battle of two young yet outstanding quartbacks, we saw Aaron Rodgers, the reigning MVP of the National Football League, take on Andrew Luck, the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and former Stanford standout.
The result, though, seemed like a bit of an anomaly. How did the Colts, a team that went 2-14 last season, beat the Packers, who went 15-1 in that same season?
The Colts selected Luck with the top pick for a reason — he is the future of the franchise. Some may say that was solidified when he defeated Rodgers, but many people didn’t believe me when I took it a step further, saying that the Colts could very well make a run at the playoffs in 2012. Indy was only 2-2 at the time, and they have lacked much of the star-power usually needed to reach the postseason.
Four games later, the Colts now sit comfortably at 5-3, motivated by both success and head coach, Chuck Pagano, who is currently fighting against Leukemia. They are poised to continue their surprisingly impressive season, as they play the 1-7 Jacksonville Jaguars, the 3-5 Buffalo Bills, the 3-6 Tennessee Titans and the 1-7 Kansas City Chiefs in four of their last eight games. The other four are against the New England Patriots, the Detroit Lions and twice against the Houston Texans — all teaget divorce
ms that made the playoffs last season.
The Colts only need to win half of the remaining games to have a real chance at a wild card. A 9-7 record was good enough last year for the Cincinnati Bengals to sneak into the playoffs, and the American Football Conference is less competitive this year. Still, let’s look at the other AFC teams in contention.
The San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins are the only other AFC teams not below .500, but their remaining schedules look slightly more challenging. There are five teams with three wins right now: the New York Jets, the Oakland Raiders, the Titans, the Bills and the Bengals. The Jets and Raiders have major injury issues. Darrelle Revis and Santonio Holmes of the Jets have been ruled out for the season, and Darren McFadden of the Raiders just injured his ankle, but he wasn’t helping much anyway with 3.3 yards per carry. The Titans and Bills have serious concerns on defense, as they rank 30th and 31st, respectively, in yards allowed per game.
The Bengals, on the other hand, are the only team of the bunch that I think can make another run at the playoffs. They did it last year and still have most of the players that they put on the field then.
Still, the Colts have to be considered the best bet at the last wild card berth with Luck under center. On Sunday, Luck set a new record for rookies with 433 passing yards. Luck is still only 23 years old, and he has begun his young professional career with a bang.
