What are the Indianapolis Colts playoff chances after their four-game-winning streak? ESPN updates the odds.
by Chad Jensen
The Indianapolis Colts are currently enjoying a four-game-winning streak and head to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals on Sunday.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell compiled the playoff odds in the AFC. He had the Colts as having the third-best chances of earning one of the three wildcard spots at 56.5%. The two teams ahead of the Colts were the Houston Texans (69.4%) and the Cleveland Browns (66.2%).
The Colts’ fortunes have improved dramatically since they were sitting at 3-5 in October after having lost to the Browns and Saints to close out the month. Heading into November, the Colts playoff odds were just 9.9%.
The Colts end their regular season at home against the Texans on January 7th in a game that could not only determine a playoff spot, but the coach of the year.
“A month of victories changes things,” wrote Barnwell on ESPN+. “Shane Steichen’s team pulled out its fourth straight win on Sunday, the first time the Colts have won four straight since Andrew Luck retired. Admittedly, they haven’t exactly had the stiffest competition: The Panthers, Patriots, Buccaneers and Titans are a combined 12-36, and three of those four wins were by seven points or fewer. The Colts needed a Mac Jones meltdown in the red zone to hold on to a 10-6 lead over the Patriots and a missed extra point by Nick Folk to push last week’s game against the Titans into overtime, where Gardner Minshew produced a walk-off touchdown drive.”
Barnwell doesn’t expect the Colts to continue their recent-winning pace, but they’ve built a slight cushion in the AFC.
“Indy’s formula from this winning streak probably isn’t sustainable, but the Colts are going to be favored in some contests down the stretch,” wrote Barnwell. “Three of their final five games are against backup quarterbacks in Browning, Mitch Trubisky and Aidan O’Connell. In Week 18, they get a home game against the Texans. Before the season, that seemed like it might be a game to see whether the Houston would end up with a top-two pick. Now, that game might be a play-in contest.”
The Steelers are nipping at the heels of the Colts at 55.8%. After those four teams, the odds fall dramatically for the remaining contenders in the AFC. The Buffalo Bills sit at 21%, followed by the Chargers (14.1%), Broncos (12.6%), and the Bengals (12.6%).
The Colts could go a long way towards locking up a playoff spot and putting a nail in the Bengals’ coffin on Sunday.
Indianapolis is a one-point favorite, but ESPN’s Gamecast gives the Bengals the nod at 53.5% chance of victory.
Originally posted on Horseshoe Huddle on FanNation