The Colts continued their 2024 season at home on Sunday against an AFC foe in the Buffalo Bills. The Bills were 7-2 on the year, coming off a week 9 win to the Miami Dolphins. The Colts went into week 10 without wide receiver Michael Pittman due to back and finger injuries but saw the return of left tackle Bernhard Raimann from injury.
The Colts now sit at 4-6, currently second in the AFC South and 2 wins back from the leaders the Houston Texans. The Colts continue their fall below .500. The national media have moved the Colts down in the power rankings board after their loss against the Bills. Here is how the Colts stack up in the week 11 power rankings.
ESPN has the Colts at 20.
“Early-season injuries to top Colts players such as DeForest Buckner and Jonathan Taylor have limited their impact. But Stewart has been a consistent presence throughout, leading the team with eight tackles for loss and creating more pass rush than any year in his career. Stewart is tied for the team lead with 3.5 sacks — rare for a nose tackle — and is 10th in the NFL in run stop win rate (43%).”
NFL.com has the Colts at 22.
“Even with a fair number of winnable games remaining for the Colts, it’s hard to know how the stretch run will play out for them. They are 4-6 and on the brink of letting another season slip away without a playoff appearance. Shane Steichen said he made Joe Flacco the starting QB because it gave Indy the best chance to win, but this team is now 1-3 under the veteran, with that single victory being a narrowly decided one over the Titans. Anthony Richardson’s play before being replaced by Flacco was concerning, but the Colts might need to do something to light a fire under their offense — could that include going back to Richardson? Flacco threw three interceptions and lost a fumble, staking Buffalo a two-score lead. Yes, the Colts fought back, but they can’t afford to play that fast and loose against quality opponents. Jonathan Taylor’s resurgence has been impressive, but he had only four touches in the final 20 minutes of the game. Why?”
CBS Sports has the Colts at 22.
“Two straight losses may have this team reconsidering the decision to play Joe Flacco. Maybe it’s time to go back to Anthony Richardson.”
Bleacher Report has the Colts at 22.
“When the Indianapolis Colts benched young quarterback Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco, it was ostensibly because the veteran gave Indy a better chance to win now. Two weeks in, that decision looks pretty, um, ungood. Flacco has been a turnover machine since taking over, including three more interceptions and a lost fumble against the Bills. But despite that poor performance and unhappy fans, Colts head coach Shane Steichen told reporters that for now at least, he’s sticking with Flacco at quarterback.
“Until I say otherwise, Joe’s our guy right now. [He’s] a guy that’s a veteran guy. We’ve had two games that we’d like to have back,” Steichen said. “Right now, Joe’s the guy. I think you gotta keep believing. It’s never about one guy. It’s the ultimate team game. You’re gonna go through adversity in football season. We gotta go get better.” If at first you don’t succeed…or something.
The Colts can’t be as stubborn as they’re coming off publicly. The organization can see how poorly its decision to start Joe Flacco has gone. The Colts aren’t positioned any better to win with the 39-year-old quarterback behind center. Head coach Shane Steichen may have reiterated that Flacco is still the starter. But no one will blame him for changing course and going back to Anthony Richardson.
To take that previous statement a step further, Steichen should immediately reinsert Richardson as the starter. Bare minimum, Richardson provides athleticism and playmaking ability as a scrambler and runner. He won’t be in a position where he can’t convert a 4th-and-1 late in a game because he’s incapable of taking off for the first down. Also, Indianapolis needs something to get this franchise rejuvenated. Flacco isn’t doing it.”
Pro Football Network has the Colts at 22.
If you said that the Colts would lose to the Vikings and Bills in the last two weeks, no one would have been shocked. However, the frustrating thing has been that they’ve been in the games for large periods but unable to make a decisive blow to sneak out a win.
Joe Flacco has not elevated Indianapolis’ offense. Over the last two weeks, it was his mistakes that put the Colts back against the wall. Despite everything, Indianapolis is in an intriguing spot, with the fourth-easiest remaining schedule. You can pick out five winnable games from their remaining seven, and if they can upset the Broncos in Week 15, that could be enough to seal a playoff spot.
