The Chiefs winning on Christmas just about doomed the Colts.
The Indianapolis Colts have a lot of rooting interests over the next two weeks of the regular season. Instead of focusing solely on winning their own games, however, the Colts have to hope several teams do what they need them to do in order to have a shot at the postseason. One of the biggest games occurred on Christmas Day when the Chiefs and Steelers met. Not only was it an important game for the Colts, it was also a pivotal game for Kansas City and Pittsburgh. With home field advantage on the line for the Chiefs and the Steelers clinging to a division lead, both teams wanted it badly. The Chiefs ultimately prevailed, and that is bad news for Colts fans.
It may seem like a Chiefs win to sew up home field advantage would mean little to the Colts who are fighting for the seventh seed. The Steelers went from division leader to the fifth seed, and it eliminated the Bills from having a shot at the coveted number one overall. While those two teams are certainly licking their wounds today, the Colts may be in the same boat soon enough. It matters to the Colts because the team they are chasing for the final Wild Card spot, the Broncos, plays the Chiefs in week 18. While so many things still need to happen for the Colts to have a shot, a Chiefs team fighting for the number one seed was much more appealing than one that will most likely be sitting key players for the majority if not all of the contest.
This is a scenario we see so many times in the NFL. A team has locked up their division or can’t move up or down in the standings, so they rest players. This results in a handful of games being absolutely boring yet crushing for teams that were counting on another’s best shot. The Broncos are already a solid team and would be playing at home against the Chiefs. That gave them a chance to win outright. Remove Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, etc. and it increases the Broncos chances at a win exponentially.
The Chiefs win is disappointing for Colts fans, but as I have said before, the Colts have no one to blame but themselves. Getting down to the nitty gritty of a season and having to rely on so many other games and teams is not a recipe for success. The Bengals still have to beat the Broncos on Saturday, and the Colts need to win against the Giants for week 18 to hold any meaning. Take care of those two things, and we will see what happens in the regular season finale.
