If an Indianapolis Colts’ fan watched the Denver Broncos host the Kansas City Chiefs, they may have found themselves rooting for the Chiefs. That makes total sense. A loss by the Broncos would have helped the Colts maintain pace in the AFC and stay in second behind the Patriots. Although the Colts didn’t get a say in the matter being on a bye, a Broncos’ win pushed them into third. That doesn’t look as good as second, but that is a short term view. What about looking further out?
The Colts’ goal is to beat the Chiefs this week. That is obvious. Win this week on the road, and return home to face the Texans. Beat them as well and the Colts will be 10-2. If the Broncos beat a depleted Commanders team, they too would head into their bye 10-2. That would recreate the tie and give the Colts the advantage because of the head-to-head win from week two. That “1/2” game lead would create a sprint to the finish over the last five weeks. Regardless, advantage Colts.
The Chiefs are 5-5, but don’t be fooled by the record. They could very well beat the Colts and are actually favored to do so. If the Chiefs had beaten the Broncos and then beat the Colts, they would be one game back with the tie breaker over the Colts. Two wins against top AFC teams would make them one of the hotter teams in football. Add in a softer schedule than the Broncos and a rematch at home and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them take the division. That tie breaker over the Colts could be the ultimate difference in seeding.
Without the completion of the season it is impossible to see who the Colts should have preferred in Sunday’s matchup. The point is that just because the Broncos won, it doesn’t mean the Colts lost. That could have been the best case scenario but we might not know until week 18. In the meantime, the Colts only have to do one thing. Win.
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