The One NFL Team Nobody is Talking About... (But Should)

We are already halfway through the NFL season and the playoff race is beginning to heat up. Most divisions already seem to have a clear-cut winner, but the wildcard standings are a different story, specifically the AFC. There are 7 teams currently fighting for a wildcard spot and all 7 of these teams have 5 wins. However, there is an 8th team that currently has 4 wins: the Colts.

Let’s start with the Colts’ defense. Although they rank 29th in pass defense, they rank 3rd in run defense and 9th in overall defense. Their pass defense is without a doubt lackluster, but their run defense definitely makes up for it and will prove to be essential with games against running backs like Leonard Fournette, Damien Harris, James Conner and Josh Jacobs coming up. But of course, every good team needs a good offense and Indy has just that.

The Colt’s currently have the 11th best offense in the league and they rank 4th in rushing and 14th in passing. Their offense is being led by top 3 running back, Jonathan Taylor and Carson Wentz who is once again making his case about why he should be considered a top-10 quarterback. Not to mention their other weapons like Michael Pittman Jr, T.Y. Hilton, Zach Pascal and Nyheim Hines, who will prove to be very worthy if Taylor were to injure himself.

Seeing all of this now raises the question, “so how are the Colts only 4-5?” Let’s take a look at their games leading up to now. Their 5 losses came from a healthy Seahawks team (28-16 final), a top-5 Rams team where they only lost by 3 points (27-24 final), a 6-2 Ravens team (25-31 final) and 2 losses to a healthy Titans team (16-25 and 34-31 finals). Their upcoming schedule definitely consists of some very tough matchups like the Bills, Buccaneers, Cardinals and Raiders. However, their head coach, Frank Reich, is no stranger to adversity. As the Eagles’ offensive coordinator in 2017, he helped lead his team to a Super Bowl victory despite them being underdogs in every playoff game. With his experience, there’s no reason why he can’t lead this Colts team to do the same.