Happy New Year!!!
The 2023 NFL season has been one of the wildest seasons I have seen. With starting QB Trevor Lawrence out for the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Week 18 matchup at Tennessee, C.J. Bethard became the 59th quarterback to start a game this season. Even with one week remaining in the season, there are so many teams mathematically “in the hunt” for a playoff berth that Amazon AWS is probably having trouble keeping up with the calculations.
NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell has to be pleased with the parody.
Vegas Oddsmakers set over/under at 6.5 wins…
The Indianapolis Colts weren’t expected to contend this season. After an abysmal 2022 season record of 4-12-1, the Vegas oddsmakers set the Colts’ win total at 6.5 games for the 2023 season. Shane Steichen was named head coach and Anthony Richardson was drafted #4 overall to take over as QB. With a rookie head coach, rookie QB, and a very young team overall, the Colts were expected to struggle.
Colts are in the driver’s seat (again) for a playoff berth…
The Indianapolis Colts beat the Las Vegas Raiders 20-23 Sunday in front of a raucous crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. With this win, the Colts now sit at 9-7 in a virtual 3-way tie with the Jaguars and Texans for the division title with one game remaining. The Jaguars own the tiebreaker having swept the Colts this season, so the Colts must finish one game ahead of the Jaguars to take the division title.
The Colts now sit firmly in the driver’s seat for a playoff berth. The Colts will play the Texans on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium with a playoff berth on the line.
Playoff scenarios…
The Colts’ playoff scenarios look like this:
- The Colts win vs. the Texans and the Jaguars lose vs. the Titans = the Colts AFC South Champions
- The Colts win vs. the Texans and the Jaguars win vs. the Titans = the Colts clinch the Wild Card
- The Colts lose vs the Texans = the Colts eliminated from the playoffs
Side note…
The Colts can make the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. Philips Rivers was the Colts’ QB during that playoff run and I believe he was on child 9 of 10 at that time.
