At this moment, the Indianapolis Colts’ playoff hopes–while thin–are still alive. However, it’s possible that they could be eliminated from contention before even stepping on the field in Week 17 to face the Giants.
While the Colts play on Sunday, there are three games taking place on Saturday, two of which will play key roles in determining Indianapolis’ playoff fate.
At 1:00 PM ET, the LA Chargers face the New England Patriots. Then, at 4:30 PM ET, the Denver Broncos are on the road to face the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Colts have two paths to the playoffs as long as they win out. One of those paths requires the Broncos to lose out, along with either Cincinnati or Miami winning their final two games.
In this instance, there would be a three-way tie at 9-8, and the tie-breaker would go to the team with the best AFC record, which the Colts would hold.
The other scenario requires the Chargers to lose out–pretty simple, but not exactly easy as they finish the year against the three win Patriots and the three win Raiders.
However, if the Broncos beat the Bengals and the Chargers defeat the Patriots on Saturday, then just like that, the Colts’ playoff hopes will be dashed before they take the field.
For a sneak peak at each of these games, Jon Heath, the managing editor of Broncos Wire, provided us with some insight into that matchup. You can also click here for a deeper dive into the Denver vs. Cincinnati game.
“A key matchup in the Broncos-Bengals game will be CB Pat Surtain facing WR Ja’Marr Chase,” wrote Heath. “Surtain is a lockdown cornerback, but Chase leads in the NFL in every major receiving category this season. The Denver-Cincy game might be decided by the PS2-Chase battle, so that’s a matchup for Colts fans to keep an eye on.”
Now for a brief preview of the Chargers vs. Patriots game, Alex Katson of Chargers Wire had this to say. And if you’d like a closer look at this matchup, click here.
“After putting up 34 points on the best defense in the league on an EPA/pay basis last week, Los Angeles will play the 30th-ranked squad on Saturday,” wrote Katson. “New England has been better on defense than only Jacksonville and Carolina, allowing 0.078 EPA/play this season.
“The Patriots aren’t just allowing the big plays, either. Their allowed success rate of 45.8% ranks 28th in the NFL this season, meaning that nearly half of their plays resulted in a positive outcome for the offense. Los Angeles has been just 28th in offensive success rate this season, but their numbers could be pulled up on Saturday by virtue of playing the weaker defensive unit.”