As the month of May gets underway and we venture into unprecedented territory this offseason, no one truly knows how the 2020 season will play out. But predictions for the Indianapolis Colts and their prospects in the upcoming campaign are still being made.
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While we made our own way-too-early predictions for Indy, Bleacher Report did so as well. Their early predictions have the Colts coming out on top of the AFC South with a 10-6 record.
After a promising first half of the 2019 season turned into a second-half swoon, the Indianapolis Colts made major changes in the offseason.
The Colts signed veteran quarterback Philip Rivers to supplant Jacoby Brissett under center. They dealt a first-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. And they added a pair of weapons for Rivers early in the 2020 draft in wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and running back Jonathan Taylor.
The Colts’ middle-of-the-pack schedule offers at least one break, as their biggest out-of-division games against the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers are both at home. But the matchups that determine how much noise they’ll make in the AFC South—four games against the Texans and Tennessee Titans—won’t begin until Week 10.
In a division this tightly packed, those late games are going to be pivotal.
Prediction: 10-6
The Colts can get off to a hot start to begin the regular season, assuming it starts on time. Their first six games before the Week 7 are all extremely winnable as only one team in that span had a winning record during the 2019 season.
There is a strong possibility the Colts are looking at a 4-2 record at worst heading into their bye week.
However, it will be a tough test after that. Hosting the Ravens and Packers during the second half won’t be easy. Then they have a stretch of six games from Weeks 10–15 that include four matchups against the Titans and Texans. That span of games will likely determine the season.
It’s certainly very early to make concrete predictions, but the Colts certainly have a chance to make some noise and even return to the playoffs in 2020.
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