The Indianapolis Colts (4-2) will be entering the bye week with a winning record as they hope to come out stronger and healthier before a tough second-half schedule.
Following their comeback win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6, the Colts improved their standing in Touchdown Wire’s power rankings—jumping up three spots to No. 7 overall.
Many were ready to write off the Indianapolis Colts by halftime of this game. They spotted the Cincinnati Bengals a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, and Philip Rivers seemed out of sorts. Every Twitter group DM in the football world was burning up with questions about whether Rivers was done, and if Jacoby Brissett would be in the game by halftime.
As the kids like to say, Rivers read the tweets. Because in short order the comeback was on. The veteran quarterback directed three different touchdown drives in the second half, throwing a pair of touchdown tosses in that quarter and the Colts trailed by just 24-21 at the break. In the second half, more of the same from Rivers. He hit Jack Doyle with his third touchdown pass of the day to open the final quarter, giving the Colts their first lead of the game. Indianapolis even overcame the dreaded Rivers fourth quarter turnover, as a throw intended for Zach Pascal was intercepted by Jesse Bates III later in the fourth quarter. But the vaunted Colts’ defense eventually picked their quarterback up, intercepting Joe Burrow in the red zone with under a minute remaining, to seal a four-point win.
How good are the Colts? It remains tough to tell. But their defense has been impressive. Heading into Week 6, they ranked second overall in Football Outsiders’ Total Defensive DVOA. That is going to keep them in a lot of games as the season wears on.
The Colts have been a ploarizing team this season, but they have shown they are likely a playoff-caliber team when the offensive line is playing at a high level.
In the AFC South, the Titans (No. 3) lead the way followed by the Colts (No. 7), the Texans (No. 24) and Jaguars (No. 30).
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