ESPN gives Colts a 58% chance of making playoffs

ESPN’s FPI favors the Colts in 2020.

Following the new additions from free agency and the 2020 NFL Draft, the outlook is mostly positive for the Indianapolis Colts. The upcoming campaign won’t be an easy one, and they will have to prove they made the right moves, but most are optimistic about the future.

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ESPN’s Football Power Index, a projection model they use to simulate the upcoming season, gave out rankings for strength of schedule, projected wins and a percentage chance of making the playoffs.

When it came down to it, the Colts have a 58% chance to make the playoffs while coming in 14th in ESPN’s FPI rankings for the 2020 season. It also gave the Colts a projected win total of 8.9 wins and the easiest strength of schedule in the league.

In this projection, the Colts were named the favorites to win the AFC South—given a 40% chance to do so. They are one of four teams to be divisional favorites after failing to win the division 2019.

Here’s how the rest of the AFC South came out:

14. Indianapolis Colts
Projected wins: 8.6
Chance to reach playoffs: 58%

16. Tennessee Titans
Projected wins: 8.4
Chance to reach playoffs: 55%

24. Houston Texans
Projected wins: 7.6
Chance to reach playoffs: 38%

32. Jacksonville Jaguars
Projected wins: 4.9
Chance to reach playoffs: 4%

The Colts and Titans seem to be destined to fight for the top spot in the division, though the Texans shouldn’t be an afterthought just yet. The Colts and Titans have the easiest and second-easiest schedules, respectively, in 2020 according to the FPI rankings.

It should be a tight race for the division, but the consensus from the offseason is that the Colts should be considered one of the top candidates to win the AFC South.

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