The Indianapolis Colts (7-8) dominated their way to a 38-6 win over the Carolina Panthers (5-10) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Though it doesn’t matter because the Colts are already out of the playoffs, the win did have an impact on the team’s draft capital. It was a complete team win with the Colts dominating in all three phases of the game.
Here are four things we learned about the Colts in Week 16:
Draft capital takes a hit
Because the Colts won, their first-round pick moved down a few spots to No. 16 overall. Had they lost, they would have been near the No. 10 pick. The team isn’t going to tank and given the construction of the roster, they are still good enough to beat up on bad teams.
The Colts are also likely to stay toward the middle of the first round following the game against the Jagaurs in Week 17 to round out the season. In what is likely to be a win, the Colts are probably staring at a pick somewhere between 16–20.
Even if it is just a few picks difference from a win and a loss, that can make all the difference in who falls to the Colts in the first round of the draft.