Heightened Pressure in Indianapolis

The Indianapolis Colts suffered a tough loss in Sunday’s matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Colts jumped out to a 20-9 lead, but the offense faltered down the stretch. The Chiefs would go on to score with time expiring in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Then, in overtime, Indy elects to take the ball first, but would go three and out to give Kansas City the ball with the game in the hands of Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs ultimately end up getting the ball into field goal range, handing the Colts their third loss of the season. The Colts still sit at the top of the AFC South and still hold the number three seed in the AFC. However, the loss to the Chiefs has now heightened the pressure in Indianapolis.

Colts Under Pressure

The Colts were not desperate for a win against the Chiefs, but it would have made things a lot easier. Indy now sits with a record of 8-3, which is still above what was expected coming into the season. The problem now sits with the two teams that are chasing the Colts in the division. With the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars both winning this week, the pressure heightens for the Colts.

The Colts still have to play both of these teams twice to finish the year. Houston, who is now 6-5, is coming to Indianapolis in week 13, coming off a big win against the Buffalo Bills. The Texans’ defense is one of the best, if not the best, defenses in the NFL, and they are firing on all cylinders right now. So they will be looking to come into Indianapolis on Sunday to throw another knot in the Colts’ playoff plan. The Jaguars now hold a 7-4 record after beating the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12. The Colts will head to Jacksonville in Week 14, where they haven’t won a game since the 2014 season.

With the four divisional games the Colts have left being the two teams that are chasing them, it is imperative that they win those games. Especially the games they play at home, where the Colts have had tremendous success this season. The Colts have handled Jacksonville pretty well at home over the last few seasons, but have been pretty even with Houston. The Colts should be able to attack the daunted Houston defense at home, with the ability to control the crowd noise and tempo. Playing half of these divisional games at home could alleviate the heightened pressure in Indianapolis.

No Reason to Panic

As stated before, it wasn’t exactly a “must-win” for the Colts against the Chiefs, but it would have helped. With still sitting atop the AFC South and well within the AFC playoff picture, the Colts still control their own destiny. The offense has been lackluster these last three games, but they are still the top offense in the NFL. A bright spot coming out of the Chiefs’ game is that the defense played great. The Chiefs took advantage of the Colts’ defense being on its feet for long periods of time. If the offense can get back to playing ahead of the sticks and being on schedule, the defense has shown it can be as dominant as some of the top defenses in the league. The NFL is a league of ups and downs, so teams will go through stretches where they don’t perform as well.

In the three losses the Colts have had, they have lost by one possession. This shows that they can hang with anyone in the league and are a couple of bounces away from being 11-0. The Colts have the ability to adapt and overcome the things that are currently challenging them. Once again, the defense is able to hold any of the league’s offenses as long as the offense produces. Once the offense works out the kinks, it will take away the heightened pressure in Indianapolis.