Predicting the outcome of the Colts final 8 games

The Indianapolis Colts sit at 4-5 after the first nine weeks of the season.

They are over halfway through the 2023 NFL season. Currently, they sit third in the AFC South and outside looking in on the AFC playoff picture.

Before the season began, I predicted the Colts would go 7-10 this season and had them at 4-5 after the first nine weeks. The Colts have eight regular season games remaining this season, and I take a shot at predicting how the final eight games will go. 

Predicting the Colts remaining schedule: 

Week 10: @ (Germany) New England Patriots (W) 

Week 11: Bye Week 

Week 12: Vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (W) 

Week 13: @ Tennessee Titans (L) 

Week 14: @ Cincinnati Bengals (L)

Week 15: Vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (L)

Week 16: @ Atlanta Falcons (W) 

Week 17: Vs. Las Vegas Raiders (W) 

Week 18: Vs. Houston Texans (L) 

Overall Record: 8-9

I have the Colts winning one more game than my preseason prediction piece. I think the majority of their remaining schedule will be close-contested games that could go either way. While there have been ups and downs this season, I believe rookie head coach Shane Steichen has shown he belongs as a head coach in the NFL. Injuries have stacked up for the Colts this season, which has them undermanned at multiple key positions. Steichen's group has no quit in them, though, so I wouldn't be shocked at all if they went on a run during the 2nd half of the season. At the end of the day, though, losing your starting QB for the season is a tough adversity to overcome, and I believe it will end up leading to them missing the playoffs this season.