Game update: Sunday’s 38-30 win over the Tennessee Titans keeps the Indianapolis Colts’ slim playoff hopes alive. Their only path to the postseason runs through the wild card and requires the Colts to win out and get some help along the way.
NFL playoff picture: What does Titans-Colts mean for AFC standings
The Titans face the Colts in Indianapolis on Sunday. We break down what the game means for the NFL playoff picture.
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Sunday’s win over the Titans is a good start. They’ll also need the Los Angeles Chargers to lose their final two games, while winning their final two games, to reach the postseason.
The Indianapolis Colts are on the verge of playoff elimination, but they head into Week 16 with a slight chance at shocking the world. They need some serious help, but if they can beat the Tennessee Titans at home on Sunday, they’ll remain alive for another week. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET and the Colts are a 3.5-point favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Colts playoff picture
The Colts are 6-8 and their only chance at a playoff berth is through the wild card. The Texans clinched the AFC South title last week after Indianapolis lost in Denver. The Colts are sitting in eighth place, 2.5 games back of the Broncos and Chargers for the final wild card berth.
Indianapolis is tied with Miami and Cincinnati, but holds the tiebreaker over both of them. They beat the Dolphins in their head-to-head matchup, and have a two-game edge in the conference record tiebreaker over the Bengals (5-5 vs. 3-6). If the three teams all win out, the Colts would have the tiebreaker lead for a playoff berth.
If the Colts lose to the Titans, they are eliminated from playoff contention. However, they do still have a straight-forward path to the playoffs. They need to win out and they need the Chargers to lose their final two games. Had the Chargers lost to the Broncos on Thursday Night Football, the Colts would have only needed one more loss by LA. Now, they need them to lose road games against the Patriots and Raiders the final two weeks of the season. That is not an impossible task, but it is an unlikely one.
Tiebreaker implications
This impacts the conference record tiebreaker. They have to win out regardless and would clinch the conference record tiebreaker with three remaining wins and if the Chargers lose their final two games.
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