Indianapolis, IN
How the Colts can make the NFL playoffs
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts’ playoff odds are at 10% according to the New York Times, and that seems high. Here is what to know:
The Colts are out of the playoffs if they lose to the Titans
This is pretty straightforward. If the Colts lose, the most games they can win this season is 8. Seven teams — Kansas City, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Houston, Los Angeles and Denver — already have nine wins.
The Colts can make the playoffs if they win out, Chargers lose out
If the Colts win out against the Titans, Giants and Jaguars, they’ll be 9-8. If the Chargers lose to the Raiders and Patriots. The Colts would win the conference record tiebreaker if they are the only two teams with nine wins.
There are multiple-team scenarios involving Los Angeles but the Colts will make the playoffs if these two scenarios happen.
How the Colts can make the playoffs if they win out and the Broncos lose out
If the Broncos lose to Cincinnati and Kansas City and the Colts win out, the Colts make the playoffs if Cincinnati or Miami win out or the Chargers lose out.
The Colts lose the head-to-head tiebreaker to Denver if its just those two teams.
If Los Angeles is also 9-8, it wins the division tiebreaker over the Broncos due to head-to-head and advances to the wild card tiebreaker.
In this scenario, the Colts and Dolphins would have the best conference record at 7-5, eliminating the other possible teams. Indianapolis beat Miami, putting them in the playoffs.