Indianapolis Colts face must-win against Jaguars on Sunday

The Indianapolis Colts were the darlings of the NFL through the first half of the season. Things changed quickly.

Indianapolis was rolling through the initial eight weeks. After watching superstar quarterback Andrew Luck retire in August, the team rallied around replacement Jacoby Brissett and got off to a 2-2 start. Then the Colts went into Arrowhead Stadium on a Sunday night in Week 5 and beat the Kansas City Chiefs 19-13, holding Patrick Mahomes to under 26 points for the first time in his storied young career. After a bye week, Indianapolis scored another huge win, beating Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans.

With another win afterwards over the Denver Broncos, the Colts were 5-2 and leading the AFC South. They appeared to be headed towards the playoffs as one of the more intriguing teams. Then the bottom fell out.

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In Pittsburgh, the Colts lost 26-24 in a maddening affair. The lead changed hands multiple times amid big plays, penalties and turnovers. Brissett was lost with a knee injury in the second quarter and his replacement, Brian Hoyer, threw a game-changing pick-six in the Steelers’ red zone. Ultimately, though, it was a missed field goal by Adam Vinatieri in the final seconds that doomed Indy.

Last weekend, rock bottom. A home loss to the one-win Miami Dolphins in which the Colts scored 12 points. Now they remain at home to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. At 5-4, head coach Frank Reich knows it’s time to make a move or be relegated to an afterthought post-Thanksgiving.

With a loss, Indianapolis will drop to 5-5 on the year and sit tied for last place in the AFC South. Even worse, the Colts have already lost matchups with the Oakland Raiders and Steelers, meaning to earn a wild card berth — it appears the Texans are going to win the division — they need to beat them outright and not simply tie.

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However, a victory moves things back in the right direction. At 6-4, the Colts would vault over the Steelers and at least keep pace with the Raiders, who are hosting the Cincinnati Bengals. Additionally, the Chiefs play the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night. A loss by Kansas City and Indianapolis would move ahead of it.

The Indianapolis Colts have come to their proverbial fork in the road. What happens on Sunday will showcase Indianapolis as a pretender on the way to oblivion, or as a team to be watched for the remainder of the year.