If the Indianapolis Colts are going to secure their annual place in the NFL’s playoff party, it’s going to be by the slimmest of margins. Despite the Jacksonville Jaguars’ loss to the Redskins on Sunday, the Colts still have work to do in the AFC South.
Yes, Peyton Manning and his crew won on the road at Oakland 31-26. That leaves Indianapolis (9-6) a game ahead of the Jaguars (8-7) for the AFC South lead. But the conference’s two wild card berths are out of reach after Baltimore and the New York Jets secured playoff spots. So now what?
The Colts host the Tennessee Titans while Jacksonville heads to Houston in division matchups. A win and Indianapolis is in the playoffs for the ninth straight season. But a loss? That opens the door for the Jaguars, who with a win and a Colts loss next week would steal the division title.
The two teams split their head-to-head meetings during the regular season — a 31-28 Jacksonville win at home on Oct. 3 and a 34-24 Colts victory in Indianapolis on Dec. 19. So the first tiebreaker is out. But a Jaguars win puts them at 4-2 against the AFC South next week, while the Colts would be just 3-3 with a loss. That’s the No. 2 tiebreaker and would mean Manning & Co. would miss the postseason for the first time since 2001, ending the longest streak by any NFL team. In fact, it would be just the third time in Manning’s 13-year career he would be left out. And the other was in his rookie season of 1998 when Indianapolis was in full rebuilding mode.
But it’s still a long shot for the Jaguars, who should have taken care of business against the Redskins. Jacksonville has lost three of its last five games by a total of 17 points. The Colts beat Tennessee on the road 30-28 just three weeks ago. They get a home game this time against the Titans — a team that has dropped seven of its last eight games.
