Although four games still remain in the regular season, the playoffs are essentially here for the Indianapolis Colts.
“People say we’re fighting to get into the playoffs, but we’re already in it,” said DeForest Buckner. “This is a playoff game. … It’s win or go home.”
With a win in Denver, the Colts would be only one game out of the AFC’s final wildcard spot, they would be the tie-breaker over the Broncos and also have a favorable schedule to finish the season. In this instance, PFF has the Colts’ playoff odds at 68 percent.
However, a loss all but eliminates Indianapolis, with their playoff chances plummeting to only 10 percent and would require an immense amount of help from either Baltimore or Los Angeles collapsing over the final few weeks.
Since his return to the starting lineup, Anthony Richardson has provided the Colts with a big spark, but awaiting him this week is a very stingy Denver defense led by their stout and disruptive defensive front.
So in a playoff-like game for the Colts, who do the experts have winning this game?
NFL.com
All five members of the NFL.com prediction crew are picking Denver in this one. Dan Parr notes that the Broncos are a blitz-heavy defense and that Anthony Richardson has struggled against the blitz this season. The run game for the Colts will be important to taking away some of the bite from the Broncos pass rush.
CBS Sports
Pete Prisco is taking the Broncos to win. He says that Denver having the better defense will be the difference in this game, with Bo Nix having the cleaner game.
Pro Football Talk
Mike Florio is picking the Broncos to win by a touchdown, while Chris Simms is picking Denver to win by four. For what it’s worth, Florio is 143-65 in picking games this season, and Simms is 139-69.
Bleacher Report
Of the eight who are making these picks, six chose Denver and two selected the Colts to win. Brent Sobleski picked the Colts and noted how the Denver defense has struggled this season against mobile quarterbacks.
ESPN
All three staff members are picking the Broncos to win. ESPN’s FPI model that runs hundreds–if not thousands–of simulations has Denver winning this matchup 56.5% of the time and by an average of 2.4 points.
