NFL Power Rankings: October Edition finds LA Rams rising

9. Indianapolis Colts

After losing the opener to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Indianapolis Colts have defeated the Vikings, Jets, and Bears.  In fact, they have only surrendered 56 points all season. That’s a significant defensive effort considering the fact that their defense had little time to coordinate coverage schemes.

2020 Summary

The Colts lost a surprise opener to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and have since won three straight, including beating a good Chicago Bears team. Phillip Rivers is getting a bit of a second wind, suddenly completing 72 percent of his passes, which is a career-high by a mile. The Colts are not asking as much from Rivers, and have gotten a lot of mileage out of their outstanding defense.

2020 Outlook

The Colts are winning with a downright stingy defense and an offense that is able to move the ball and score well enough to win. That’s a pretty good way to win games, as it gives the team the opportunity to depend upon the defense to hold the line in close games. But after a 7-9 season, is this team legitimate?  Well, the Colts will find out soon enough, as they face the Brown, Ravens, Lions, and Titans over the next four games.

The Colts must plan to knock off the defending division champion Titans to assure themselves of a playoff spot. While the math works for them to get to post-season as a wildcard team, the AFC North and AFC East divisions appear to be just as competitive.