We knew things weren’t going to get any easier. After getting demolished at home by the Ravens, the road for the Indianapolis Colts gets worse. A prime time date with the Chiefs on the road is about as tough a start as you could ask for. Fail to win and the alternative is a hard road back; the dreaded 0-2 start.
Teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs about 10% of the time. That’s since the merger. If you want a glass half-full look, since 2020, the percentage actually rises to 16%. On one hand, the Colts
aren’t necessarily a Super Bowl caliber team. A top tier team would have more resources and abilities to make it out of that type of hole. On the other, the Colts would have played two of the better teams in the conference. That leaves room for hope.
Is this putting the cart before the horse? Certainly. Is it giving up before the game has even been played? Maybe. We have to look at what we all witnessed last week, though. If that Colts team and that Chiefs team meet, it’s going to be ugly. The Colts must elevate their game immediately. With games against the Texans, Commanders, and Steelers in their next three, this one is pivotal. They have fared well against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs before, even when it seemed like they would be doomed. That is a positive the Colts will have to cling to for now.
The Colts aren’t strangers to starting 0-2 over the last decade or so, but most of those seasons were lost. Nothing is set yet, though. The Colts could leave Arrowhead 1-1 feeling great about their season going forward. Then again, 0-2 is staring them in the face. It won’t be easy, but the Colts have to find a way.
