Can the 2016 Indianapolis Colts overcome last year’s struggles and get back into the AFC Playoffs? Their 2016 NFL schedule could help them in that regard.
The 2015 Indianapolis Colts stumbled to an 8-8 season and missed the AFC Playoffs for the first time in four seasons. It didn’t help that star quarterback Andrew Luck missed half the year with a lacerated kidney. However, the Colts do have a favorable 2016 NFL schedule they could easily navigate as long as their corps is healthy this fall.
The Colts will again draw their annual six games against their AFC South rivals in the Houston Texans, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Tennessee Titans. Tennessee likely won’t field a competitive team, but Houston and Jacksonville do have AFC Playoffs aspirations like the Colts do. Those six AFC South games (each biannual rival, home and away) will go a long way in deciding who wins the division in 2016.
Indianapolis will have to play the entire AFC West as part of intra-conference divisional rotation this fall. The Colts will host Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers, but will have to play both the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders on the road.
Out of the NFC, the Colts will have to play the NFC North division in its entirety as part of inter-conference divisional rotation. Indianapolis will host the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, but will have to play the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings on the road.
Since the Colts finished in second place in the 2015 AFC South standings, Indianapolis will have to play the two other second-place teams from the 2015 AFC East and AFC North divisions. While the Colts draw the AFC North’s Pittsburgh Steelers at home, they will have to play the AFC East’s New York Jets on the road.
Overall, the Colts don’t get a lot of breaks in their schedule as the AFC South is improved and most of their toughest games this fall will be on the road as opposed to in Indianapolis. That being said, the Colts’ 2016 opponents went a combined 122-134 for a winning percentage of .477 in 2015, the 22nd hardest strength of schedule entering the 2016 NFL season.
The wait is over. Let's get back to business. #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/qnQBxCAB4x
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) April 15, 2016
Can the Colts bounce back and reach the AFC Playoffs in 2016 after missing out on them in 2015? Yes, but they’ll have to be a strong road team and assert dominance in the up-for-grabs AFC South to get there.
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