Fansided

5 NFL teams that must win in Week 13

By Mike Phillips

FOXBOROUGH, MA - NOVEMBER 24: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws on the run against the New England Patriots during the third quarter. The Patriots won 13-9. The New England Patriots host the Dallas Cowboys for a Sunday afternoon football game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Nov. 24, 2019. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - NOVEMBER 24: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws on the run against the New England Patriots during the third quarter. The Patriots won 13-9. The New England Patriots host the Dallas Cowboys for a Sunday afternoon football game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Nov. 24, 2019. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TX – NOVEMBER 21: Jacoby Brissett #7 of the Indianapolis Colts throws a pass and is hit by D.J. Reader #98 of the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on November 21, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Texans defeated the Colts 20-17. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – NOVEMBER 21: Jacoby Brissett #7 of the Indianapolis Colts throws a pass and is hit by D.J. Reader #98 of the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on November 21, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Texans defeated the Colts 20-17. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

2. Indianapolis Colts

The first year of the post-Andrew Luck era has been solid for the Colts, but they hit a speed bump last Thursday in Houston. With the Texans needing this game desperately, the Colts built a 17-10 lead midway through the third quarter only to give up ten unanswered points to lose.

The defeat was bad for the Colts, who wasted an opportunity to secure a stranglehold on the AFC South. With a win over the Texans earlier in the year, Indianapolis could have grabbed the tiebreaker by completing the head-to-head sweep, but they now find themselves behind Houston with five games to go.

That dumps the Colts into the muddle for the AFC’s second wild card spot, where they are in a three team tie with the Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers at 6-5. The Colts lost to both of those teams earlier this season, so those are tiebreakers that Indianapolis can’t win right now.

Indianapolis needs to either pass the Texans or both of those teams to get into the playoffs, so they may need to run the table to get to January. Next up is a matchup against another 6-5 team, the Tennessee Titans, who the Colts have owned of late.

The Titans have switched quarterbacks, going to Ryan Tannehill, and they have a tough defense but this is a game the Colts have to win at home. A loss to Tennessee would put a massive nail into the Colts’ coffin with only a few weeks to go in the regular season.

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