Colts playoff hopes stay alive with Broncos loss in Week 17

A door to the playoffs was closed Indianapolis Colts Saturday, when the LA Chargers defeated New England. However, another is still open – just barely – with the Denver Broncos losing to the Cincinnati Bengals.

In the playoff scenario involving the Broncos, the Colts entered Week 17 winning their last two games, the Broncos needing to lose their last two games, and either the Bengals or Miami Dolphins to win their last two games.

Well, two of those boxes have been checked with Denver losing and Cincinnati winning.

If things played out that way, it would create a three-way tie at 9-8 for the AFC’s final playoff spot. So instead of the Broncos having the head-to-head tie-breaker over the Colts, the new tie-breaker when there are three teams involved is the conference record the Colts would hold, making them the final playoff seed in the AFC .

Of course, before we focus on Week 18, the Colts must take care of their own business on Sunday, defeating the New York Giants without Anthony Richardson, who has been ruled out for this game. So Joe Flacco gets the start in a game where we should see a heavy dose of Jonathan Taylor.

But if the Colts win, it creates a scenario in Week 18 where Indianapolis would have to defeat Jacksonville, the Broncos would have to lose to the Chiefs and the Bengals would have to win in Pittsburgh.

It’s worth noting, however, that with the Chiefs winning the No. 1 seed on Christmas Day, they have nothing to play for in Week 18, so they may not play their starters the entire game — or at all — against the Broncos.

As already mentioned, the Colts only need the Bengals or the Dolphins to finish at 9-8 — both are not a requirement — but if you’d like a buffer in Week 18, then Miami — which is likely without Tua Tagovailoa this week — to defeat the Browns and then beating the Jets in Week 18 would also benefit Indianapolis.

This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts playoff hopes stay alive with Broncos loss in Week 17