The Colts face the Broncos in Denver on Sunday. We break down what the game means for the NFL playoff picture.
Game result: The Broncos bounced back from a slow first half start, putting up 24 unanswered points in the second half to blow out the Colts 31-13. The Broncos improved to 9-5 with the win while the Colts dropped to 6-8. Denver will be able to clinch a wild card berth in Week 16. The loss eliminated the Colts from AFC South contention and puts them on the verge of elimination from the wild card race.
The Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos squared off in the opening weekend of the 2024 preseason, and now get to face off in a Week 15 matchup with significant playoff stakes. The Broncos host the Colts with kickoff scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET. Denver is a 3.5-point favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook in a game both need to have, but one more so than the other.
The Colts are 6-7 and hanging by a thread in the playoff race. They are in second place in the AFC South, but sit two games back of the Texans and lost both games and thus the head-to-head tiebreaker to Houston. They are effectively three games back in the division with four games remaining. If the Colts lose and the Texans win in Week 15, Houston clinches the division.
Indianapolis sits in eighth place in the overall AFC standings. They are tied with the Dolphins, but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Ravens, Chargers, and Broncos are all 8-5 and hold the three wild card berths, sitting two games up on the Colts and Dolphins. A Colts win still leaves them a game back of Denver but would be critical to their faint playoff hopes.
The Broncos are 8-5 and sit tied with the Chargers in the AFC West and wild card standings. The Chiefs clinched the AFC West in Week 14, so Denver is competing for a wild card berth. They hold the final wild card berth, currently trailing the Chargers due to the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the Broncos win this game and then beat the Chargers in Week 16, they would have a chance to move ahead of Baltimore as high as the No. 5 seed depending on various tiebreakers. If they lose this week, they still would hold the final wild card berth by a game on the Colts, and potentially Miami pending the Dolphins outcome.
The head-to-head tiebreaker is on the line in this matchup. It would also impact the conference record tiebreaker in the wild card race.
