The Colts continued their 2024 season with a well deserved break on their bye week. The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for a Colts team that was being hit by the injury bug at several important positions. The Colts went into the bye week with an important win to take them closer to .500 for the year and keep their playoff dreams alive.

The Colts sit at 6-7, currently second in the AFC South and 2 wins back from the leaders the Houston Texans who were also on a bye week this past week. The Colts are just one game off being .500 for the year and stay in the thick of a potential playoff chance. The national media have moved the Colts in the power rankings board after their bye week. Here is how the Colts stack up in the week 15 power rankings.

ESPN has ranked the Colts at 18.

“The Colts have had some surprising offensive line struggles. Their highly regarded line is still one of the league’s best at run blocking (74.1% run block win rate), but pass protection (53.2% pass block win rate) has been an adventure. If not for quarterback Anthony Richardson’s ability to escape the pocket, the Colts might rank much worse than seventh in sacks allowed, where they currently sit.”

NFL.com has ranked the Colts at 18.

“According to Next Gen Stats, the Colts have about a 27 percent chance of making the playoffs the way things stand now, and that figure is only that high thanks to their grace-of-God victory over the Patriots prior to a Week 14 bye. We can have debates about Anthony Richardson until we’re speed blue in the face, but the fact is that he’s improved since his earlier-season benching, demonstrating some real late-game flair in that road win, plus anotherover the Jets. Even with his flaws, he gives Indy a chance to beat teams. Another thing lifting the Colts’ chances of reaching the postseason is their remaining schedule, which includes the Broncos on Sunday, followed by three teams with a combined eight victories on the season. That said, getting in is almost certainly contingent on winning in Denver. This is not a Super Bowl-caliber team, and I haven’t heard even the most dyed-in-the-wool Colts fan suggest differently. But making or missing the playoffs could have a significant effect on who stays and who does not in 2025.”

CBS Sports has ranked the Colts at 16.

“They come off their bye with essentially what is a playoff game at Denver vs. the Broncos. They can’t lose it if they are to have any chance to be a playoff team.”

Bleacher Report has ranked the Colts at 19.

“The Indianapolis Colts aren’t out of the playoff chase just yet. But the odds are stacked against them. Frankly, the more important thing for the Colts over the season’s last month is the continued development of second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson, who has played better of late after being benched earlier in the season.

While addressing the media, Colts general manager Chris Ballad said that in hindsight, the team wishes it hadn’t rushed Richardson onto the field as a rookie. “Looking back on it, I wish we hadn’t played him as a rookie,” Ballard said. “John Dorsey (a longtime personnel man) called me and said, ‘Don’t play him.’ John had had the great wisdom from Green Bay, where they sat all those quarterbacks (Aaron Rodgers backed up Brett Favre for three seasons, and Jordan Love sat behind Rodgers for two years). And as they mature and get older, they pick up habits that we were expecting Anthony to have from the get-go.”

Ballard also made it clear he’s tired of the narrative surrounding the Colts young signal-caller. “I was so upset at the bulls**t that was said after we benched him,” Ballard said. “Are people that clueless? They were saying he’s a bust, that he’s done. I told our local people, ‘We’re not done with this guy.’ Nobody believed it. To watch him these last three weeks, I couldn’t be more proud.”

Richardson remains incredibly raw as a passer—he has completed just 47.4 percent of his passes this season and still has more interceptions than touchdown passes. But the youngster has played much better over the last few weeks, which should, at the very least, send the Colts into the offseason looking to build around Richardson and not potentially replace him.”

Yahoo Sports has ranked the Colts at 19.

“If the Colts win at Denver on Sunday there’s some hope for a playoff push. They finish the season with the Titans, Giants and Jaguars, the bottom three teams in these rankings. The Colts aren’t good enough to be a lock to beat anyone, but it’s a team worth keeping an eye on”