{"id":207504,"date":"2025-01-02T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T14:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=207504"},"modified":"2025-01-01T12:04:15","modified_gmt":"2025-01-01T17:04:15","slug":"why-the-colts-can-make-the-playoffs-next-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/02\/why-the-colts-can-make-the-playoffs-next-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Colts Can Make the Playoffs Next Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every NFL fan remembers Jim Mora\u2019s \u201cPlayoffs\u201d rant<\/a>. \u201cPlayoffs? Are you kidding me? Playoffs?!,\u201d the former Indianapolis Colts coach said in 2001. The Colts didn’t make the playoffs that year and they won’t do it this season either. Next year could be a different story, though, if they make the right moves this offseason.<\/p>\n

Indianapolis hasn\u2019t made the playoffs since 2020. That was back when Philip Rivers was the starting quarterback and led the team to an 11-5 record. For Colts fans, it seems like that was 30 years ago.<\/p>\n

The Colts had a chance, but not a very good chance, at reaching the postseason this year. But those chances were completely ruined after their recent loss to the New York Giants<\/a>. What an embarrassing loss for Indianapolis. Before that game, the struggling Giants had just two wins on the season and had lost their last 10 games. Yet, the Colts found a way to get one of their most heart-breaking losses in recent memory.<\/p>\n

The Colts can reach the playoffs next season. To do that, what moves must they make this offseason?<\/p>\n

Why the Indianapolis Colts Can Make the Playoffs Next Season<\/h2>\n

Say Goodbye to Chris Ballard<\/h3>\n

Parting ways with Chris Ballard is the most important move the Colts need to make. During his eight years in Indianapolis, the general manager has made some good moves, especially when it comes to the draft. Ballard has drafted key players like Quenton Nelson<\/a>, Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr., and Josh Downs. He even managed to land Zaire Franklin<\/a> in the seventh round (2018 draft).<\/p>\n

However, Ballard\u2019s draft decisions haven\u2019t paid off. The Colts have reached the playoffs only twice and have failed to win the AFC South since he was hired in 2017.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for the Colts to end the Chris Ballard Era. The team must replace him with someone who will spend money on outside free agents and make blockbuster trades. Someone like that will give Indianapolis a much better chance at making the playoffs. Someone like that can also surround quarterback Anthony Richardson<\/a> with the proper offensive weapons.<\/p>\n

Land a New Defensive Coordinator<\/h3>\n

Ballard needs to go and so does defensive coordinator Gus Bradley<\/a>. The Colts\u2019 defense has been far from elite this season. They\u2019re allowing 363.8 yards per game<\/a>. Only the New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers are allowing more this season.<\/p>\n

The Week 17 loss to the Giants was a great example. New York\u2019s Drew Lock, a journeyman backup quarterback, looked like Patrick Mahomes in that game. He recorded five touchdowns (four passing and one rushing) in the upset 45-33 win. Rookie receiver Malik Nabers<\/a> shredded the Colts D as well. He contributed 171 receiving yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Years ago, Bradley achieved success in Seattle during the \u201cLegion of Boom\u201d era. But his defense just hasn\u2019t been effective in Indianapolis. He possesses a zone-heavy scheme that relies on players closing down on receivers. That system isn\u2019t working. If the Colts can replace Bradley with a better defensive coordinator, the playoffs can be realistic next season.<\/p>\n

Main Image: \u00a0Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indianapolis Colts aren\u2019t making the playoffs this year, but they can next season if the right offseason moves are made. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":207610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,12],"tags":[1619,681,56],"class_list":["post-207504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-colts","tag-chris-ballard","tag-gus-bradley","tag-indianapolis-colts"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207504"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207611,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207504\/revisions\/207611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}