The regular-season schedule for the Indianapolis Colts was released on Thursday night and even though we aren’t sure what’s ahead for the rest of the offseason, there is an outline for the season if it starts on time.
How the Colts will do based on this schedule is hard to predict at this point in the offseason. We still made some predictions of course, but it is still hard to know for sure how it will all play out.
But when looking at the schedule, we can certainly gather some thoughts on how it is constructed and how it might impact the Colts one way or another.
Here are three takeaways from the regular-season schedule for the Colts:
Just one prime-time game
Begin in a small market like Indianapolis means prime-time games will be difficult to come by. In order to get those late night slots on Sunday and Monday night, the Colts have to be one of the best teams in the conference.
It’s obvious the league doesn’t feel the Colts are worth giving more than the one prime-time slot they are obligated to. Every team has to play at least one Thursday night game during the season but other teams still find themselves in prime time on an additional week.
It wasn’t expected that the Colts’ schedule would be littered with prime-time matchups. But they at least had some games that were worthy. At home, they host the Packers, Vikings and Ravens——all of which would have made fine prime-time games.
First half is there for the taking
The Colts open their season with a relatively easy slate of six games. Among the teams they face, just one of them had a winning record in 2019. Things change year to year of course, but the Colts will have their opportunities to get off to a hot start.
Opening on the road isn’t ideal, but they do so against the lowly Jaguars, who could be one of the worst teams in the NFL this year. The Week 2 matchup against the Vikings will be tough and could go either way. But after that, the Colts host the Jets in Week 3, visit the Bears and Browns in Weeks 4 and 5, respectively, and then host the Bengals in Week 6 before the bye.
There really is a strong chance the Colts start the season 5-1 or even 4-2 at worst. The second half of the season won’t be easy, but it can be softened if the Colts get off to a hot start.
A crucial divisional stretch
The second half of the schedule isn’t nearly as easy as the first half and there is a crucial stretch of games that will likely determine the fate of the Colts in 2020.
The Colts get their sole prime-time game in Week 10 on the road against the Titans. That kicks off a stretch of six games that features four divisional matchups——two against the Titans (Weeks 10,12) and two against the Texans (Weeks 13, 15). That alone might be enough to determine the Colts’ place in the standings.
Not to mention, during that six-game span, the Colts also host the Packers. They will also host the Ravens the week before the Thursday night game that kicks it off. But that six-game span with four divisional matchups may just make or break the season.
