When a possibly bad team beats an indisputably wretched one, it’s easy to roll your eyes when the winner starts to puff out his chest.
But in the case of the Colts, it’s legitimate, as improving to 6-6 has them in great position to win the AFC South.
Oh, at the moment, there’s a three-way tie for the division lead, with Houston and Tennessee. But after dismantling the Jets last night, the Colts are feeling like it’s theirs for the taking.
“It’s December football — we wanted to start fast and take the crowd out of the game,” Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton said, via Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star. “And we didn’t want to take our foot off the gas.”
The Colts own a tiebreaker over the Titans via head-to-head sweep. The Texans beat the Colts the first time through, but a Colts win this week would give them a one-game advantage in the standings with three to play.
The Texans have lost three straight (though they’re apparently on the verge of greatness or something), but after the Colts game they get to close with home games against the Jaguars and Bengals before going to Tennessee.
The Colts finish with potentially tricky road trips to Minnesota and Oakland before hosting Jacksonville to finish, so on paper it’s a tougher way to end the season.
The Titans have games remaining with the Broncos, at the Chiefs and Jaguars and the home finale with the Texans.
“Everything is right there in front of us,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said.
And while it’s not the most glamorous division in football, one of them is getting invited to the party at the end of the season, and at the moment, it looks like the Colts have the best chance.