Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: STATEMENT game in K.C. | Chance For Indianapolis Colts To Prove Doubters Wrong
Episode Date: November 20, 2025As the Colts return from the bye week, they take on the desperate defending conference champions with a chance to solidify their status as a title contender. The guys discuss Sunday's matchup in KC, a... potential power shift atop the AFC standings, and share their Colts' under and overreactions from this week. Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms: 🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/ 📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQ Give the squad a follow on X/Twitter @Schultz975, @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @allenpinkett, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Welcome to the Colts Squad Show.
I'm your host, Derek Schultz, and why does it feel like the Colts haven't played in a month?
And I'm Zach Hicks, and I am more than ready for Colts football to be back this Sunday.
I'm Alan Pinkett, former Houston Euler, and that the Colts say it's just another game, but do you think this is a statement game?
Colts Nation, rise up.
It's the Colts Squad, everything Indianapolis Colts every week.
Covering all the big hits and game-changing.
plays from the Circle City the way only the locked on podcast network can.
It's time to squad up.
The Colt Squajo starts now.
Welcome in every day,ers, and happy Wednesday.
It's the Colts Squad Show.
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I'm Derek Schultz, any sports talker and columnist for the Indianapolis Business Journal.
I'm joined by the man who left Notre Dame as.
it's all time leading rusher and had a great pro career as an oiler and Alan Pinkett.
And you every dayers know, of course, your favorite film buff, Zach Hicks, one half of the dynamic
duo from Locked on Colts. Jake has dad duty tonight. And I have a feeling that we're going
to be getting into dad duty here a little bit more because I know the Arthur family is expecting
a new edition any day now. So we'll have Jake return coming up on Sunday following the game
against the Chiefs. Finally, we have Colts football again to talk about. So on tonight's squad show,
we'll discuss a potential just what Alan said, a statement game in Kansas City and whether
it is a statement game. I've seen some Colts fans get defensive about do we really need to
prove ourselves again after winning eight of the first 10 games. We'll talk about that in the
opening segment. The power shift in the AFC. We've seen the Chiefs really struggle this year.
The Ravens dealing with injuries. The bills, it just kind of depends on what day you catch them,
right? And you've got the Patriots coming on, the Broncos coming on, the Colts coming on.
We'll discuss that in segment two.
We'll play overreactions and underreactions from week 11 in the NFL,
and then we'll take our first look at the Kansas City Chiefs,
the defending AFC South champions.
And guys, I honestly, and I've gotten wiser in my old age,
and also I just don't have time for it anymore.
I really don't read too much into what the national folks are saying about the Colts anymore.
Certainly not as much as I did when I was like 25 years old.
I found that if you do, you end up just being angry all the time.
And then you're getting into back and forth on social media,
with strangers, and you're like, why did I just spend 90 minutes doing this with, you know,
Allen 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8?
That said, I think it's easy to see that the Colts still have plenty of detractors out there.
I don't think you need to go digging around to find some of the critics.
I know this isn't a vintage Chief's team, Zach, but what a win in Casey convert some of those
remaining holdouts?
And is that important?
I mean, I think it will, but I think if anybody has like gripes against a team, you can always find
an excuse, you know, if they beat Kansas City, oh, they beat a five and six.
Kansas City Chiefs Team.
Like, this is clearly not, you know,
your typical Chiefs team.
So you'll always find some way to work your narrative into the process.
And that's a big part of TV football analysis, right?
Is you have to be the hot take.
You have to be loud.
You have to be confident.
And you have to find every way to constantly fight for your previously held opinion.
This Colts team's good.
We know that.
It doesn't going to change anything this weekend,
win or lose against Kansas City,
because we know what kind of team we have.
here. But when you play against a team like the Chiefs with the pedigree that they have,
you know, they've been to a Super Bowl almost every year that Pat Mahomes has been the quarterback
there. They've been to the ASC championship. I think they've been to the ASA championship every
single year with him at quarterback. It's a level of success that outside of Tom Brady, we just
haven't really seen from the quarterback position, a Hall of Fame coach, a Hall of Fame tight end,
Hall of Fame defensive tackle. Like, they are a very good football team, regardless of what
the record says. And Arrowhead is one of the toughest places to play in the league. It's a loud
stadium. It's a stadium, again, filled with fans that know championships and no wins at this point.
So, you know, I do think this is a big measuring stick game for a team for a team like the Colts,
regardless of what the record is that the chiefs have. You know, anytime you get a chance to go
against a future Hall of Fame quarterback in his home stadium, it's going to be a tough showing.
It's going to be a tough game. So I don't really care too much what, like,
the national perspective is or the thoughts are on the Colts regardless, because you're going to
find ways to detract against them, regardless if they win or lose. But I just think internally
for the Colts, this is like one of those games where this is going to be a playoff environment
on Sunday. This is going to be a playoff caliber game for these two teams. And if you're the
Colts, you want to show to yourself that you're for real. Come out here and beat a team like the Chiefs
who they have won Super Bowls. They've been to Super Bowls. Beat them. And you can feel a lot
better about yourself in this final stretch as you push for your playoff run.
Well, I've got a lot of respect for the Chiefs because anytime you can play in the postseason,
you know, that's more exposure in terms of getting injured. It's also an opportunity for other
teams to scout the hell out of you. And when you go to the Super Bowl, every player knows
that that's the team to beat. They're going to mark it on the skit. They're going to mark it on the
schedule saying if I'm going to have a good game, it's going to be against that squad that played
in the Super Bowl because there's just too many other opportunities that can come from beating a team
that has played in a Super Bowl. And I think Kansas City, the reason I respect them is because
they understand that they're going to get teams best shot week in and week out, but that's what
they want. They want to be able to play competitive football at the highest level. And I think
I think the Colts, those players, are circling that game also because it has been life under the radar thus far.
But who cares?
You know, all you got to do is drop 40 on another opponent, gone about your business, still stay under the radar.
Drop another 40, another week goes by.
So you know that you've got the capability of beaten a wounded,
Chiefs team, but you don't look at them at them as wounded.
You look at them as, you know, former Super Bowl champs.
And, you know, it's like a shark seeing blood in the water right now.
Because a lot of teams have put on film and exposed how you beat the Chiefs.
So you've got to follow that game plan.
And, you know, it's one of those when the dog is down.
What do you do?
You kick them.
You know, so it's an opportunity for the Colts to, number one, make their mark.
And I think it is a statement game for them because I think there are some games that you play in the season where as a team, you want to send a message to the rest of the league that, hey, we're coming.
And not only we're coming, we're here.
So strap it up.
Yeah, no, for sure.
This Chief's team, too, and we'll talk about more in the final segment.
I think they're a bit better than what their record says.
Last year, they were probably worse than what their record said during the season
because they had, what, 12 one-score victories, I think last year
and their route to the number one seat in the AFC.
This year, they're sitting at 5-and-5.
Yes, they are a 5-and-5 team, but I believe every loss has been by 1-score.
They're 0-5 in one-score games.
In their 5 wins, they have an average margin of victory of 20 in those games.
Like, they are a good football team.
They've had a little bit of bad luck in the 1-score games.
So while, again, just on paper, going against a Chiefs team with Mahomes at quarterback is going to be a big game for your team.
But I do think this is also a closer bout than a lot of people are expecting.
This Chiefs team is vulnerable, but they're still the Chiefs.
They're still the Kansas Chiefs.
Honestly, this is the best their offense has been since the Mahomes MVP season.
This is the best success they've had on offense in a long time.
They've just had a couple things go against them in a lot of these pivotal games.
and getting home after two straight road losses, they're going to be hungry, they're going to be physical and they're going to be ready to go.
And I think the biggest thing for the Colts in this game is match their desperation.
The Chiefs are going to come out as desperate as possible.
They're going to be fighting for every inch.
If you're the Colts, you have to feel like your playoff lives are on the line as well in this game.
If you want to be able to beat a team like the Chiefs that have that championship DNA, you have to come out here and throw the same punches as them in exchange blows and get through and play your best football.
You said the right thing right there. Championship DNA. That's what they have. And that's a thing where, you know, how do you separate yourself from other teams?
You know, Kansas City has championship DNA because they're comfortable in those situations where it gets tight and they know how to win.
They don't panic. And the moment's not too big. And so it takes a while for other teams to develop that type of deal.
and a, you know, but once you eclipse or climb that mountain and you find it, then you'll be hard
to beat. And that's why Kansas City is still looked at by most of the league is, you know,
even if they come in as a wild card, they got a shot to play another Super Bowl.
Yeah, and you hear the whole, you know, well, it's just another game thing. And, you know,
that sounds fine. But from a player perspective, Alan, do you throw that out the window against
teams like Kansas. I always think back to the old NBA days where, you know, for a while it was the Pistons were trying to get past the Celtic, and then they finally did. And then it was the Bulls and Jordan. They were trying to get past the pistons. And they finally did. And there was kind of this cycle of like, like, you don't really get to the throne until you knock who's sitting off the throne. I know this is a regular season game in November and not, you know, January in the snow or something like that. But still, you know, to go there and win, I think it would raise some eyebrows. And certainly it would have to fuel that locker room, I would think privately, even if they don't want to come out in the same.
it is playoff rehearsal it is because the the stadium is going to be identical and here's the thing
that happens in the playoffs you know the speed of the game is the big thing in the NFL and there's
a certain speed in preseason and then it amps up in the regular season and then it amps up more
in the playoffs so this game is going to have the feeling of a playoff because kansas city's going
to bring it like it's a playoff game. And so like Zach said, you got to match that type of
energy. Well, you know, this is great rehearsal for when you get in the playoffs because teams
are going to bring a little bit extra. But it really doesn't matter what they bring if you do
your job. You know, so it's a level of execution that you got to step up your game just a little
bit more. And why wouldn't you do it against the Chiefs? Because they've shown you that they know
how to get to the Super Bowl. So you still got to go through Kansas City. Yeah. No, and I think that's
such a big thing for this game too is the Colts being at 8 and 2 is a blessing at this point in the
year because it's not like playoffs are locked up right now, but you're on the doorstep of the
playoffs. Now you get four divisional games. You get a team, you get a game against the Chiefs. You
get a game against the 49ers, a game against the Seahawks.
A lot of, like, playoff caliber environments the rest of the way, the Colts get a really good
just dress rehearsal for the playoffs.
You know, come out here, win a couple of these games, get in the playoffs, and then you're
kind of a battle-tested team.
And I think that's vital for a Colts team that hasn't been to the playoffs since, what,
2020?
I believe a lot of these guys haven't been to the playoffs since 2020.
You know, getting a lot of games like this down the stretch is a way to get battle-tested,
a way to get ready for that environment.
You're going to meet a lot of desperation the rest of the way.
The Colts, again, they have to get down to that same level of desperation,
treat every game like it's the most important game of the season
and exchange some punches with these top teams.
You know, you're not going to win all of them,
but your goal here the rest of the way, obviously,
is to win as much as possible and showcase that you are ready for these.
You know, we know this Colts team has been great in the regular season.
They've been great at home, but can you win on the road in Kansas City,
regardless of if it's a regular season game?
That's going to be the test if they're a true contender this year.
and I'm excited to see how they come out in this game.
Like, you know, it's not one of those games where it's like a must win or else for them,
but you want to come away with this victory.
You want to show that you're ready for this moment and respond to the big question in front of you here.
You know, I look at their game against the Rams.
You know, they weren't, they didn't back down from the Rams.
And the Rams, they're proven to be one of the better teams in the NFL.
And if not for a couple of things with Mr. Mitchell that happened in that game, they probably would have won.
So they've got a blueprint that shows that as long as we don't beat ourselves, we're going to have a chance to win.
That the Steeler game, they totally beat themselves.
Remember, three turnovers, you should lose, four are you going to lose?
Well, why don't we just have six and make sure we lose?
so you're going to have some of those games but they've got all the ability in the world
and the game plan and the mental psyche in the execution level to go in and handle
a business yeah it's just one of those weird games where it's excuse me it's export it would
be catastrophic if they lost right everything is still in front of them they put themselves
in a position where it's not it's certainly not the game as important of them as it is to
Kansas City to win at home, but it would just feel like a missed opportunity for vibes more
than anything else, like just what it would mean to go to Kansas City and win like that
coming off of the buy and then, you know, really put themselves in the catbird seat as far as
the division is concerned, especially by grabbing another road win and starting this murderous
home stretch with a big victory. The chiefs are flailing as we've been talking about and really
desperate right now. The Ravens are trying to climb back frantically from the early
hole that they dug for themselves. And you never know which
Bill's team you're going to get. Are we seeing
a power shift at the top of the AFC?
We'll discuss when the squad show returns next.
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Welcome back.
It's the locked-on Colts Squad Show.
Thanks so much for joining us on this Wednesday night alongside former NFLer Alan Pinkett
and locked on Colts co-host Zach Hicks.
I'm Derek Schultz.
Really appreciate you being here.
We talked about the power shift here in the AFC.
And, you know, for a while, the narrative was the stranglehold that the chiefs and the Ravens and the Bills.
And you can even throw the Bengals in there as well with a healthy Joe Burrow.
We're going to have in this conference going forward, right?
You have four elite level MVP contending level quarterbacks.
And that grip has really loosened this year.
Now, some of that are circumstances beyond the teams.
control. Obviously what happened to Joe Burrow and then early this season, the Ravens having to
overcome Jackson, but the Chiefs having that close game variance start to kind of go against
them. And the bill's kind of doing this like Jekyll and Hyde thing. I can't really understand
what's been going on with the bills. But you look at the way that the AFC is structured right now, guys,
it appears that with this closing schedule, the Patriots are probably going to walk to a division
championship and be no lower than like the two seed. Broncos have an excellent defense and a red hot.
really have put themselves in that advantageous position because of winning again against Kansas
City. I think it's pretty unlikely that the Colts would fall below the three if they won the
AFC South. So you're talking about the highest seat available to those four teams that I just listed
being the number four. And really, the Bengals are pretty much off the map. So we're really only
talking about those other three teams and the Chiefs and the Ravens and the Bills. And that
four seed would be for the Ravens in the AFC North. And then, you know, the Chiefs of the Bills
trying to gather a wild card. I know, Zach, that it ultimately doesn't mean much.
We're not thinking about division championships right when we're in the divisional weekend because wildcard teams make runs and do that all the time.
But I don't know if we're seeing a long-term power shift here because those quarterbacks are eventually going to be back and be healthy.
And I think those teams all are going to have staying power.
But are we at least seeing a couple of teams crash the party for lack of a better term?
And the window swing open in terms of 2025.
Yeah, I mean, sure.
Like success in the NFL is not always something that's a given.
You know, you don't, it's not guaranteed to have success year after year.
It's actually quite rare to have what's going on with the cheats, you know, where the chiefs are in the AFC championship game every single year.
And in the Super Bowl, seemingly every single year as well, that's very rare in the history of football.
We don't see many teams that do that.
That's why we throw that D word a lot around a lot with them, the dynasty word gets thrown around.
Even when they lose a couple of Super Bowls, you still throw the word dynasty out there because even getting to a couple is insane.
You know, like Mahomes already been to more Super Bowls than Peyton Manning and Peyton Manning.
Manning's arguably a top two to three quarterback in the history of the game.
So it's not a guarantee that you're going to have success in the NFL.
And that's why I think, like, you see a team like the Colts making that move for
Soss Gardner, where we're an eight and two team.
And it's one of those few times where the AFC feels vulnerable.
We have to go for it because who knows what this looks like next year?
Who knows what this looks like in 2027?
Who knows what this looks like in 2028?
There could be a new young quarterback.
Look what Drake May has done this year.
Like when we were talking about the quarterbacks in the AFC that are so hard to go through,
how many people were putting Drake May as one of them up there at the top of the list?
How many were putting Daniel Jones as one of them that you had to go through,
Bo Nix and the Broncos, you know?
So things changed so much from a year to year.
The example I always throw out there is look at the commander's trajectory last year when they were a 12 and 5 team that went to the NFC championship game with a rookie quarterback.
The trajectory was flying high.
They made these win now moves.
Debo Samuel, Laramie Tunsell, come in.
in there. And what's the result? Three and eight oldest roster in football, a ton of one year
deals. Who knows what their, what their future looks like. And that's just the state of the
NFL. You don't know what's going to happen from year to year. So when you get rare opportunities
like this, where you have a chance to get some home field in the playoffs, and that's the best thing
you can hope for, get some home field against some of these top tier quarterback teams, you've got to
make the most of it. And you've got to win these games and take your shot at the Super Bowl, because
you don't know if you'll ever be back. So I don't know if it's changing long term. The one thing
that we can say about the history of football is the most consistent thing from year to year in
terms of success is having a top flight quarterback. That is almost something that's going to
guarantee you being one of the best teams in football. Nothing else is guaranteed. So like the Broncos,
they're thriving off the play of their top tier defense. That's pretty regressible from a year to
year standpoint. The Colts are having good play from Daniel Jones, but they're having a historically
great running back season. That's probably not going to happen again after this year because
that's not something we typically see year to year. So when your team like the Colts or the Broncos
who are kind of not doing this with a Pat Mahomes at quarterback, you've got to take advantage of
your opportunities and really go for it. So the time is now for those two teams, get that home
field advantage in the playoffs. Both those teams are also undefeated at home this year. I believe
the Broncos and the Colts.
So they want to get as much home games as possible in the playoffs
and take your chance at winning Super Bowl this year while you have it.
Well, a power shift is exactly what the people that run the NFL want.
You know, in fact, what happens is, you know, you think about it.
If you have a bad season, you get a higher draft fit.
You get a better player.
Your schedule, it's not necessarily soft, but it's built in a way.
where you're going to play more teams with records similar to yours than, you know, the records of folks that had great seasons.
So they're always trying to have this type of parody arrangement because it builds so much fan interest.
You know, you don't want to – and you can go from, you know, worse to first in a year because of the way that the league is structured.
I would have to say, having said all that, the team that has probably impressed me to most
has been New England because Vrable at coach, yeah, that is a big deal.
But the play from Drake May and his supporting cast, you know, it's you can put together a team,
you know, where you get a coach that's got a good reputation and you can get lucky on a few players.
But the thing I see happening in New England is similar to the thing I'm seeing happen with the cults.
And that is they've established a culture of a brotherhood where they're playing for something bigger than themselves.
And, you know, the whole team has bought in under Coach Brable.
It appears the whole team has bought in under Stuyken.
You know, they can sort of see the prize, and they know that if they, you know, all tow the line, they can all eat.
You know, this isn't like Philly, you know, where you win and you still got people complaining, you know.
So to have that camaraderie and that cohesiveness is, you know, probably the main reason aside from having talent, that they are winning and will continue.
to win. And I think New England has just been the best example of how they've created this
culture of winning. But the culture aren't far behind, you know, and if you talk to all the players,
how many players have complained? We haven't heard, you know, Alec Pierce complain about only getting
thrown two, three or four times a game when he's one of the top yards per carry, excuse me,
yards per catch receivers in the league you know you you listen to jonathan taylor and yeah he's
carried the ball much but he's it when people talk to him about the MVP all he says is you know that's
it's fine as long as it comes with a super bowl victory then i'll take it so uh the unselfish teams
teams with great culture and the teams that are playing for more than just themselves are the
ones that are going to separate themselves. Yeah, for sure. And sometimes that separation
helps, too, when you get the Raiders and giants as kind of your draw games, right, like the
Patriots. I know the Colts have benefited for that, too. And, you know, guys, like, we've been
defensive about the fact, like, that was the complaint earlier in the season. Well, the Colts haven't
played anybody. So I'm sure the folks in Boston, as much as I feel sorry for them, probably
are going through the same thing, too, here. But I agree with you, Alan. I mean, when you watch the Patriots
play. You could see it. And I think they needed that stability of having a guy like Vrable
come in and, you know, a guy that really kind of knows what he's doing and obviously has
strong ties to the franchise as well. And he's done a really nice job. But, you know,
what's interesting to me, too, with the AFC is that, you know, we're kind of focusing on the teams
that are at the top. You know, that middle has sort of expanded because I think you have a clearly
defined bottom where it's, you know, the Jets and the Raiders and Tennessee and Cleveland.
and I think Cincinnati with their injury situation as well.
And I think that that has helped lift some other teams up.
But, you know, when I look at the five and fives even, you know,
a team like Houston on the right day can beat you.
We already talked about Kansas City being five and five.
I mean, the Ravens are five and five.
You know, normally speaking, this time of year,
you look at five and five teams and you're like, yeah, whatever, run along.
You know what I mean?
But, you know, those are all difficult games, I think,
playing those three teams right now, Zach, with what they put on the field.
Yeah, the NFL is a league of parody, like Alan said.
You know, the five and five teams are always capable of beating the eight and twos and the nine and ones and the top teams in the league because it's just how the league is built.
So, yeah, a team like Houston has a lot of flaws, right?
Their offense is very up and down.
Their offensive line is very inconsistent.
They don't run the ball very well, but they have a top flight defense.
They have a quarterback that can make plays.
They have Nico Collins, one of the best receivers in the game.
So if you catch them on a day where they, you know, are able to clean up some of their issues or look like,
little bit better than some of their issues, then yeah, they could beat anyone or a team like
Jacksonville or even Kansas City, right, who are sitting there at five and five or six and four,
whatever it is. Those two teams are very like high and low. You know, you can have,
gets them on a bad day and you can steamroll them to a victory. But if you catch them on a good
day, they could beat the best of the best in football. And that's kind of what the middle of the
road typically is in the NFL. We've seen that with the Colts the last couple years where the Colts
being this eight and nine team, nine and eight team, but it's not like all their
wins have been against bad teams and all their losses have been against good teams.
There's typically a couple games where they lose to bad teams and a couple games where they
beat the chiefs in 2022, whatever, they beat the chiefs in the Jacoby-Praset season in 2019.
You know, it's a league of parity.
It's a league where even the worst teams are typically not that bad.
I mean, heck, even looking at the Cleveland Browns, I don't want to go against that defense.
That defense is one of the best in football.
They're just saddled with a terrible offense on the other side.
But, you know, we saw the Green Bay Packers lose to them.
this year because that that brown's defense is really good you know so that's just kind of way the league
is um but yeah the the biggest thing right now is just you don't get many opportunities where in the
playoffs you don't have to go to arrowhead potentially right you don't have to go to buffalo you don't
have to go to baltimore you know because playing at home in the playoffs is a big deal there's a reason
why a lot of the super bowl representatives are division winners you know it's hard as a wildcard
team. Heck, there hasn't been a seven seed, I don't think, yet to win their playoff game since
they've introduced the seven seed in there. The closest team was the Colts versus the bills.
The first year they did it and the Colts lost on the road to the bills late in that game.
So it's tough as a lower seed because you have to go to someone's home. And typically this is a top
two to three team in your conference. Clearly they're going to be a good home team. If you win your
home games, you're going to be a highly seeded team. So it's so vital to get those home games in
the playoffs regardless of who you're playing against. And to have a time. And to have a
chance where you're not going to Arrowhead, for instance, in the playoffs, is so valuable,
so valuable when, again, so much is dependent on those little things. At home, you get fewer,
you get fewer pre-snap penalties. You get fewer like turnovers because you're just, you know,
you're used to your home environment. It's not given for sure, but it typically goes that way in the
NFL. So getting that home field advantage, especially against a team like the Chiefs in the
playoffs is, is almost everything. It's so vital. Well, uh, every,
single team in the league has the ability to win one game.
You know, any team can rise up and win one game.
But to stack those wins on top of another, that's something special.
You know, that's a group that's detail-oriented.
That's a group that's playing together.
And it's a group that's probably healthier than most other teams, too.
You know, and, you know, the Colts have been able to have this success with, you know,
a lot of problems on defense, you know, but, you know, knock on wood, everyone on offense
has stayed fairly healthy. You've had a couple guys miss some games, but the point is it's
such a long season that if you can stack those wins early, then you give yourself that
confidence to know that you know how to win so that you can chase some other goals.
There's other attainable goals.
Zach, you mentioned being able to play at home.
Do you think the Colts would prefer to play at home where they can check at the line
of scrimmage and change their play when everybody's quiet compared to going to where
the chiefs play?
I can't call it Arrowhead because it's not Arrowhead.
Yeah, whatever it's called.
Gay-Hah field where you can't hear.
anybody and you've got to use hand signals you know so it's just one of those you you work your butt off
to put yourself in a position the colts have put themselves in this position now they can taste it a
little bit they can smell it so now you can go finish the job you know instead of being one of those
five and five teams where you're always trying to correct something that you screw it up the
week before. You're always putting something on film that's going to be a problem the
following week. You know, it's, you don't have cohesiveness on the team because if you're
five and five, there's probably a little bit of finger pointing going on. But right now,
you've got a perfect storm with this Colst team because everybody gets along unless they can mask
it very good. This looks like
a team that loves playing with
each other. See, unlike me, Alan, you're a professional. I've
been calling it Arrowhead all week. So when Howard
goes to Chicago, he goes to Willis Tower. He doesn't go to the Sears Tower.
He's going to the Willis Tower. I have one
quick thing to add before you got out of the second. The last time
the Colts have played a home game in the playoffs,
what year do you guys think it was?
It had to be when
it was. Did they win a wild card round game in 14
against the Bengals?
2010 was the last time.
2010 was the last time.
I just looked it up online.
2010 against the Jets was their last home playoff game.
Well, they would have won the South, though, in 14.
So they would have had to have played a playoff game at home, right?
It said 2010 here is what it said.
Let me see.
Was that Andrew Luck?
Yeah, Andrew Luck.
Okay, so 2014.
And the Chiefs come back.
Yeah, the Chiefs comeback was 2013.
So that year.
Okay, so 2010, though, before that.
So in the last, what, 15 years or whatever, they've had two home playoff games.
Two home playoff games.
then. Okay, so that site, I got a pro football reference. You're out of here. I used to always,
I used to always mess up because even when I did the Notre Dame broadcast, I would say Oliver
Luck, because I played with Andrew Luck's dad at the Oilers. He was like a second or third string
quarterback. But then broadcasting his son playing at Stanford, and I used to screw it up all
the time, say Oliver Luck. I say, Ollie Luck. Two home playoff games in the last 15 years,
for the Colts in the first time and haven't had one since 2014 and so it's it's time to get a home
playoff game win a couple games on the stretch here get at home in the playoffs give your fans
about playing front of it it's so prideful to play in front of your home fans in the playoffs like
bring that pride back to Indy let's do it and that that was a given for so many years here in this
town like hey the home play at least one home playoff game you're usually thinking that you could
get two home playoff games out of it so yeah I agree it would be nice to see a boost for the
pass rush and it's too bad Jake isn't here because a healthy Colts
linebacker is here to save the day, you guys.
We're going to talk about under and overreactions when we come back next on
the Colt Squad Show.
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And we're back on the locked on Colts squad show.
Thanks so much for making us a part of your hump day Wednesday alongside Alan Pink
and Zach kicks.
I'm Derek Schultz.
So it's overreaction and underreaction time.
I feel like last week we might have started with a couple of underreactions.
So let's go with an over.
And, you know, I mentioned this, Jake, who's not here tonight and we'll be back with us
on Sunday show.
He was banging that drum all spring and all summer.
Colts are doing the wrong thing at linebacker.
Colts are doing the wrong thing at linebacker.
They're relying too much on Carlis here.
Well, Jalen Carlis is back.
And my overreaction is Jalen Carlize is here to save the day because not because I don't
think Jalen Carlis can be a good player.
It's just Zach, you know, here's a guy that missed the entire spring, a good chunk of
the summer, and then missed the season at this point.
Look, it's just going to take some time for him to ramp up.
And plus, Jermaine Pratt's been pretty good playing alongside Zaire Franklin.
Yeah, I'm glad you said it.
So I'm not the punk on this or the jerk on this because I had someone earlier.
to say like, Zach, why are you not talking big enough about the Carly's return?
It's kind of to me, like when Jalen Jones came off I-R and everyone was like,
oh, the savior of the quarterback room.
And he started a little bit in that first game against the Steelers because there were just
no other options.
And then when Gardner comes in, he's relegated to what four defensive snaps behind
Mackay Blackman because Lou Anirmo likes Blackman more than Jalen Jones.
And at this point, like Carlis, even if he were 100% healthy and completely ramped up,
I don't think he's playing over Jermaine Pratt on base downs.
And then so you get to like what his role could be.
And it's like maybe a little bit on passing downs.
But Louan Rumo likes to play a lot of dime.
Three safeties, three corners, four corners, two safeties.
And you're not going to have many linebackers out there.
So at best, if for when Carlis is activated, I think it'll be like a four to five defensive snaps a game at best for him.
I don't think we're going to see much of him out there on defense.
So it's nice to have the depth.
It's nice to have a player that the Colts did think highly of in the offseason to have him back.
You can never downplay that because injuries happen in this league.
But him being like the savior or anything like that, I don't think he's going to play enough for that.
Same with Jalen Jones, you know.
Like these guys were kind of falling out of favor before their injuries.
Carlyse was down to like third team linebacker in camp at some points behind Austin Ajaki,
who's in his potential role right now.
So we'll see.
We'll see how much he gets out there, but I'm with you, Derek.
I think it's kind of an overreaction that he's going to change much about this defense going forward.
Well, I wouldn't call it an overreaction, but I think the point is it's great to have depth in the NFL where usually what you have is a starter who's getting too much money.
And the backup is an unrestricted free agent who's undrafted or undrafted.
And so it's, you pay one guy, a million, the other guy you pay in 100,000, you know,
so you try to get as many games out of that million dollar player as you can.
I think, number one, the point is having depth.
Number two, have in depth where someone understands the system so that the transition,
if they have to come in, won't be as bad.
You know, it's another thing to pull a guy off the street and bring into your system.
You know, the year, my final year in the league, I remember, I guess it was 1993.
I got cut by the Packers.
And I still stayed in shape and everything.
But it was like two weeks left in the season.
The Steelers actually called me to come in and do a visit.
And I was all excited about it.
You think I was ready to play?
I wasn't ready to play.
And I don't know what's happening.
with this. I think I look better sideways. So I guess I'll just go this way. I think I look better
sideways. But that's technology. I could all do that. Yeah. But yeah, no, I think Carly's,
even if he was fully healthy, I don't know how much he'd factor in with Jermaine Pratt involved now,
while Allen tries to get himself back on a level here while he's playing with it. But yeah, you know,
I think Carlyse is going to factor in. But I think, you know, again, I think I use this my underreaction
last week or two weeks ago as well
but the return of Mooney Ward
I think we're underreacting to
the fact that somebody even wanted me to put
Mooney Ward's return in the same category
as Jalen Carlis tells me that we're underreacting
to how important this return of Mooney Ward is
Mooney Ward was playing at an all pro level
to start the season he was playing at a higher level
than Saus Gardner was playing at this season
so now when you have both of those guys out there
like I think we're underselling
how good this defense can be
be. In a lot of the analytics nerds out there, I say nerds lovingly because I love me
some analytics guys out there have been putting all out there all day long and all week
long. The chiefs are this fantastic passing offense against zone coverage.
But against man coverage, there are bottom 10 passing offense, the bottom 10 offense
overall against man. What do you think Lou Ann Rumo is going to do with Kenny Moore,
Mooney Ward, and with Sauce Gardner on the outside? He's going to play a lot of man coverage.
He's going to play a lot of man coverage the rest of the
the way, especially with DeForest Buckner out of the lineup, they have to generate more pressure.
They're going to bring more five, six-man rushes and stack that man coverage on the back end
in order to generate pressure and make quarterbacks hold the ball a little bit.
So Mooney Ward is the most valuable player on this Colts defense throughout this season.
He has been the best Colts defender more so than DeForest Buckner.
Forrest Buccane has been awesome this year.
But Mooney Ward has been more valuable than him, especially now when you add that protection
on the other side of Sauce Gardner.
So I really think we're under reacting to how vital of a return this is.
Like, this is a return that could turn this defense into a championship caliber defense,
even without DeForest Buckner, because the coverage could be so special.
I mean, Ward was giving up nothing in coverage to start this season.
I think it's going to be a really good pass defense going forward,
even without Buckner being that quick pass rush winner up front.
I'm excited about it.
And forgive me for the technical deal.
difficulties. I hope it didn't happen again. But, you know, one of the things I always say is
technology is a wonderful thing when it works. I wish I could on Q be able to make the
screen go like that again. But, you know, we talk about complementary football, but there's also
complementary defense. And complementary defense just is what you were talking about, Zach,
is can the, you know, front seven get enough pressure on the quarterback so that we don't have to
cover these guys as long on the back end?
But if my guys on the back end, you know, can lock down on these guys, you know, it might be
three seconds, but we're going to eventually arrive at the quarterback.
So when those two are in concert, it becomes a hell of a defense.
And I've got to tell you, it's exciting as hell to have the combination in back of Tervarius Ward.
And what y'all call him Mooney?
Yeah, he goes by Mooney.
Obviously, his name is Tartvarius.
So I just try to say Mooney because I just go out the tongue easier.
Yeah.
Well, I also just go by what players want, like Shaquille Leonard years ago.
Everyone still called him Darius.
I went by Shaquille.
It's not like the biggest thing.
But everyone in Colts facility calls him Mooney.
yeah and honestly i i prefer mooney's a cooler name honestly moody's a great name for him so yeah
yeah i guess the point is you got two guys back there that are locked down corners uh and you know
it does give the colts the ability to send five sometimes to send six so that's how you i guess
you compensate for uh de force buckner not being here sometimes you send six because you're going to be
pretty comfortable with the two guys you have on the other team's elite receivers.
Now, I guess the question is, can either Pratt or Zaire Franklin cover that tight end?
Yeah, well, you don't even need.
You go out in dime coverage, right?
Say this is like a third and seven, third and eight.
Go out there in dime, have one linebacker on the field, and he's mugging that A gap.
You're running press man coverage.
You're bringing five to six guys.
And with that press man, you're making it so receivers can't get open in the two seconds
that they have to get open against the blitz you know because when you're a corner how do you
play against the blitz you play the sticks you play press you get on them because you know that ball
has to be out in two seconds so you have that internal clock two two and a half seconds and you're like
that ball has to be out by this point uh because you bring in that blitz you know so um i think
there are so many good things you can do with this i mean gosh if i was a defensive coordinator
just having guys like this opens up so much of my world you know like i can i can bracket kelsey
with two defenders up in the middle.
I can bracket, you know,
because, yeah, Kenny Moore is another one
that Kenny Moore is there as well.
Like, I can bracket whoever the other guy is
and still bring five because I'm fine with sauce and Mooney on islands.
Like, these guys are proven veterans out there.
So, man, again, for Luana Rumo from early in the season,
you're starting Mackay Blackman, Zavian Howard,
Jonathan Edwards.
Now you're going out there with Sauce Gardner and Mooney Ward.
Like, again, I still think we're underreacted this.
I mean, Lou Ann Rumbo is probably doing fist pumps in the office,
getting ready for every game going forward.
Yeah, I was just going to say this,
that for the people that listen to you every day,
they got to be scholars in football.
I'll tell you, the first time you impressed me
was when Anthony Richardson got hurt
and you told me it was scat protection.
I was like, oh, damn, he knows what scat protection is.
You know, so, you know, you've made this experience great because both you and Jake have such immense knowledge.
I just know if people listen to y'all every day, they can go and talk football with anybody.
You know, I play and I don't know half the stuff you know.
I also have random terms.
I call tight ends lined up a little in the back to the sniffer tight ends.
and I realize that's not a common thing across all of football terminology.
But from where I learned it from Big 12 playbooks, that's kind of what they're called.
But I appreciate that, Alan.
I'll make sure that Jake clips that, Alan, what you just said,
because he's the one that does all the clips and socials.
And he'll just play that for Locked on Colts and put that on the TikTok and the Instagram and all that.
You're saying that, exactly.
A lot of names and faces are the same.
So why do the Chiefs look different this season?
We'll talk about that when we take our first.
look at KC next when the Colts Squad Show returns.
And welcome back, Locked on Colts, final time squad show on this Wednesday edition alongside
former NFLer and Notre Dame legend Alan Pinkett, Zach Hicks of Lockdown Colts.
I'm Derek Schultz.
So, you know, I didn't want to turn this into Lockdown Chiefs.
I know that he spends a lot of time.
And you should go over your next list.
Lapt-on Chiefs. Those guys do a great job. But we talked a lot about them in the first segment,
right? But from what I've seen this year, besides some close game variants not going their way,
their offense just feels almost like a little bit stale. I mean, we talk about how fast the NFL moves
and nothing stays the same, right? And the Chiefs seemingly are doing a lot of the same things
that they've been doing. And just unlike in previous years, they're not working. But,
Zach, that is a very layman and probably simplistic way to put it. I'm sure you've dove,
even deeper into the chiefs. Why hasn't it clicked for them, especially offensively this year
consistently? Yeah, I'm going to try not to lose people here with going back in football terminology and
knowledge. But football is a game of ebbs and flows and offenses get ahead at some point,
defenses get ahead at other points. And so much of how you win in football is finding that new
edge or that new trend in the NFL and adapting to it and changing what you do. So we go back to
the early 2010s, the cover three, the Seattle cover three was taking the league by storm.
bringing that safety down in the box, having that camp chance or that physical, big body guy,
and teams that like to run in the early 2000s were running into just walls over and over again,
and they had these top-to-your-press corners on the outside, killing them,
so that the new NFL meta became these RPO's, a lot of RPO's.
You know, we're going to sell run and we're going to throw the ball out quick.
So how did the NFL defenses respond to that?
Too high safety looks, a lot of man-match type of stuff.
And now the RPO game is just dying across the league.
Shane Steichen doesn't call RPO's that much anymore.
And he was like one of the forefront fathers of RPO's back in the day.
And now we're seeing the NFL offenses are moving towards more under center, big, heavy football.
Now the defenses are back in too high, we're going back under center.
We're running the football under 12 and 13 personnel.
We're bringing 12 and 13 personnel to get teams into base defense again.
And then we're attacking vertical.
we're attacking down the field or you can attack like the Colts where we have Tyler Warren selling run block
leaking out into the flats giving him those run after catch opportunities so I'm saying all this to say
the chiefs are a little bit behind the curve right now with how they are attacking the modern defense
they throw a lot of RPO's out there they're actually good at getting 12 and 13 personnel on the field
but they do it out of the gun and they do it without a true run threat and so they're not really
taking advantage of the true way to attack the modern NFL defense. So we're seeing them
kind of run a perfect offense to attack the old cover three and the old Seattle cover three,
but nobody really runs that anymore. So when you get these defensive coordinators like
Louana Rumo, Brian Flores, Vic Fangio, their defenses are designed to stop what the chiefs
have been doing the last five, six years, and they're still kind of just doing it over and over
again. Now, they can still get points on the board. This has been their most effective offensive
season since Mahomes' MVP season because Pat Mahomes is a very good quarterback because they have
Rishie Rice, because they have Travis Kelsey who never ages somehow, because they have solid
offensive alignment up front, at least at a couple of those positions. So they're not this
talentless offense. They're still a top 10 offense, you know, in terms of EPA per play and how they
play this year. But they are a little bit behind the times in how they attack. They need to lean more
into under center and play action stuff and they're just not doing it they're doing too much
rPO and too much shotgun stuff and teams that play man coverage are able to take advantage of that
teams that play these two high shells with matching concepts are taking advantage of that so yeah they're
vulnerable on offense but the end of the day it's still pat mohomes it's still andy reed even if
they're playing a little bit archaic on that side of the ball it only takes one miscontain
against pat mahomes and he can roll out of the pocket and throw it across his body for a 60 yard
gain and get right down there in the red zone. So you have to be on top of your game,
be on your P's and Q's and be ready to play. But they are kind of running an offense that's a
little bit easy to exploit schematically for defenses right now. Yeah, ever since the Chargers
beat them and the Chargers showed a model first game of the year of how to beat the Chiefs,
the Chiefs have not come up with an answer yet to stop that. And like I say, when you put it on
film, you better get it corrected because you're going to continue to see it week in and week
out. And I guess the other thing the chiefs have suffered from, what, you know, some prognosticators
will say is a lack of a running game. Well, it looks like Pacico is coming back this week.
So they can't use that as an excuse. But you are right, Zach, in terms of their approach
is archaic, as smart as Andy Reid is and as innovative, he is, yeah, I do see where being
under center benefits you a lot more. You see Philly, their quarterback under center a lot more.
And I tell you what that does is it does help the running game because now you've got the
running back coming downhill at the line of scrimmage, which, you know, makes the defense have
to declare a lot faster instead of in an RPO where they've got time to see what the hell
you're going to do and then move to your spot, you know, and it's always been one of those
cat chasing the mouse things, you know, the offensive line got real big. And so the defensive
line in turn, they were small. They had to get, they had to get bigger. And then the linebackers
got bigger. And then the offense spread everybody out. And then it's like, okay, well, we can't
have these 250-pound linebackers out here spread out to cover all this wide field.
Then the linebackers became 220, 2-10.
And then here comes the NFL again, Philadelphia Eagles, with a line that averages
320, and they just run the ball.
They line up in the eye, and they run it.
So you are right.
It's always the cat chasing the mouse type of thing.
and Kansas City has not come up with the answers since game one beginning of the year.
They've got great talent.
They're going to make plays.
But over the course of a game, the NFL teams have broken that code.
Yeah, and I will say when we're looking at this Chiefs offense with the Colts defense,
Colts are going to come out here and play a lot of man coverage in this game.
And when they don't play man coverage, they're going to do a lot of drop eight stuff
so they can get into those short passing windows to suffocate the
RPO's. We'll see some inverted Tampa, too, of course, as well. That's what Lou likes to run
against the RPO stuff. But I will say the most important stat to keep track of on Sunday,
and I think will be one of the most indicative stats of if the Colts defense is able to contain
this Chief's offense will be Mahomes scramble yards. Jokes, you were right on top of that in
the comment section there will be Mahom's scramble yards. Early in the season, the Chiefs were
able to move the ball a lot against man coverage with Mahomes scrambling and running. In the last
couple weeks, his scrambles have dropped really, really low. He's not really running the football
as much these last couple weeks. And the Chiefs' offense has suffered as a result. So if the Colts
can bring this pressure and get Mahomes on the ground or get the ball out of his hands when they
attack on man coverage on the back end, then the Colts are going to have a ton of success on
defense and have a chance to hold this Chief's offense under 20 points. But if Mahom's able to
break that contain, break through those rush lanes, get out the back of the pocket and scramble for
first downs, it could be a long day for the Colts because that's how special of a quarterback
he is. He can turn, you know, six-man pressures against five-man protection into a 30-yard run because
he is just that talented of a quarterback. So they have to get him on the ground. They have to contain
him to the pocket. Trust your man coverage on the back end. And if you get a shot to touch the
quarterback, make sure he stays where he is. Do not let him out of that pocket. It frustrates me to no
end when I see these guys running full speed and whiffing on quarterbacks. And I'm like,
throttle down and just get just get a hit on him i don't care if it's going to be in two seconds
versus two point one seconds like get the hit on two point one seconds because you're going to have
the press coverage on the back end uh so the big thing is just getting mahomes on the ground
or at least just getting that ball out of his hands because if he's scrambling against your man
coverage i mean he was the chief's leading rusher for half the season this year because of his
scramble yardage that's going to be a vital step for the colts this weekend
What about defensively, Zach, too, you know, just as far as they are on that side of the ball
because, you know, I saw number four scoring defense and, you know, their point differential
indicates they'd be a lot better than five and five.
Their point differential is better than 26 other teams in the league.
Yeah, no, they're, again, they're a team that they kill the, the games they win,
they kill the team they play.
The games they lose, they lose by one score.
That's usually indicative of a pretty good football team that's on the bad side of luck.
Now, they were on the good side of luck last year.
so Lady Luck comes for us all.
It's the she's the cruelest mistress out there.
But yeah, when it comes to this Chiefs defense,
at the end of the day,
they're coached by a Hall of Fame defensive coordinator and Spagnola.
They have an A-plus player on the interior and Chris Jones.
Really the biggest point of exploitability for them is their linebackers,
making sure that you are getting the linebacker's eyes where you want them to be
and making sure that like, hey, if we're play faking to the left,
we want those linebacker's eyes going to the left.
You want them rolling with that play.
And then if we're going to sneak Ward on the back side,
make sure they're not accounting for him.
They're not tagging him in their man coverage on the back end.
And that's where they've been exploitable a lot this season.
Tight ends have been very successful against them.
But at the end of the day, Spagnola is a really good defense coach.
You know, when you get into third down situations, third and seven plus,
they're going to disguise what they do.
They're going to bring extra pressure.
They're going to be very unique.
And, you know, Spagnola, I think, even with some of his issues this year,
he is probably one of the best individual game planners in the league on the defensive side of the ball.
So if this is one of those games where, again, this is a must-win game for them coming back home,
I'm sure he's got a plan in place to make things uncomfortable for Daniel Jones.
The key for the Colts, exploit their weaknesses at the linebacker position,
get the ball Tyler Warren and their playmakers to create after the catch.
And don't turn the football over.
That's the most important thing.
Don't turn the football over.
If you give Pat Boholm's short field against your defense, it's going to make you pay.
So play a ball control game, get into third and short situations where you have that run-pass option of we can go under center, we can go in the pistol.
There's a threat of Jonathan Taylor and then make sure you're leaking Warren out as much as possible because that's going to be the hard thing for them to tag as a defense.
Well, and just to follow up, look, they're well-coached.
Spags is a hell of a defensive coach.
Andy Reid is one great offensive coach.
They play hard, you know, because they do care.
that they're going to come after you.
But I just got to think at some point, you know, when they've lost five this soon
in the season, do you get in that mental rep that says, here we go again?
They're still trying hard, you know, and I compliment them because they're trying to win
every game.
But then sometimes, you know, the mental part of that game where it's like, you know, have
they started accepting the fact that they don't have that championship DNA, that they're not
going to win every game like they did last year?
You know, were they just lucky last year?
And should this have happened last year because they won so many, you know, close games?
Well, I guess the point is it's not for the Colts to worry about.
You know, the Colts, if they can just handle their business, you know, let the Chiefs figure
out their own damn problems, you know. But, but, you know, the Colts can make it a problem
for the Chiefs by the way they play because they're so, you know, systematic in what they do.
They're so pinpoint accurate and how they run their offense. And they've just gotten better
on defense. So, you know, if the Colts can make it a
about how they play the game instead of whatever's ailing the chiefs, then they should be fine.
Yeah, you know, I always go back to this one story with just NFL history.
It's one of my favorites when I was a kid, where it's, you know, the Joe Montana story, right?
Where it goes to the huddle and he points out, was it John Candy in the crowd.
Yeah, well, I believe it was what it was.
Yeah, he points out John Candy because he's cool Joe Montana, right?
But you know what leads to that confidence is consistent success.
You never feel like you're out, you know?
it lead to the confidence of the 90-yard touchdown drive, the 80-yard touchdown drive,
the going to multiple Super Bowls.
So a team like the Chiefs, until they have that eighth loss on there, those guys in that
locker room know, like, we've been to Super Bowls.
We've won 10th straight before.
We've won, you know, whatever straight that we need to win to get to Super Bowl.
So a thing for me with them is they're never out until they're officially out.
Until that percentage point says they have a zero percent chance of making the playoffs,
I'm not counting the Kansas City Chiefs out.
And I think they think that internally as well, even if there was a 1% chance and they needed to win 30 straight games to do it, they feel like they can because they have in the past.
They have done the improbable before.
They've gone to multiple Super Bowls.
They've won Super Bowls.
So this is a team that you can never count out.
The advanced stats are very, very good on them, especially at home.
They've got back-to-back losses to playoff teams on the road, coming back home.
They're going to be ready to go.
They're going to be ready to win this game.
Colts need to be as desperate and as physical as possible.
And again, at the end of the day, no turnovers.
Please bring the turnovers down.
I know it's a road environment against a tough team.
Do not give them freebies.
Play, discipline, football.
I don't know if there's any team in the league that can beat the Colts
if the Colts don't beat themselves first, you know?
All their losses this year, all their close games have been when they turn the ball over,
when they've had a ton of penalties.
That's not a recipe for success for any team, but for the Colts,
They have so much talent on both sides of the ball that the only way you can give these teams chances to beat you is if you're beating yourself first.
So play a good, clean football game, get out of the hair with a win, and make sure you don't have to face the Chiefs the rest of the way because, again, you can't count them out until they're officially out.
And if you're looking for extra motivation, the Chiefs at 5 and 5 are a 3.5 point favorite over to 8 and 2 Colts.
And there we go.
There we go.
Bolton board material.
All you got to do is drive that wooden stake and that vampire a little bit deeper.
We'll see if they could do it on Sunday.
Thanks for joining us here on the Colts Squad show.
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