Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Prevail on Christmas Defeating Cardinals 22-16

Episode Date: December 28, 2021

On today's episode, Evan is joined by Stephen Reed to go over the Indianapolis Colts' 22-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas. After dealing with countless COVID-19 issues, Indianapolis put together one of its most impressive victories of the season.Carson Wentz stepped up big-time with clutch throws when it mattered most. Jonathan Taylor still rumbled for 100+ yards even with injury and COVID problems on the offensive line. The defense kept Kyler Murray at bay.How do the Colts now stack up in the AFC? All of this, plus so much more, in a loaded episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, everybody. Welcome into your latest episode of Locked On Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Today, as always, I'm your host, Evan Sattery, joined by Stephen Reed of Stampede Blue. And we're here on a Monday night to recap a Saturday game for the Colts this week. Back-to-back weeks on a Saturday and back-to-back impressive wins.

And quite honestly, it'd be impressive to say this because you would have never thought this going into this game but I think with the circumstances that the Colts were dealt last week Stephen with their game against the Arizona Cardinals missing Darius Leonard due to COVID missing Quentin Nelson due to COVID Kari Willis and Zach Paschal also out due to COVID you also have Mark Lewinsky out due to COVID Eric Fisher goes out to the second series of the game Jack Doyle goes out of the first series of the game injuries across the board goes out of the first series of the game. Injuries across the board. COVID runs rampant through this roster. And they still somehow pull off the victory. 22-16 over the Arizona Cardinals. And quite honestly, Steve, I think that's the most impressive win of the season for the Annapolis Colts.

They are now red hot right now. If they clinch a playoff or next weekend instead of Raiders, if they can win that game. We'll talk about the COVID issues later on, how that can impact this team. But, Stephen, how are you doing today? And also, what a win that was for the Colts on Saturday. Hey, Evan, yeah, I'm doing well today. Yeah, it was a wild win where we were all kind of like, all right, is this the time that the Cardinals offense is really going to pick up?

But the defense held firm, and I think it was just a phenomenal coaching job by Frank Reich and Matt Eberflus, their offense and defense. It's just with the number of players that were out and the quality of players that were out due to COVID against the Cardinals, it would have been an understandable excuse for them to lose that game. But I think the fact that they were able to come together and win the game, I think it really probably – this locker room's been good anyway in terms of the culture, but I think it really kind of galvanized the guys

and put them close together in terms of how they feel about, you know, their team going forward. Because, you know, it could have fractured the locker room. If you lose a game that you really need in order to make the playoffs and you potentially lose the game next week against the Raiders, it puts you in a dire situation. But the fact that they were able to pull it out and come up strong, I think defense held the Cardinals to, I think,

like 11 points under their season average. You know, they were helped by some missed field goals, but it happens. It's like the Colts earlier in the year against Baltimore. Baltimore won because of missed field goals, and Arizona left some points on the board from missed field goals, but Colts took advantage. And Carson Wentz made some incredible throws like throws that

if they were you know if they were Patrick Mahomes making this throw it's like they put the ball in Canton it's it was that good kind of thing and like that that touched my mind to Desmond Patman there to put him up 22-13 uh that throw is phenomenal. It was wild how good it was, but it got, like, no national publicity because it was Carson Wentz and the Philly media has soured the well. It was in the water hole when it came to Wentz. So I was excited to see the Colts get the win. I was not shocked, I guess, because I said before, I think this team has got the depth in terms of the

roster, but once Eric Fisher went out with the injury, and then once Chris Reed went out with an injury in the game, I sat there and I was going, man, I don't know about this. They might have to resort to the Phillip Berger style offense where it's just three-step, get the ball out, because I'm not sure how long these tackles can hold up. But I was just shocked that they were able to pull it out, and I was excited, and I think it's going to go a long way for them making the playoffs. Yeah, absolutely.

The Colts win that game on Saturday in Arizona, 22-16. I was actually there in attendance at that game. It was – I kept telling myself during that game, I have no clue how the Colts are in this game. And in the fourth quarter on that drive that Carson Wentz had, at the end of the game, I was thinking to myself, how in the world did the Colts just win that game? Because all the circumstances thrown against them, they still go out and win that game. Let's see on Carson Wentz first off, because I've seen him in person.

I've seen him a couple times in person this year. But in that hostile environment in Arizona, there's actually a lot of Colts fans there on Saturday. But he looked very much off on Saturday in a lot of situations. He did have a lot of great throws in that hostile environment in Arizona, there's actually a lot of Colts fans there on Saturday. But he looked very much off on Saturday in a lot of situations. He did have a lot of great throws in that game, but there were some certain situations where you could just tell he was flustered by the lack of offensive line cohesion up in front of him. You have four out of five guys out at one point. I think the time clock in his head was off a little bit.

Even still, he made up for it all at the end of that game where in that game-stealing drive, Stephen, in the fourth quarter, he went three of three for 73 yards on that drive. He had the great second and 17th row to Michael Pittman Jr. He got bailed out there because they didn't call a holding penalty on Julian Davenport. They were held on for his life against Chilner Jones. But then the next play, it's T.Y. Hilton down the field

for a 34-yard gain and a couple plays later on third and nine. If they don't get that touchdown there, I think Arizona probably wins that game going down the field for a 34-yard gain, and a couple plays later on third and nine. If they don't get that touchdown there, I think Arizona probably wins that game going down the field in the next possession. He hits Desmond Patman on a throw, like you mentioned. If it was Patrick Mahomes, that play is played all over NFL Twitter, all over ESPN for the next three to four days. Unfortunately, that's not the case for a Colts quarterback, but Carson Wentz makes an incredible throw,

easily his best throw as a Colt yet, even topping the one we saw to Ashton Dooling against Tampa Buccaneers a couple weeks ago sidearm moving to his left corkscrews his body hits it over Zach Allen find Desmond Patman falling away in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown to make it a nine point game with six minutes left just an incredible drive there from Carson Wentz he had his ups and downs during that game but with Jonathan Taylor struggles with the offensive line being completely out of sync with all the injuries and the COVID issue with Quentin Nelson and Mark Lewinsky,

also Ryan Kelly's tragedy, he was still out of this game on Saturday. All that put together, Carson Wentz, when it mattered most, and Jonathan Taylor having a quote-unquote off game, even though he still ran for 100 yards behind a B-team offensive line, Carson Wentz really proved to, I think a lot of Colts fans that if it's January football and you need to go down the field late and win a game, I think Carson Wentz just proved that he's totally capable of doing that. Yeah, it's wild, right? Because that's been his knock since last year is can he do that? Can he make plays and it he he was struggling throughout the

game like you mentioned like through the first first half and even parts of the third quarter he was struggling um and you saw him kind of revert back to the poor poor mechanics where he would fade back and throw off his back foot or he he for example he had Michael Pittman a couple times on first down throws on third down and he would keep floating back and throw while he's floating back and he missed the throw because I mean it's hard there's only like one quarterback that can do that and that's obviously Patrick Mahomes but the fact that he was able to kind of pull himself together and be able to make those plays that he needed to against what was, I mean, a piecemeal offensive line is being nice because, I mean, we all kind of worry when we see Julian Davenport

like walk onto the field, even on teams when he's the, on, on kicks, it's you, you question whether he's going to let somebody through, but yeah, he did well enough and the Colts were able to win. It was good to see Carson make some plays when Jonathan Taylor and the offensive line didn't play up to their normal standard, which is wild because Jonathan Taylor still rushed for over a hundred yards. You know, it's, it was, standard, which is wild because Jonathan Taylor still rushed for over 100 yards. You know, it was – I think even though Jonathan Taylor only rushed for just over 100 yards this game, I thought this was still a really impressive outing for him even though – because he wasn't getting those lanes from the offensive

line. And you see running backs, if they don't have that same offensive line back there and those holes close up the way that they did on Saturday those types of running backs usually don't get any yardage at all Jonathan Taylor was able to to squeeze out you know he had the one big run to start the game with 43 or 47 yards but after that he was still able to get some yards after contact still running out and getting like three or four yards of carry despite the fact that he had an offensive line that I mean you didn't even that I made the joke on Twitter after Chris Reed and Eric Fisher got hurt I said hey can Mo Alley

Cox play play tackle in this game and sure enough in, in the post game, Frank Reich made the comment, hey, do we need to get Moe ready to go in at tackle? I was like, wow, okay, so that really might have been their plan. So that's really how banged up that they were in the offensive line. So it's wild that Carson was able to do what he did, especially in the fourth quarter when you're down all those guys, and then Jonathan Taylor still had a pretty decent game. It's the new year, so that means New Year's resolutions. If yours is about getting fit or eating healthier, make sure you include Bilt Bar in your plan. Bilt Bar is the protein bar that tastes like a candy bar, maybe even better than a candy bar.

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for 15% off at built.com Again, LOCKED15 L-O-C-K-E-D-1-5 for 15% off at built.com Yeah, pretty incredible just with all the issues they had to still go out and win that game 22-16. Let's talk about before we get into the COVID issues for this team.

Jonathan Taylor, after that first run he had for 43 yards, the rest of the game only averaged 2.5 yards per carry. Take out, I think, another 12-yard run. It's probably down to about 2 yards flat per carry for the rest of the game on 26 touches. No surprise of the way the offensive line was, but even still, I think the Colts made the right decision there, obviously with the offensive line issues to keep hammering Jonathan Taylor throughout that game, keep them honest late in that game for first and went to have those openings

down the field. But what was your impressions even still? I mean, when I looked at my phone late in that game and saw Jonathan Taylor somehow still had a hundred yards in that game, it felt like after that first run, he thought he had like 60 or 70 total yards, but to still have 100 plus yards in that game. I mentioned this on Twitter after the game, but I feel like quite honestly, Jonathan Taylor is still getting over 100 plus yards with I think a JV freshman type of offensive lineup there in front of him for most of that game.

I think Stills has a lot about him, and I still think he deserves to be in the MVP race with the performance he put up on Saturday, even though it was a very quiet one. His touchdown streak ended. Putting up 108 yards with that offensive line out there, I think speaks volumes as to how special a talent he is. Yeah, I think so too.

And I am remiss to say that these guys are JV offensive linemen because Chris Ballard really heavily invested in the offensive line it's one of the reasons why they gave him the game ball after the game um is because he's bringing in like Chris Reed and Pryor and Pinter has been able to step up and so it's not an ideal situation losing four of your starting five offensive linemen and then losing your top backup but yeah the fact that Jonathan Taylor was as consistent as he was, and I thought it was important, like you said, that they continued to give him carries because it kept Arizona having to

take a look at Jonathan Taylor and make those linebackers take a step and wait. I thought one of the better plays in the entire game for the Colts on that, that touchdown drive, I believe they had a, a third down call or maybe it was a, it was somewhere in the second half where they had a third and four or third and five yard thing where Carson went on a run and Michael Pittman was doing an out route and he still faked his hands up like he was gonna gonna catch the ball that kept Isaiah Simmons there with Pittman versus having him turn around and go after Wentz because Simmons turns around

goes after Wentz then that plays over like there's no shot that the Colts are going to get that there's going to be fourth down it was going to be fourth down. It was going to be over. They might have gone for it anyway, but still, it was going to be tight. But I just thought it was interesting that Carson Wentz was able to make plays with his legs, and I thought it was a really good game by Frank Reich in terms of game planning after the Jack Doyle injury and after the Eric Fisher injury, realizing that your top blockers really aren't going to be there on the outside because you were probably going to use Doyle to chip Chandler Jones. And then taking advantage of Chandler Jones's aggressiveness and rolling the pocket away from him and starting to do some

rollouts and things like that to keep Carson Wentz a little bit clean and give him a little bit more time because it was clear by the end of the game he was he was playing pretty darn well and so yeah I'm I'm happy with with how it came out I'm obviously because they won but again I wouldn't have been shocked if they lost just because of the number of injuries and the COVID issues that happened. So I just think it's cool that the Colts back-to-back weeks took out the number one team in the AFC and then NFC. So I think that that's a good sign for the Colts moving forward. And it shows that regardless of where they play, the Colts have a team that can travel in terms of their defense,

in terms of their running game, even without the offensive line being healthy. And then you think about Carson Wentz and say, okay, well, it looks like he can maybe make some plays down the stretch if you really, really need it. So you get excited for what the Colts have to offer. So I'm just excited as a whole with this team and how well they played and the depth they've got. The Colts now have a 98% chance of making the playoffs now according to 538's projection model, which really says a lot about how far as Colt teams come

from their own three start. They do officially clinch a playoff berth if they win on Sunday against the Raiders. But let's look at that for just a moment here, zooming out, because the COVID issues we talked about already, Darius Leonard, Quentin Nelson, Mark Lewinsky, Zach Paschal, Kari Willis, Braden Smith went on there today as well. He's unvaccinated. He's going to be out of the game on Sunday. But I do want to note that today earlier from the CDC, the National Health Department for the government mentioned that the quarantine period for vaccinated or unvaccinated people is now instead of 10 days, it is five days. And if they do go, that's going to affect

immediately around the country, around the world. So if that's the case, you have to imagine that the NFL will soon adopt that. The question is how fast will they do that, Steven? Because if they do do that this week, that means all those guys we just hit on, even Braden Smith, who won that today, would be able to play on Sunday against the Raiders. So it'll be curious to see what happens there. But to win that game on Saturday, Stephen, with all those COVID issues, I think it's so important for them to have a lot of these guys back on Sunday.

If not, this Raiders team is desperate for a win right now. They're still clawing in the playoff race. If they actually beat the Colts on Sunday, they're actually going to be in the playoffs if they do beat the Colts, they would hold the head to head. If the Dolphins lose to the Titans on Sunday as well, they would be in that seven slot in the AFC. So this could be a very desperate Raiders team hitting the Lucasola Stadium on Sunday.

So what's your thoughts on this COVID situation with the team? A lot of key players currently out, but now we're kind of in limbo to see what the NFL PA does and the NFL does with this new ruling from the CDC with this quarantine period from going out from 10 to five days. Yeah, they're going to swap that. I mean, it's going to be I wouldn't be surprised if it's not announced after Monday Night Football tonight that they're going to swap it over to the because the NFL and the NFL PA have been consistent in following what the CDC guidelines are for quarantine. Like you said, if they're able to swap it down to five days, it means that all these guys have a possibility to play. Doesn't mean that they're guaranteed to play because, again, you still have to do more testing and they're doing a what they consider a viral load test to figure out whether their people are still able to transmit. Because if you have above a certain number of viral load and anyway, it's really convoluted stuff.

I understand it, but it's really hard to explain. But ultimately what it means is the Colts have an opportunity to have all those guys that were placed on the COVID list last week back for this week's game against the Oakland Raiders or the Las Vegas Raiders. And then you have a chance to get the guys that were placed on it today back against the Las Vegas Raiders. I think the other part about it is the NFLPA and NFL and their December 16th protocol amendment that they made a couple of weeks ago with the introduction of the Omicron stuff is there's a phrase in there, a line in there that, that I had highlighted on Twitter, that if a player tests positive and they test out of the system,

either, you know, they do the two negative tests with at least 24 hours apart, or they wait through the mandatory 10-day quarantine period, then they have what they call a testing holiday, where those players don't get tested again for another 90 days. And so for the Colts, the fact that they're having the outbreak now is unfortunate, but also slightly convenient, as weird as that sounds because all these players darius leonard quentin nelson mark lewinsky um brayden smith the the defensive player kamoka all these guys that have tested positive kairi willis all these guys that have tested positive

and once they get through the mandatory five, what I think will become five days period of quarantine or 10, 10 days of quarantine, if they stick to the old rules, they no longer get tested for 90 days, which means their next testing date is in March, which is obviously after the playoffs. So the Colts could be at a bit of a competitive advantage here where they've got guys that are testing positive it's a sick way to look at it um but it's just how it has worked out and like i said i don't want anybody to test

positive i would much rather there be this would be gone completely but it is kind of an interesting timing for the colts because it puts them at a situation where these guys aren't going to get tested throughout the playoffs so that you don't have to worry about these guys missing games in the playoffs, regardless of what they like their, their status is whether they're vaccinated or unvaccinated. Mark, you've got is obviously Carson Wentz because he's the, he's the big outlier. We all know that he's not vaccinated at this point. He's been pretty clear about not wanting to be vaccinated. So that's, that's not going to change anytime soon. And so the question becomes, okay, well, Carson, if you get it, what, like, cause inevitably he's going to get it. Like it like this is a lot like the flu that's like the cold at this point in terms of transmissibility. He's probably going to get it. Is it going to be this week against the Raiders?

Is it going to be next week against the Jaguars? Or is it going to be that potential wildcard game where the Colts are going to maybe be without Carson Wentz in the playoffs when you really need him? And so that's going to be the big question, I think, going forward is whether they're able to make that happen and how the team responds from that. And you want to know what's wild is, theoretically, I'm switching things because I'm looking at the playoff picture now because I know I'm talking about COVID and stuff, but I'm looking at the playoff picture now because I know I'm talking about COVID and stuff, but I'm looking at the playoff picture now. The Colts have a very small outside shot of becoming

the first overall seed in the AFC still with two weeks to play. What's wild is you need Kansas City to lose both their games and Tennessee to use both their games and the Colts to win both their games. And that's the scenario. Sorry. I just totally sidetracked the conversation because I don't like necessarily talking about COVID and COVID protocols because I know it's a very controversial topic. But I thought it was interesting. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean, you look at that a little bit and see most likely center will be the 5C if the Colts do win on Sunday against the Raiders and the Bengals lose to the Chiefs, which I think will happen. I think the Chiefs actually clinch home field advantage if they beat the Bengals and the Titans lose to the Dolphins on Sunday who are going to be winning their seventh straight game.

They're on Monday Night Football right now, beating the Saints 17-3 as we're speaking. But if that happens, the Chiefs do wrap up the number one seed, and the Colts I think would be pretty much locking in their own playoff destiny of being the five seed going to Cincinnati to play the Bengals in the 5-4 matchup but last point on COVID here Stephen before you dive out and exit out a little bit for the last part of the show for the last few minutes what the COVID situation Frank Reich brought up today that they're thinking about special

precautions for guys like Carson Wentz who haven't gotten it just yet I mean if you're Frank Reich if you're Chris Ballard if you're Jim Ballard, if you're Jim Irsay, are you quarantining Carson Wentz? Is he just doing virtual meetings for the rest of the season, or how are you going about that? Because I know Carson Wentz is not technically the most important player on this team, but he is the most vital, in my opinion, being a starting quarterback. The drop-off you'd see from him to Sam Ellinger, a quarterback, and you can't have Sam Ellinger starting a playoff game, the Colts are doomed in that scenario. What would you do at this point if you're Reich, Ballard, and Ursa with Wentz who is unvaccinated?

If he does get it, he's out minimum five days. Even if he's out, let's say for a five-day period, he gets it on a Wednesday or Thursday or even a Tuesday, his status for that next game is very much in doubt. So how exactly would you monitor that the rest of the season? Because if the Colts want to be in this, that's another two months up in the season. Yeah. Well, first thing I would do in this situation,

I was have Phillip Rivers number on speed dial and make sure that you've got a standing offer out for him because he could come in and go right away and you'd feel confident about it in this situation that Carson Wentz has to be out for a game. In terms of how you monitor and manage Carson Wentz, I think it's tough because for the most part, I think it's interesting because when you watch Hard Knocks, you see all these guys behind the scenes. Carson Wentz follows all the protocols. You never see him on the sidelines without his mask.

You never see him or you rarely ever see him in the facility without his mask on. The only times you do is when he's practicing. So he doesn't have to wear a mask then. I think the Colts are going to try to, you can't do all virtual stuff because you need to do some, some in-game stuff. You need to do some install. And you need to work through different things with your wide receivers on a weekly basis.

So I don't think there's any way that you can just, like, basically put them in a bubble. But I think that they're going to try to do as best they can is to keep them away from people. But with how transmissible this is, and, I mean, shoot, you saw the Colts have, like, 16 players now or something like that that upwards of 16 players that are on the COVID list just in the past week. So this thing is highly prepare as if he's going to get it. And you got to hope that he's not going to, it's not going to be in a situation where one, he has any time, any kind of long-term term consequences. I know he's got a young daughter as well.

They're with his family. You, you worry about that. But at the same time, you worry about the implications of them on the football field, and you hope that it doesn't happen at the most inopportune time. Because if the Colts do end up, like you said, if Kansas City wins against the Bengals, Tennessee wins one of their final two games, the Colts are the five seed, and they're going to Cincinnati basically. And you don't feel as comfortable with Sam Ellinger as your quarterback there, his first start being a playoff game in the wild card round on the road. Now, again, like I said, my first call or my first thing I would do is make sure Phillip Rivers is on speed dial.

He's got like an open contract offer to them because he can step in right away and play. And I'd feel confident about him coming in, winning at Cincinnati, and then being able to be a backup just in case in that situation. But yeah, it's tough because Wentz is a unique talent. And he's showing more so this week than what he has the past couple weeks that when needed and when everything else is falling apart around him, there are times where he can put it on his shoulders and make the right play and make an outstanding play. Because like you said, that throw rolling to his left with no speed set,

kind of like mid- mid jump while he's about to get whacked in the face and throwing a dart to Desmond Patman. It's a throw basically like two other quarterbacks can make. And so he's necessary and you just hope that they're able to mitigate any kind of potential infection with him and hope that he doesn't get it period. But if he does that, it's at a, at a good, good timing in terms of during the week, whether that happens or not. Like I would love for the Colts to be able to lock up the playoff spot this

week against Las Vegas. And then if he gets it next week, he gets it next week. And it's not that big of a deal in terms of if he misses time. It is a big deal in terms of his family and his health. But, you know, in terms of the Colts and the team, hopefully it doesn't affect him too much. But I think it's a it's a tough situation all the way around. I think the new CDC guidelines are going to help the NFL try to manage it a little better in terms of getting players back. And so it's just going to be interesting to see how they make it work.

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Yeah, absolutely. Close out the show here, Stan, before we wrap things up. Just want to get your final thoughts here on how the Colts stack up in the AFC after their impressive 22-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Back-to-back weeks now, Patriots and Cardinals games, where it's been, I think, back-to-back weeks, their best win of the season. I think the Cardinals game, with all the adversity,

threw on top of it. Tops New England, even though that was, I think, a super impressive victory still for this Colts team. But looking ahead now, this depth of this team was on full display on Saturday on Christmas Day. You already have the star power. You have a quarterback who I think can go in and win you a couple games if need be.

You have a superstar running back in Jonathan Taylor, a opportunistic defense that really can match up with anyone as far as speed goes and length. How do you feel about this Colts team now with their last two months of the season going seven of their last nine games they've won? You have to feel like, honestly, I would put them second in the AFC right now above Buffalo. I think Buffalo is the third best team in the AFC then probably Cincinnati then I'm

kind of lower on New England just because I think people are trying I think the Colts actually exposed Mac Jones a little bit we saw the Bills do the exact same thing the Colts did and Mac Jones really struggled once again so I feel like they're probably the fourth or fifth best team in the AFC but it feels like to me it's the Chiefs and then probably the Colts and the Bills in that second tier of the AFC. And we already saw what happened between Buffalo and Indianapolis earlier this season where John Taylor ran wild on them on the road. It feels like to me, Stephen, if everything breaks right for this Colts team, I think there's a very good chance this team's playing on AFC title game weekend

against Kansas City. Or maybe if somehow Kansas City Chiefs are upset on the second week in the divisional round, maybe the Colts are the ones hosting the AFC title game. I feel like this team is the second best team in the AFC, and they've really shown it the last month of the season. Yeah, I tend to agree with you. I honestly think that they – if healthy, I think that they're probably the scariest team in the AFC because every team in the AFC has holes. Kansas City's defense isn't great.

Their offensive line is okay. Patrick Mahomes covers up a lot of warts on the offense. It's kind of like with Buffalo, it's the same thing. I think you're right, though. I think Kansas City is your first tier, and then you've got really close behind them, I think it's the Colts and Buffalo. And I would actually flip-flop Buffalo to above the Colts if Josh Allen plays like he did this past weekend because some of the throws he was making was the same kind of throws that we talked about with Carson Wentz. It's just like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes,

and then Carson Wentz can make those throws. And so it's just wild to think about. But I'll tell you, the one matchup I don't want to see in the playoffs is Colts at Bills because I don't see them being able to repeat that performance, especially after going in and embarrassing this Bills team in their own house. It'd be very, very difficult for the Colts to be able to go in and do that. And quite honestly, I think that the Colts would be much better off if they played the Bengals there in that 4-5 seed, 4-5 matchup. But if they get through that,

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Colts end up going to Kansas City in the AFC Championship game and giving them a ball game this time around. Because I know the Colts have gone to the AFC Championship game before and gotten kind of dismantled. They've gone to Kansas City before in, I think, the divisional round and didn't do so hot. So I think the Colts have a great opportunity. I think, like I said earlier in the podcast, they've got a team that travels,

um, that you don't want to face regardless of where they're at, because, you know, the defense is a hardy run defense. They've got some active linebackers that are fast. And then you've got a running back and an offensive line when healthy, that is probably the best in the NFL. Uh, the running back is the best in the NFL, um, better than Derrick Henry. Uh, and the offensive line is probably right up there as well. Um, so one matchup I would love to see in the playoffs is the Titans because I absolutely want to knock them out. Um, but I don't know if that's going to be, uh, I would love to see that on the second weekend there. If the Colts can play the Titans, that would be ideal. I would love that.

Yeah, what a holiday weekend it was for the Annapolis Colts, Stephen. Christmas Day, they go into Arizona very shorthanded, pull out the 22-16 win. They are now 9-6 on the season, control their own destiny for a playoff berth, 98% chance according to the 538 model. If they win on Sunday against the Raiders, we'll be 100%. They'll officially clinch at that point. But as always, Steve, I appreciate having you on the podcast today.

Go ahead and follow him on Twitter if you haven't already, at NiceReadSteve. Steve, I appreciate the time tonight. I'm sure I'll be talking to you again next Monday, hopefully after another Colts victory in an official playoff spot being clinched for them. Sounds good. Thanks, Evan.

Have a good one.