ESPN Provides Colts Path to the Super Bowl
The Indianapolis Colts are a longshot to win the Super Bowl in 2023. How much of a longshot?
According to ESPN's NFL Football Power Index, the Colts have just a .1% (that's one in a thousand to you and me) chance of winning the big one.
However, ESPN's Bill Barnwell, in an ESPN+ article, took on the herculean task of laying out a path for all 32 teams to winning the Super Bowl.
Barnwell sets expectations right away for Colts fans right away as he attempts to get the team with the 30th-best odds hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February.
"In what might be the most stacked conference of the past decade, 14 of the 16 teams in the AFC can credibly expect to compete for a playoff berth," wrote Barnwell.
"The two exceptions are the Texans and Colts, both of whom will start rookie quarterbacks. Anthony Richardson is exciting, but he's a wildly inexperienced signal-caller who won't have the benefit of playing with star running back Jonathan Taylor for the first month of the season, if ever."
Ouch. So how does it get better?
"The path for the Colts to exceed all expectations involves a run-heavy attack with Richardson at the forefront," wrote Barnwell. "At 6-foot-4, 244 pounds, he's a special talent, and coach Shane Steichen will have him in an offense designed to minimize his weaknesses."
Leaning on Richardson's legs early could help hold the fort until Taylor arrives... If he arrives.
"Maybe Indianapolis looks feisty in the first month and general manager Chris Ballard distracts team owner Jim Irsay with a guitar and signs Taylor to a new contract," wrote Barnwell. "A defense that sorely missed the injured Shaq Leonard for most of last season gets a boost from adding back the three-time All-Pro."
A big reason Steichen was brought in from Philadelphia was his work with a young quarterback. Barnwell took notice.
"Remember how quickly Jalen Hurts developed in Philadelphia? If Richardson improves as fast, Indy could make major strides," wrote Barnwell. "And if that happens, Steichen should be a Coach of the Year candidate, even if his team doesn't win the South."
No one in Indianapolis has Super Bowl aspirations for this team.
But a Colts squad showing competency after last season's disaster with a rapidly improving Richardson and a Coach of the Year candidate sounds awfully appealing in Indianapolis.
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