According to NFL analyst, the Colts face difficult chances of winning the AFC South in 2024

The Indianapolis Colts will try to recover this week when they travel to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers. Both teams enter the contest with identical 0-1 records and have nothing but their pride on the line to avoid falling further behind their respective seasons. With the 2024 NFL season still in its infancy, Pro Football Focus has released its Power Rankings ahead of Week 2 to bring some clarity to the landscape as things continue to unfold.

Colts have poor chances in the race for the AFC South championship

This isn’t even brought to mind by the 21st place finish in the NFL. But it is the paltry chance of winning the AFC South, expressed in terms as dire as just an 18.1% chance as presented in Thomas Valentine’s analysis, where this follows a hard-fought Indianapolis Colts loss to the Houston Texans in their season opener. It’s only one game, but Valentine’s collapse signals a rather bleak outlook for the Colts heading into the 2024 season. The other projections for the team would include a 31.7% probability of making the playoffs, 2.9% of winning the AFC, and practically 1.1% of claiming the Super Bowl title.
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Indianapolis has its share of difficult situations, especially with cornerback JuJu Brents’ season-ending knee injury. Additionally, their run defense needs to improve significantly after allowing 213 rushing yards to Houston in Week 1. That being said, there are glimmers of hope. Jacksonville Jaguarswho have a slightly better chance of winning the division at 22.5%, recently placed their key cornerback Tyson Campbell on the injured list. The Tennessee Titans are stuck in an unfortunate quarterback situation as Will Levis doesn’t seem to offer much of a solution and has only a slim 13.1% chance. However, the obvious favorite to win the division is the Houston Texans, and they could even win the title with a 46.3% chance.
The numbers aren’t in the Colts’ favor, but some of their division games have been exciting lately, and their 29-27 loss to Houston didn’t go much better. On paper, Jacksonville and Tennessee may also have the more complete teams, but Indianapolis could surprise and get into the AFC South Crown.
Ultimately, the Colts must look to improve their secondary and continue to develop Anthony Richardson, Michael Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor to their full potential. Their week two game may not be against a divisional opponent, but it carries a lot of significance. Indianapolis must play like they have nothing to lose against the Packers if they truly want to exceed all expectations and compete for the elusive AFC South title by 2024.
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