Indianapolis Colts Clinch Playoff Berth With Andrew Luck

It was just a year ago when the Indianapolis Colts were playing out the string during the 2011 season. The Colts took Andrew Luck with the first pick in April’s National Football League draft and things have went right back to the place where Indianapolis was when Peyton Manning was in town. Indianapolis will return to the playoffs this season after clinching a berth on Sunday.

There is no doubt that this team took strength from their coach Chuck Pagano and the fight he has had to get through with illness. With Pagano and the “Chuckstrong” campaign going strong along with Luck breaking the rookie record for passing yards in a single season, Indianapolis now becomes a team that could make some noise in the playoffs in a couple weeks. It is looking like Indianapolis will finish with the No. 5 seed and that would likely bring a wild-card round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. That is a game that the Colts can win against a Baltimore team that has struggled down the stretch.

This is a great story though with Luck in his rookie season and Pagano getting a chance to return to the sidelines next week. I really hope that this can continue as long as possible for the Colts and their fans because if you are a fan of a team that isn’t going to make the playoffs, this is the team I would want to cheer for. I’m curious to see how Luck and company do next week to finish the season.

Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports or like his Facebook page.