Indianapolis Colts: Likely Playoff Matchup with Date and Time

 

The Indianapolis Colts clinched their first playoff berth in their new era with a 20-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs today. The victory was the 10th on the season for the Colts as they clinched the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs which start in January. They became only the second team in NFL history to lose more than 14 games and win 10+ games the following season.

With the fifth seed, the Colts will play the 1 P.M. game on CBS Sunday January 6th. That game will be at the AFC North Champion as the other three division winners’ spots are clinched. The NFL hasn’t announced the dates and times yet, but with research it’s a safe bet that will be the date and time.

Last year, both conferences No. 3 and No. 6 seeds played on Saturday with both games being on NBC. The No. 4/5 seeds played on Sunday with the NFC game being on Fox in the 1 P.M. time slot and the AFC game being on CBS in the 4 P.M. time slot.

The year before that the AFC No. 3 and No. 6 seeds once again played on Saturday but alternated with the NFC as the NFC game was the early game on NBC and the AFC had the primetime game. That happened to be Peyton Manning’s last game as a Colt as Indianapolis lost to the New York Jets that night. The No. 4/5 seed game was the early slot on CBS on Sunday that year.

With this trend going the last several years, I’d suspect it would be the same this year. Look for the New England Patriots who likely will be the third seed to get the Saturday night primetime coverage on NBC and the AFC North/Colts game to be the Sunday game.