Colts Face Short Week with Thursday Game Looming

"We're going to enjoy this for about two minutes," Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said after the Colts' 20-13 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Indianapolis.  Thus is the mindset of a team getting ready to play just four days later.  The Colts will travel to Houston to play the division rival Texans on Thursday Night Football this week.  And that doesn't leave much time for the Colts to reflect on a hard fought win on Sunday.

"The guys all understand we've got a short week," Pagano said.  "We've got a division game versus a great team down in Houston so we've got to move on."

"3-2 sounds great," tight end Dwayne Allen said on Sunday.  "Our total focus switches to the Texans. We don't really have time to really enjoy this one. It's on to the next."

"It's hard to put a finger on the hardest part [of the upcoming short week]," quarterback Andrew Luck said.  "I do think your body gets in a rhythm where it gets used to getting beat up in a sense, which is a football game. You get beat up, and then you have a week to sort of get back to that apex. That's not the case. It's equal footing for every team and you just got to do it. I know for us the mentalities, the preparation starts now for this next one. That's physical. That's mental. That's emotional. I think having played two now, you realize once the game starts, it's football. There's no use complaining or whining about anything. It's what you do."

The Colts get started today with preparation for the Texans, who provide a good test for the Colts.  Both teams enter the game with a 3-2 record and tied for first place in the AFC South, so the winner of the Thursday Night Matchup in Houston will move into first place in the division.  It's hard for any team to make the turnaround to playing just four days later, much less for the road team, and after a physical win over the Ravens the Colts need to move on quickly in preparing for the Texans game.

It's a short week for the Colts with an important game upcoming this Thursday night against the Texans.  The Colts had an impressive defensive performance in a hard fought team win, but they can't dwell on that.  They're moving on to their big Thursday night matchup in just four days.