Keep Calm and Cheer On: Colts fans, the world isn’t ending

Colts fans, the world may look like it’s ending.

I get it.

You were 5-2, at the top of your division, and lost back-to-back games, including one against arguably the worst roster in football. It’s near impossible not to overreact to these past few weeks, but let’s hold back on the hot takes and analyze this roller-coaster of a year through a proper lens.

After Andrew Luck’s retirement, if you had told people the Colts would have a winning record halfway through the season, I’d almost guarantee everyone would be happy with the result. So why does this year feel like such a disappointment?

Think for a second, and look back to the Colts schedule. Before the season (with Brissett), common sense would indicate losses to Pittsburgh, Houston, Kansas City, and 1 of Tennessee/Los Angeles. It would also likely indicate wins against Atlanta, Oakland, Denver, Miami, and one of Tennessee/Los Angeles. That would leave their record at 5-4, which is the exact situation Indy currently finds themselves in.

Yes, this takes some mental gymnastics, but if you pretend that’s how the Colts got here, pretty much everyone’s happy. It doesn’t excuse terrible kicking or the disaster against Miami, but it does put things in perspective.

Even if we take this year’s losses - excusing Miami - they aren’t all that bad. Playing a middling Chargers team on the road and losing in OT is acceptable. The Oakland game looked horrible at the time, but now the Raiders are a legit playoff threat. Pittsburgh with a back-up seemed like a sure bet, but Brissett getting hurt canceled out that QB advantage - leaving two fairly even rosters to duke it out.

Ultimately, the road the Colts took to this record is a wacky one and seeing an early-season win against Kansas City raised the expectations for this team far beyond where they should’ve been. This is a team that simply doesn’t have a top 12 roster, all while playing multiple games without its top 3 receivers, 2 best defenders, and even top 2 QB’s.

The Viniateri situation is frustrating, and I understand the anger that arises with tight losses. But this is a team that’s had to deal with its MVP leaving and still has a winning record. At the end of the day, you have an executive of the year and a strong head coach manning a potential playoff team. For most fan bases they would trade anything to have that type of situation laid out in front of them.

So you can complain about their kicking decision and some poor losses. However, anyone suggesting blowing up this regime or discrediting the culture that has been instilled is plain wrong.

Colts fans - just breathe.

It’ll be okay.