INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -The Indianapolis Colts are holding on to their lucky sevens.
The Colts have made NFL history with another seven-game winning streak, leaving them on the verge of reaching the playoffs for a seventh straight year.
As improbable as it may have sounded less than two months ago: One more win and they’re in.
“Our magic number is one, and we can’t expect anyone else to lose, so we have to win,” coach Tony Dungy said Monday.
Actually, Miami visits the New York Jets in the regular-season finale, so barring a second tie in the league this season – something that hasn’t happened since 1997 – one of those 9-5 teams will lose.
Yet Dungy’s point is simple: The Colts haven’t relied on anybody else to bail them out after a sluggish start – so why start now?
Back in early November, Indy’s playoff chances looked as bleak as any other also-ran. They were 3-4, preparing to face three of the AFC’s preseason favorites in the next four weeks and still trying to get their offense in sync. Division-leading Tennessee was undefeated and a pack of teams had better records than the Colts.
Things have changed dramatically.
The Colts have a better record than leaders in two AFC divisions and a win Thursday night at Jacksonville would clinch the AFC’s top wild-card seed.
They’re also starting to string together those trademark milestones.
Sunday’s victory over Detroit made Indianapolis the first team in league history to win at least seven straight games in five consecutive seasons. They’ve hit double digits in victories for the seventh straight year and two more wins will extend their own NFL record to six straight 12-win seasons. If the Colts win at Jacksonville on Thursday night, they’ll be the only team to win at least 10 games and reach the playoffs in each season since the 2002 realignment.
Co. have achieved over the years, this is arguably their most significant regular-season run.
They had to beat defending conference champion New England at home and sweep road games at Pittsburgh and San Diego just to get back into the playoff chase. Then they survived Cleveland’s late November weather, conditions critics have long contended are not conducive for a pass-first team that was built to excel indoors.
They’ve won close games and blowouts, won because of an opportunistic defense and overcome injuries to key players.
Week after week, the Colts have accepted the challenges without challenging one another.
s the fact we’ve been through a lot together and we rely on those past experiences,” Dungy said. “We have good, hard-working guys who understand that the most important thing is winning. Because we’ve won so many games, we realize that what you did last week doesn’t have any bearing on what’s going to happen next week, so we try to keep all that in perspective.”
Clearly, though, the Colts are far from a finished product.
While battle-tested, the Lions didn’t allow Indy’s pass rush to rattle quarterback Dan Orlovsky, and the Colts’ running game still ranks among the league’s least productive.
Dungy is also trying to sift through his injury list.
Bob Sanders, the 2007 defensive player of the year, missed his ninth game of the season Sunday with more swelling in his right knee. Dungy hopes he can play against the Jaguars. Dungy also expects defensive tackles Keyunta Dawson (hamstring) and Eric Foster (stinger) to return this week after missing the Lions game.
The Colts coach isn’t as optimistic about defensive captain Gary Brackett, who is expected to miss his third straight game with a cracked bone in his lower right leg.
And the Colts have fewer days to shake off the regular nicks from their last game.
much traction and energy as you would on a Sunday when you have the extra three days.”
But the Colts have overcome all of the obstacles thrown their way for seven straight weeks, and they understand that an eighth straight victory will complete the a rally that looked so unlikely.
“That’s the way to get yourselves in, and that’s the way we have to look at it,” Dungy said. “It’s a must-win game because a win puts you in the playoffs.”
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