Indianapolis Colts heads toward catastrophic season

The Indianapolis Colts were headed toward a disastrous season when they lost five of their first six games.

Now they are two victories away from landing a possible playoff spot.

The Colts look to take another step toward being part of the postseason when they host the New York Giants (5-9) on Sunday.

Indianapolis (8-6) has the same record as the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans with two weeks left in the regular season. The Ravens currently hold the edge for the final AFC wild-card spot but the Colts are bullish about their chances.

Winning seven of eight games after a 1-5 start tends to grow the confidence level. Coach Frank Reich kept the team from crumbling and the Colts have prevailed by more than 20 points on three occasions during the hot stretch.

"When you look at a season where you start 1-5, a lot of questions can easily start coming up around the building," Indianapolis linebacker Najee Goode told reporters. "People start looking around, wondering what's going on. You start getting confused and there's easily a chance you could stay off track and not get back on.

"Frank didn't let any of that happen. That's who he is, somebody who does not get rattled. It's cool to play for him and see him never change."

The return of stardom for quarterback Andrew Luck and the impressive play of rookie outside linebacker Darius Leonard certainly have aided the turnaround.

Luck has thrown for 3,951 yards and 34 touchdowns against 13 interceptions after missing the entire 2017 season due to shoulder surgery. Leonard leads the NFL with 146 tackles and also has 7.0 sacks and four forced fumbles after being a second-round selection out of South Carolina State.

What may not be good news for the Giants is that Leonard is peeved after not being named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday. He has pledged to record 40 tackles on Sunday -- which is 16 more than the NFL record -- and scoffed when a reporter told him 40 was impossible.

"Impossible? There's nothing impossible," Leonard said. "If you play a lot of snaps, you just get on every play."

The Giants have their own hot-shot rookie in running back Saquon Barkley, who ranks third in the NFL in both rushing yards (1,155) and scrimmage yards (1,809).

Barkley is looking to bounce back after having just 31 rushing yards and a season-low 56 total yards in last Sunday's 17-0 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The No. 2 overall pick insists his workload (223 carries, 82 receptions) isn't wearing him down.

"Physically, I feel pretty good. I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and say I feel 100 percent," Barkley told reporters. "No one feels 100 percent at this point. That's just the nature of the game, especially the position I play, but any position in football at this stage of the season. They're going to feel a little banged up, but that's where you got to grind it out."

New York could be without Odell Beckham Jr. (77 catches, 1,052 yards) for the third straight game due to a quadriceps injury. Coach Pat Shurmur said he doesn't plan to shut down the star receiver despite the team being out of playoff contention.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning (18 touchdowns, nine interceptions) is 311 yards away from his seventh 4,000-yard season. He is interesting in making the Colts' path to the playoffs a lot tougher.

"You're chasing wins. Obviously, you want to finish the season strong," Manning said. "We've been playing good football and just have to get back to it. Opportunity to go against a good team and to kind of see where we stand. You just want to go out there and play well."

--Field Level Media