Describing a game as “key” this late in the season is cliché. Any team who hasn’t clinched a playoff berth, and arguably any that hasn’t clinched home-field advantage in the playoffs, is still playing “key” games. This fact makes it no less accurate to describe this afternoon’s match-up between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans as a “key” game for the Colts.
Indianapolis lost control of its destiny in the AFC South by dropping a huge home game against the Tennessee Titans a few weeks ago — thanks in part to COIVD-19.