Colts’ Frank Reich: “Just Get 1% Better Every Day”

The Indianapolis Colts defeated Houston Texans last night in the AFC Wild-Card round with 21-7. If you told someone three months ago that the Colts are going to reach the playoffs, that person would probably think that something is wrong with you.

Just a few people believed in their rise, after a 1-5 start. But in the end, they made huge improvements, and finished the season with an 8-1 run, losing the only game since mid-October against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Frank Reich is the only guy who needs to be credited for such an achievement. His “1-0″ philosophy really ignited the team, and furthermore created a possible darkhorse in this playoff.

” We worked really hard to not just fight and scratch to get into the playoffs but to do something to make some noise.”

This sentence tells a lot. The Colts are not here just to play, they are here to win, and to go all the way. Neither of the individuals in the organization is happy for just reaching the postseason after starting awfully and being labeled as a big bust.

https://twitter.com/107round/status/1081716952844759041

No, the playoffs are not enough for this team. And to be perfectly clear, 9 wins in last 10 games gives them every right to feel like that.

T.Y. Hilton, the 7th season wide receiver, confirmed that after the game with the Texans, saying that nothing else but the current form matters in January. All the stats and numbers are forgotten, and it is all about current mode. And according to his words, Indianapolis is hot.

“Right now it’s all about the team that’s hot,” Colts receiver said. “The team that gets hot makes a lot of noise in the playoffs.”

Though their next opponents didn’t finish their season as impressive as they did, the Colts are going to have a very, very tough challenge.

Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes are 13-3 this season, and according to most of the parameters, they are the best offense in the league. With 35.3 points per game, and the biggest MVP contender, the Chiefs are going to be almost mission impossible for Andrew Luck and the rest of the crew.

Still, the magic word for Colts is “belief”. That was the key to their success. Coach Reich spoke about that after the game with Houston saying that his team’s success happened because guys believed in one another, and above all in the fact that they can win games.

“That’s what happens when you believe in each other, and you work hard every day, and you just get a little bit better, 1% better….. As the season goes on that is a long climb,” Reich said.

And the same story comes out of the words of Andrew Luck who was masterful this season and only one touchdown short of reaching the club 40. Luck is no doubt, the comeback of the year, after his previous seasons in which he had multiple injury problems.

“You just believe, and then you start to believe in yourself, because that’s always step one, and then start to believe in each other”

Andrew Luck was glad the Colts were able to finish strong.

“It’s not easy to run the ball on that defense.” #Colts #Texans #WildCardWeekend pic.twitter.com/aYmPxTxJbY

— Nick Sharara (@TheProducerNick) January 6, 2019

This is the first playoff run for the Colts since 2014, when they reached to the AFC Finals in which they lost to Patriots 45-7. Previously they defeated the Bengals in the Wild Card round, and the Broncos in the Divisional playoffs.

Are they going to go one step further this time? Nobody knows. Do they have everything that it takes for such an achievement? Yes, no doubt.

Next Saturday will be exciting, that is a sure thing, and the red-hot Colts, as Hilton said, are aiming to make it even more thrilling.