Colts Aiming Buck Recent Trend With 3-1 Start

The Indianapolis Colts could match their best start from the Frank Reich era with a victory against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4.

Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich preached starting strongly last year, but it didn't happen. The Colts were 1-2-1 near the quarter mark of the 2022 season.

Shane Steichen's Colts have fared much better in September and will open October with an opportunity to match the team's best start in any season under Reich.

That should mean something to this Colts organization. 

While Reich's Colts teams generally improved as the season went, they often started very slowly. Indianapolis started 3-1 under Reich just once in five seasons -- in 2020 with Philip Rivers behind center.

Even before Reich, though, the Colts haven't really been fast starters since Peyton Manning was quarterback.

The Colts didn't fare much better in September or October under Chuck Pagano. His second season -- 2013 -- was the only year Indianapolis held a winning record immediately after Week 3. The Colts started 0-2 during each of Pagano's last four seasons.

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It's just Week 4. The Colts can still surprise a lot of people this season even if they lose to the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday.

But a third Colts win in four games to begin the season will be significant based on recent history.

Since Indianapolis started 14-0 in 2009, the Colts have been 3-1 in a season just twice -- 2013 and 2020. During both years, the Colts made the playoffs.

In the 11 other seasons since 2009 where Indianapolis began 2-2 or worse, the Colts made the playoffs on just four occasions.

With the 17th game now on the NFL schedule, fast starts have become a little less important. There's more time for teams to recover from poor Septembers and Octobers. 

The Colts have even done that recently. In 2018, the Colts started 1-5 but not only made the playoffs that season, they won a playoff game. 

Still, it's so much easier making the postseason after a strong September.

Although injuries could make it difficult, the Colts can cap off the first quarter of the schedule and begin October on a tremendous high note with a third straight victory in Week 4.

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