Even though it’s a surprise to everyone except the Jets that they are headed for the AFC Championship, the Colts have been preparing to play them for the past two weeks.
Because Indianapolis did not know whom they would face in their first-round playoff game, the Colts have studied the Jets (and Ravens and Bengals) since the regular season ended.
The Colts and Jets also played in a now notorious Week 16 regular-season game.
“Obviously, we have a fairly decent familiarity with the Jets because it hasn’t been that long since we’ve seen them,” Colts head coach Jim Caldwell told the Terre Haute Tribune Star.
“Besides that, we practiced for them last week as well. Pretty thoroughly I think.”
The Colts defeated the Ravens 20-3 on Saturday before the Jets upset the Chargers 17-14 on Sunday to set up this week’s rematch with the Super Bowl on the line.
“It’s a real challenge for us. They are a team that’s hot right now,” Caldwell told the Indianapolis Star. “They’ve taken advantage of their opportunities and whomever they’ve played, they’ve found a way to win.”
The Indianapolis media is well aware that the Colts could have prevented this scenario if they had played all out in Week 16, rather than pulling their starters in the second half and allowing the Jets to turn a 15-10 deficit in to a 29-15 win that kept their-then slim playoff hopes alive.
“A week ago, I looked at the Colts’ three possible division opponents … and suggested the Jets would be a soft touch, a 31-3 loser, a one-dimensional team with no hope of winning here,” columnist Bob Kravitz wrote in the Indianapolis Star. “Then I watched what they did Sunday in San Diego. …
“The Colts created this monster, and along the way, they’ve gotten some help from two horrendous field goal kickers and a San Diego coach, Norv Turner, who butchered the last two minutes of Sunday’s game. Charity began at home, right here in Indianapolis. It ends here, too.”