NFL power rankings in Week 13: Colts enter AFC playoff race

The "p" word -- playoffs (you know you're thinking of Jim Mora) -- is entering Indianapolis Colts fans' vocabulary.

The Colts (6-5) have won three straight games, placing them 7th in the AFC standings. And their remaining schedule appears favorable, starting with a Week 13 game at Tennessee (4-7).

Here's how the Colts are viewed around the nation.

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NFL power rankings in Week 13: Colts move into upper half of league

Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk, 13th, up 3 places from last week: Gardner Minshew should be wearing jorts and smoking Camels as a starter for someone next year.

Bleacher Report, 15th, up 4: Now, with six games to go in the season, nothing is certain. But the Colts have just two games left against teams with winning records (a Week 15 tilt with the Pittsburgh Steelers and a Week 18 date with the Houston Texans) and both those games are at Lucas Oil Stadium. Ten wins aren't out of the question. And 10 wins likely means the postseason.

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports, 13th, up 2: Shane Steichen has done a nice job getting this team to 6-5 and in the playoff race. With a soft schedule, they have a real chance to make it.

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News, 15th, up 3: The Colts are treading water as an AFC wild-card hopeful, taking advantage of a weak South vs. South schedule. They are getting enough from their running game and defense with Gardner Minshew fearless in making complementary pass plays. Shane Steichen deserves some rookie coaching love in the division, too.

Frank Schwab, Yahoo, 16th, up 1: Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed played 117 of a possible 120 snaps at linebacker Sunday. They combined for 13 tackles and the Colts won again. The Shaquille Leonard release was surprising, but part of why his playing time had been lessened was that the Colts were in good shape at linebacker without him.

Eric Edholm, NFL.com, 13th, up 3: We gave you the premonitory playoff warning in last week's rankings, and that was when the Colts were in the AFC's No. 9 slot. Between Sunday's solid victory over the Bucs and losses by Buffalo and Houston, the Colts have slid into the seventh and final playoff spot -- for now. Why hasn't there been more Shane Steichen Coach of the Year buzz? Perhaps it's because his offense has been tepid at times, even considering the QB situation, and the Colts lost three straight games not long ago. But now they've quietly won three straight, with the Jonathan Taylor-Zack Moss duo punishing Tampa Bay for four quarters Sunday. Michael Pittman Jr. has been on a great clip since mid-October, too, and his free-agent price tag keeps going up with every big game he stacks, but that's a conversation for another day. Right now, there's a playoff murmur in Indy.

Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated, 15th: We are now a month into a heavier workload for Jonathan Taylor, and the results have been interesting now that the training wheels are off. The Colts are 3–2 during that time, which includes the very narrow one-point loss to Cleveland that seemed to be cooked up by referee minions nestled in the NFL deep state.

Dalton Miller, Pro Football Network, 15th, up 2: The Colts offense was moving and grooving against the unimpressive Buccaneers defense. They managed seven separate drives with three or more first downs while only going three-and-out on three of their 11 drives.

Jonathan Taylor has really gotten things going in recent weeks. He managed 91 yards on 15 attempts despite missing out on a 20+ yard run, meaning he was consistently picking up chunk runs throughout the day. That’s also a testament to the Colts’ offensive line, who had Moss as the league’s leading rusher at one point.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NFL power rankings in Week 13: Colts enter AFC playoff race