6 NFL teams that are a franchise quarterback away from being contenders

3. Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts were dealt an unfortunate blow last year when 2011 No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck made the shocking decision to retire before turning 30. Normally if a team has their franchise quarterback and he’s as talented as Luck is, they’re not planning to have to dip back into the quarterback pool so soon, but that’s what happened when Luck retired.

The Colts tested the Jacoby Brissett experiment out and it didn’t work, so they signed Philip Rivers this past offseason. Rivers is fine but it’s not unfathomable to think that this Colts team could be a Super Bowl contender if they had a better quarterback. Their defense is playing at a high level and defense wins championships, especially if the quarterback is able to make plays when needed.

Rivers is very inconsistent and not the same quarterback he was with the Chargers. He’s had some good game this year, but more often than not, has games where he throws multiple interceptions and puts his defense in a bad spot.

The Colts were fortunate to have both Manning and Luck back-to-back, but they never had a defense like this year’s team when those guys were quarterbacking the offense. If they had their franchise quarterback, Indianapolis would be the favorites to win the AFC South and make a deep run in the playoffs.