The madness for the Colts right now would not be happening. Anthony Richardson, Myles Garrett, and Jonathan Taylor would still be with the team. The Colts would not be struggling to make the playoffs. And they could possibly have already won a Super Bowl under Coach Isaiah. However, in Season 4 the Colts would choke a halftime lead and lose the AFC Championship game to the Titans.
After that loss, everything changed for the team. The belief that they could get back to that same position with that constructed roster was gone. That lack of belief caused the Colts to trade a lot of draft capital and superstar players for Micah Parsons. And if you don’t know how that turned out, the Colts would get blown out in the AFC Championship in Season 5 and dish Parsons to the Steelers in the offseason. But Parsons was not the only person who was sent away. Simmons, Taylor, Richardson, and Myles Garrett were traded away as well. And a team that was once considered one of the best has fallen into mediocrity.
So what would have happened if the Colts had won that game against the Titans and moved on to the Super Bowl? They would have matched up against the Panthers in the Super Bowl. The two Head Coaches are big fans of one another and it truly would have been a chess match. Of course, with this scenario, we are going to say that the Colts win. What happens then? Well, I’m sure that Richardson would have gotten his contract extension right then. Yes, Taylor was doing most of the heavy lifting, but there is no question that Anthony Richardson had the potential to be a franchise quarterback. Add a Super Bowl and there is no question that the Colts would have extended him.
The most interesting part about this scenario is that the Colts would have never traded for Ceedee Lamb, therefore never getting Micah Parsons which means they would have had tons of draft capital. After their loss, they would trade Demarcus Lawrence to the Cowboys for Ceedee. With the lack of passing game with the Colts, Ceedee never fit with the team. He would be traded right before the trade deadline to the Bears. The Colts would sacrifice superstars and a lot of future draft picks for Parsons. And although he is an X-factor, he did not have the production many expected him to have. But if the Colts won the Super Bowl, there would have been no pressure to go out and get another Superstar.
Now let’s remember what the Titans did after they would win the game and go on to win the Super Bowl. They would end up signing Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald was looking for not only money but to go to a championship contender. Now I’m not saying that he would have gone to the Colts, but imagine. What I am saying is that Donald may have decided to go to the team he was originally going to go to. The Pittsburg Steelers. At the time, the Steelers were the “next big thing” after the hiring of Coach Mari. Coach Mari would turn the Steelers’ season around and make them legit contenders. In this scenario, Donald goes to the Steelers and pairs up with T.J. Watt.
What would that have meant for the winner of Season 5? Would the Colts have repeated? Would the Titans still have won it? I think the Steelers win and move on to the Super Bowl. If you remember, the Steelers gave the Titans the best test that year. And without the crazy added pressure Donald presented for the Titans, and now being on the Steelers, I believe that the Steelers would just pull away. So a Super Bowl, right? Not so fast. Remember when I said that Parsons would not go to the Colts. Well, a team that was in the running for Parsons was the Rams. I’m not sure what they offered, but I say they get him. The Rams would shock the league and make it to the Super Bowl like they did in real life (OGCFM). And just like they did against the Titans in real life (OGCFM), they will give them a fight. However, the Rams wouldn’t be going up against a 2x Super Bowl MVP in Will Levis. No, they would be going up against a rookie in Artie Tyson. The defensive pressure they already had plus Parsons would be way too much for him, and the Rams would take advantage winning the Super Bowl, and becoming the first 7th seed to win it.
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