2012 NFL Draft: Win vs. Jaguars Would Only Add to Disaster of Colts' Season

To think, the disaster that's become of the Indianapolis Colts during the 2011 NFL season might actually get worse if the team wins its season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

If the Colts extend their winning streak to three games with a victory over the four-win Jags (possible), and the two-win St. Louis Rams get rolled by the NFC West-champion San Francisco 49ers (practically guaranteed), then the Rams, not the Colts, will end up with the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

In other words, even the smallest slice of joy now may well jeopardize Indy's prospects for success for the next decade.

Oh, the irony.

That inevitably puts head coach Jim Caldwell, general manager Bill Polian and every player in the Colts locker room in a rather awkward, if not entirely untenable, position. On the one hand, the players and the coaches undoubtedly want to win, for personal pride if not self-preservation.

Three wins to close the season would certainly help to save Caldwell's job, if it can be saved at all, while allowing those players who'd otherwise be on the brink of getting cut to prove that they deserve roster spots next season.

There's little doubt, though, that even the most devout Colts fans, the ones who live and die with every game, wouldn't mind if their beloved team tanked once more to secure a brighter future, whether it be with Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck.

But the fans don't make the big decisions, as much as folks in Denver might disagree (see: Tebow, Tim). Whatever happens between the lines at EverBank Field will likely be beyond the draft desires of management, with the calls instead left to the coaches, whose collective job it is to win football games.

Surely, the Colts would be better off ensuring that they finish with a worse record than that of the Rams, but if they don't, their detractors would be foolish to blame the team for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

Rather, the malice of folks in the Hoosier State should be directed toward the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans, who both allowed this scenario to come to fruition in the first place.

The Titans could've nearly locked down a playoff spot had they not sputtered at Lucas Oil Stadium in a 27-13 thrashing. The Texans might've been in the mix for the No. 2 seed in the AFC, but apparently found it more prudent to let the Colts hang around long enough to pull out a thrilling victory.

Of course, both of those results came at home for Indy. Sunday's game will be in Jacksonville, in front of a few thousand fans and many more empty seats, against a banged-up defense and a rookie quarterback in Blaine Gabbert who's struggled in the shadows cast by Cam Newton and Andy Dalton.

The hope, then, is that the Colts will play hard, but not too hard, lest they subject their fans to years upon years of terrible football while waiting for Peyton's neck to heal and watching Luck lead another franchise back to the top.

Follow @J0shMart1n