INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts possess a playoff pulse Saturday night. Barely. After the Los Angeles Chargers clinched a sixth AFC playoff spot Saturday with a 40-7 win at New England, the Colts’ attention turned to Denver’s meeting with the Bengals in Cincinnati. Win or tie, and the Broncos would secure the seventh and final AFC postseason spot. And the 7-8 Colts would be eliminated before stepping into MetLife Stadium Sunday against the New York Giants. Lose, and Indy would remain in the hunt. The result? A 30-24 Bengals’ win in overtime that involved more twists and turns than a best-selling crime novel. According to the New York Times’ playoff simulator, the Colts’ odds of reaching the playoffs sit at 24% after the Bronco’s loss. Cincinnati moved to 8-8 and also kept its flickering postseason hopes alive with Joe Burrow’s 3-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins with 1:07 remaining in OT. The Bengals had a chance to win earlier in the extra period, but kicker Cade York’s 33-yard field goal attempt ricocheted off the upright. The remaining path to the Colts’ first playoff berth since 2020 is simple. Sorta. *Win Sunday against the 2-13 Giants and in the Jan. 5 finale against the 3-12 Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. That’s a second straight 9-8 record. *Have the 9-7 Broncos lose at home to the 15-1 Kansas City Chiefs. Denver would finish 9-8. *Have either Cincinnati and/or 7-8 Miami win out. The Bengals, who have won four straight, finish at 10-6 Pittsburgh in week 18 while Miami is at 3-12 Cleveland Sunday and at the 4-11 New York Jets Jan. 5. Cincy and/or Miami would finish 9-8. That would result in a three or four-team tie at 9-8, and the Colts would earn the final playoff spot based on having the best conference record. They lose a head-to-head tie with Denver based on the Broncos’ win in week 15. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner insisted he wouldn’t be scoreboard watching Saturday. “For me personally, it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind,’’ he said. “I mean, I just know we have to handle our own business, you know what I mean? “And at the end of the year or after these two weeks, however it shakes out, it shakes out. We get some help and we get in, great. If we don’t, I mean, that’s on us and shame on us.’’ There could be an interesting storyline in week 18, providing the Colts take care of business against the Giants, that is. Kansas City already has the AFC’s No. 1 seed wrapped up. If coach Andy Reid decided to rest quarterback Patrick Mahomes or limit his exposure at Denver, he would turn to backup Carson Wentz. Imagine the Colts winning against the Jaguars and having their playoff hopes rest with Wentz. Indy acquired Wentz in a 2021 trade with Philadelphia, and he helped lead them to the brink of the playoffs. The Colts were 9-6 and had a 97% chance of reaching the postseason with closing games against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium and at Jacksonville. But they lost both games and were eliminated as Wentz and the entire team played poorly. Roughly a year after acquiring Wentz, the Colts and owner Jim Irsay had soured on him and traded him to Washington. You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.