It’s always fun when an NFL ^[1] team wins a game not because it needs the victory, but simply to spite a division rival.

You always get a few of these grudge matchups in Week 17, but few have been juicer than Sunday’s Texans ^[2]-Colts ^[3] tilt.

Houston needed a victory to lock up home-field advantage and regain some momentum in a season that has been spiraling downward for the last month.

Indianapolis was already deep into house money, having secured an amazing 10-game turnaround from 2011, locking up the No. 5 seed and coining the term “Chuck Strong.”

Instead of just resting their starters, the Colts came out and drubbed their AFC South rival, relegated Houston to the No. 3 seed and spoiled J.J. Watt’s attempts at breaking the single-season sack record.

The bigger question now is if Sunday’s impressive victory was enough to convince people the Colts are a legit Super Bowl contender and not just the next made for TV movie?

Owen Clark tackles Indy’s amazing turnaround in this week’s Most Improved Team video. 

Read more Indianapolis Colts ^[3] news on BleacherReport.com