The AFC South picture keeps tilting away from Indianapolis, and the Colts’ latest loss only made that slide look more obvious. Shane Steichen’s team has shown plenty of fight, but effort hasn’t translated into enough wins, and in this league that’s what counts.
The Colts’ season has already been shaped by major change. They’ve moved on from some of their best players, and with general manager Chris Ballard no longer in the building, more turnover is expected.
Steichen’s group has kept competing every week, which matters in a year when there’s no first-round pick to chase with a tank job. But the hard truth is still the hard truth: they didn’t finish against the Dallas Cowboys, and that leaves them stuck behind in the AFC South pecking order.
At No. 4, the Tennessee Titans sit at 1-7, and the only reason they didn’t lose this week is because they didn’t play. Even so, the outlook doesn’t get much brighter after the departure of Jeffery Simmons. Robert Saleh’s team doesn’t look positioned to do much in the second half of the season.
Indianapolis checks in at No. 3 at 2-7, and the same story keeps repeating itself. The Colts were right there, then they weren’t. Unforced errors turned a game they had in hand into another loss, which has become the season’s familiar script.
There was also more scrutiny on Sauce Gardner after he failed to do his job down the stretch, adding fuel to the criticism around his now-infamous trade. The Colts have been more competitive than their record suggests, but the record still says what it says.
Something has to change, and it may not stop with the head coach. The quarterback could be on the way out too.
Houston holds the No. 2 spot at 3-5 after using the bye week to get ready for the soulless Los Angeles Chargers, and the Texans made a clear statement. They may be the best 3-5 team this league has seen in a long time.
C.J. Stroud has tuned out the noise and is playing out of his mind.
If the Texans had closed out more games earlier in the year, he’d be in the MVP conversation already, and with nine games left, that door still isn’t shut.
At No. 1, the Jacksonville Jaguars remain on top at 6-2. They’re well-coached, balanced, and they’ve boosted the secondary with the Jessie Bates III trade. As much as it may not be easy to say, they look like a real dark horse in the AFC.
Their Thursday Night Football win over what’s left of the Baltimore Ravens didn’t exactly turn heads, but that’s part of the point. Good teams don’t play down to the competition. They take care of business.
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Colts Just Sent Another Clear Signal About What Comes Next
The Colts latest move fits the direction they have been signaling for a while now, as the front office continues to part with players on expiring contracts and lean into what looks like a broader reset. Keenan Allen is the latest name to go, another veteran piece moved out as Indianapolis shifts its attention toward what comes next rather than trying to squeeze short-term value out of the current roster.
Allens season in Indianapolis was productive enough to draw interest, with the veteran receiver still showing he could help a contender. For a Colts team expected to rebuild, the decision is less about what he brought on the field than what his departure says about the bigger picture, and it leaves one more reminder that this roster is being reshaped with an eye on the future. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Trade Deadline Left One Big Debate Fans Cant Ignore
The trade deadline came and went with Indianapolis doing what plenty of teams do when the market does not line up with the asking price: moving out a few pieces and collecting future draft capital. The Colts deadline work was light on splash and heavy on patience, with the front office choosing to think more about what the roster could look like down the road than about making a short-term statement.
What makes the whole exercise linger is the bigger picture around the franchise. A new general manager is expected by 2027, and a possible coaching change could follow, which means these picks may matter more for the next regime than the current one. For fans, the real debate is not just what Indianapolis got back, but whether the team did enough to stay flexible while still leaving its most important names in place. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Were Right To Hold Grover Stewart For This Reason
The Colts decision to keep Grover Stewart at the 2026 trade deadline makes a lot more sense once the details of the rumored offer come into focus. A social media report had suggested Indianapolis passed on draft-pick compensation for the veteran defensive lineman, but the broader picture points to a much less dramatic proposal than it first appeared.
Instead of a clean return for Stewart, the reported framework was closer to a late-round pick exchange, with Indianapolis also sending out a selection. From the Colts perspective, that is a very different calculation for a player who still fits into the teams rebuild and remains worth more than a marginal swap on the draft board. [Read more 🡒]