The Colts head into 2026 carrying a familiar burden: a handful of streaks they’d love to erase, and a franchise history that has made even modest progress feel like a breakthrough.
The biggest one is the one that hangs over everything else. Indianapolis has not reached the playoffs in five years, dating back to 2020, when Philip Rivers was the quarterback for the first time and Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. were rookies.
That team fell 27-24 to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round, and the years since have been defined by near-misses and frustration. The Colts are 38-46-1 over that stretch, and in three of those five seasons, their Week 18 game carried no playoff meaning at all.
They had win-and-in chances in 2021 and 2023 and lost both.
Owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon didn’t label 2026 as a make-or-break season for general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen, but she made the pressure plain: "We have been very clear with Chris and Shane that giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher."
The Colts’ division problems are just as glaring. They haven’t won the AFC South in 11 years, since 2014, and the recent numbers tell the story.
Steichen has been perfect against the Tennessee Titans, sweeping them for three straight seasons and going 6-0 overall, but the rest of the division has been a different story. He is 1-5 against both the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, leaving him 2-10 combined in those matchups.
Indianapolis hasn’t beaten Jacksonville since Week 18 of 2024, a two-game losing streak, and hasn’t beaten Houston since Week 2 of 2023, a five-game skid.
Jacksonville, in particular, has become a nightmare road trip. The Colts haven’t won there in 11 years, since 2014, when they beat Blake Bortles’ team 44-17.
That streak includes a game in London, and the losses have not been close. In those 11 defeats, Jacksonville has averaged 31 points while Indianapolis has averaged 16, with the Jaguars scoring at least 30 points seven times.
The total point differential is 165. Last season, Daniel Jones tore an Achilles and missed the rest of the year in a 26-19 Week 14 loss at EverBank Stadium.
The Colts go back to Jacksonville in Week 8 this season.
Pittsburgh has been just as unfriendly, even if the sample size is smaller. The Colts haven’t won on the road against the Steelers in 17 years, since 2008, and going all the way back to 1968, when the franchise was still in Baltimore, they’ve managed only two road wins there in 19 tries.
Since Manning’s win in 2008, Indianapolis has played five road games in Pittsburgh and lost them by an average score of 35-22, with a total point differential of 65. Last season, after starting 7-1 and looking like one of the NFL’s best teams, the Colts ran into a wall in a 27-20 loss to the Steelers in Week 9 at Acrisure Stadium.
They’ll be back in Pittsburgh in Week 5 this season, one week after their trip to London.
There are other streaks the Colts would like to end in 2026, but the larger picture is clear: this is a team still trying to claw its way back to the kind of expectations that once defined the Peyton Manning era.
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Colts Swing Tackle Battle May Already Have An Undrafted Favorite
The Colts have a familiar offseason theme playing out again up front, with a cluster of undrafted free agents trying to carve out jobs and, in particular, a swing tackle role that always carries outsized value. Nolan Rucci and Bayron Matos are among the young tackles in the mix, and Indianapolis has given itself reason to believe it can keep finding useful pieces in that part of the roster by developing linemen who arrive without much draft pedigree.
Rucci, in particular, is drawing the kind of attention that can turn a camp battle into a real roster conversation. His physical traits and upside have put him near the front of the pack, and the Colts track record with undrafted offensive linemen only adds to the intrigue. The question now is whether that promise shows up quickly enough for him to become a trusted swing tackle before the roster starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Just Got Pulled Into Another Quarterback Debate Fans Dread
The Colts have spent enough time in quarterback uncertainty already, so it is no surprise that another outside suggestion would land with a thud. Bleacher Reports latest idea tied Indianapolis to Minnesotas J.J. McCarthy as a possible backup option, a move that would only add another young passer to a room already trying to sort out where Anthony Richardson fits and how much stability the team really has behind him.
McCarthys profile does not exactly scream clean solution, either. He has battled injuries, is still trying to prove he can hold down an NFL job, and comes with a contract that would ask Indianapolis to pay more for a quarterback who might not be any more settled than the one already on the roster. With Riley Leonard also in the mix, the Colts may have a cheaper and simpler answer in-house, which is why this latest quarterback link feels less like a fix and more like another reminder of how unresolved the position still is. [Read more 🡒]
Shane Steichen Just Gave Colts Fans A Troubling Alec Pierce Update
Alec Pierces offseason has taken a more complicated turn than the Colts probably wanted when he went under the knife in late March to address an ankle issue he had been playing through. Shane Steichen said the wide receivers target is to be ready for Week 1, which at least gives Indianapolis a clear benchmark, but it also leaves the team waiting on a player who has become an important part of the passing game.
The uncertainty matters because Pierce was expected to use the offseason to get back on track, not spend it rehabbing a surgery that has already pushed his timeline into the summer. For a Colts offense trying to build continuity, every missed practice rep counts, and the closer this recovery gets to the start of the regular season, the more the team has to think about how it will manage his workload if he does make it back on time. [Read more 🡒]