Josh Downs got a blunt reminder this week about where the Colts sit in the NFL spotlight, and it came with his brother sitting right there.
Robert Griffin III had both Downs brothers on his podcast - Josh, the Colts wide receiver, and Caleb, a rookie safety with Dallas - and he didn’t waste time drawing the contrast. Griffin told them, "Caleb...you’re walking into a Netflix special. Josh over there went to a team that’s barely on Tubi."
That line landed because it captures the league’s reality as much as the joke itself. Dallas is the team broadcasters can’t resist, the one that keeps showing up in primetime and pulling a national audience with it. Indianapolis, even with a stronger overall run than the Cowboys over the years, doesn’t get that same treatment.
Josh Downs didn’t really have a counter. Griffin’s point was obvious, and Josh even noted that Caleb has had a pretty enviable football path already - Alabama, then Ohio State, and now Dallas.
If Caleb wanted maximum exposure, he picked the right place. Josh’s road went through North Carolina, which fits the same general comparison Griffin was making.
That’s the strange split here: if a player wants attention, Dallas is still one of the easiest places to find it. If the goal is sustained success over the last three decades, Indianapolis has the better case.
The numbers back that up. Since Dallas last won the Super Bowl in 1996, the Colts have been the more successful franchise overall, going 287-226-1 and playing 29 playoff games. The Cowboys, by comparison, are 263-239-1 in that span with only 18 playoff games.
Still, the Cowboys keep getting the national stage. In the upcoming season, Indianapolis has just two primetime games.
One of them is a Thursday night matchup in Week 11 against the Houston Texans, not exactly the kind of showcase slot that screams glamour. Dallas, meanwhile, has six primetime games.
The postseason gap is part of the picture too. Indy hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2020, but Dallas hasn’t gotten there in the last two years.
And even with all the attention, the Cowboys haven’t won more than one playoff game in a season since 1996. Since 1998, their postseason record is 4-12.
So while Dallas gets the lights, the Colts have the stronger claim to being the more worthy franchise.
In Other News...
Colts Just Got Pulled Into Another Quarterback Debate Fans Dread
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J.J. McCarthys appeal is easy to understand on paper because he is still a young former first-round pick, but the fit is where the conversation starts to wobble. Between the injury interruptions, the uneven production and the contract realities, the Colts would be taking on more uncertainty at a position they already know is unsettled, which is exactly the sort of debate this franchise would probably prefer to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
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Ruccis path is still early, but the buzz around him is real enough that he looks like a name worth tracking as camp approaches. Indianapolis has long been comfortable giving undrafted offensive linemen a chance to earn real roles, and that history gives this battle some added weight as the Colts try to find a swing tackle who can grow into the job quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Shane Steichen Just Gave Colts Fans A Troubling Alec Pierce Update
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For a Colts offense that could use Pierces vertical presence, the uncertainty matters as much as the injury itself. The surgery was meant to fix something he had managed during the season, and now the real question is how much time it will take before he looks like himself again. Even with the opener circled, there is still no clean answer on when hell be back in full football shape. [Read more 🡒]