Pat McAfee took aim at the Colts’ place in the AFC South pecking order Thursday, and he didn’t sound interested in softening the blow. After Indianapolis spent heavily on Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor and Alec Pierce, McAfee argued the team should not be staring up at two division rivals in the odds market.
The Colts are listed at +380 to win the AFC South, behind the Houston Texans at +110 and the Jacksonville Jaguars at +245, with only the Tennessee Titans sitting lower at +800. Oddsmakers also have Indianapolis at 7.5 wins for the 17-game season, with +170 odds to reach the playoffs and -205 to miss them.
"That's third in the division in odds? Yeah, 7.5 in a 17-game season?
That can't happen," McAfee said. "That's why I know they're wrong.
The Colts, as soon as Amazon was not required to have every single team on Thursday Night Football, was one of only two teams to get kicked off a Thursday night's guaranteed primetime game and not have any. ESPN and others, stop sending people to cover the Colts in the locker room because it just became so irrelevant.
"It's like, how do you go from being the all-time winning decade in the history of NFL to just nobody gives a damn?"
The spending spree is real enough. Jones signed a two-year, $88 million extension in March that can reach $100 million with more than $60 million guaranteed.
Taylor later landed a two-year, $44 million deal with $39 million guaranteed, making him second among NFL running backs in average annual value behind only Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson. Pierce also got a four-year, $114 million contract in March.
McAfee said the fan base, especially season-ticket holders, should be getting a home playoff game out of all that investment. He also pointed out that the Colts have not played a primetime game since losing their place in the Thursday Night Football rotation. One of his co-hosts pushed back, saying the 7.5-win total still points to a playoff berth and predicting Indianapolis will win at least one postseason game.
On the field, Jones has opened camp looking like a player ready to make noise. Coming off a torn Achilles, he completed 21 of 28 passes in Thursday’s intrasquad scrimmage, according to the Indianapolis Star. Shane Steichen sounded encouraged afterward.
"He's on fire right now," Colts coach Shane Steichen said. "It's obviously a good sign for a football team when he's throwing the ball that way."
Pierce’s situation is less certain. After offseason ankle surgery, he still does not have a set return date, though Steichen said this week that his rehab is moving in the right direction and that no practice date has been scheduled.
In Other News...
Colts Suddenly Have A Daniel Jones Problem They Cant Ignore
Daniel Jones has been giving the Colts a steady showing at training camp, and that matters more than ever for a team trying to build some confidence behind center. The problem is what comes next. Indianapolis has been rotating the QB2 reps between Riley Leonard and Anthony Richardson, and the early returns have left the staff with more questions than answers about who could keep the offense on schedule if Jones were to miss time.
Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter has already pointed to the uneven play from the backups, and the concern is less about one bad day than about a pattern that has surfaced throughout camp. Leonard has had stretches where he looks fine, then slips out of rhythm, while Richardson has continued to battle the kinds of mistakes that can stall an offense in a hurry. For a team that needs real depth at quarterback, the Colts are still waiting for one of those options to show he can be trusted. [Read more 🡒]
Riley Leonard Faces A Colts Backup QB Test That Could Change Everything
Riley Leonard has spent training camp trying to make a case that a sixth-round pick can force his way into a meaningful quarterback role with the Colts. Behind Daniel Jones, the competition for the No. 2 job has been active, and head coach Shane Steichen has made it clear that Leonard and Anthony Richardson are still battling for that spot. Leonard has flashed enough to hint at upside, with a few big plays showing why Indianapolis kept giving him chances, but the steady consistency needed to climb the depth chart is still a work in progress.
What makes the fight so interesting is how much of it comes down to the details that separate a camp standout from a backup quarterback the staff can trust. Leonard has focused on sharpening his pre-snap decision-making and getting quicker after the snap, areas that often decide whether a young passer moves forward or stalls out. The Colts are still sorting out the position, and Leonards path to the job may hinge on whether his recent promise turns into the kind of clean, repeatable execution that keeps coaches leaning his way. [Read more 🡒]