Colts become first NFL team in 30 years to miss playoffs after 8-2 start
With the Texans’ 20-16 win over the Chargers on Saturday night to improve to 11-5, Houston clinched a playoff spot, eliminating the Colts 8-7 in the process.
Indianapolis becomes just the sixth team in NFL history to start a season 8-2 and miss the playoffs and the first to do so since the 1995 Raiders.
That’s not the kind of story any team hopes to make, and it underscores what a disaster the second half of the season was for Indianapolis. They started the season as the best story in the NFL, with Daniel Jones getting a redemption arc with a fresh start in Indy, leading an offense that was the best in the league.
With the playoffs in their sights and the AFC lacking a dominant force, the Colts naturally took a turn at the trade deadline, sending two first-round picks to the Jets for star corner Sauce Gardner. However, things went off the rails for Indianapolis shortly after the trade deadline, leaving the franchise and its fans worried about its immediate future.
Jones was hampered by a broken fibula, Gardner was injured early in his third game at Indy, and Jones ultimately tore his Achilles tendon to end his season. As injuries piled up, the Colts lost their last five games, the last two coming with 44-year-old Philip Rivers playing quarterback after signing with the teams after being retired for nearly five years.
This was the ultimate disaster scenario for Indy. Losing Jones to a catastrophic injury raises questions about whether he will be the short- or long-term answer at quarterback. However, because the Jets own their 2026 (and 2027) first-round pick in the Gardner trade, they won’t even have the opportunity to take a chance in April’s NFL Draft.
It’s an unfortunate situation, especially since we so rarely see teams genuinely attempt to capitalize on surprising seasons. The Colts took a huge swing and pulled their catches, and will now serve as a cautionary tale for future front offices wondering if it’s worth doing the same.
The fact that the Texans officially eliminated them only adds salt to the injury in Indy. Not only the division rivals Texans, but Houston itself makes history by becoming only the seventh team to make the playoffs after an 0-3 start. The last team to do it? The 2018 Texans.
The Colts will play a key role in exactly where Houston stands in the AFC standings. The Colts finish the season against the Jaguars in Week 17 and the Texans in Week 18, with Houston needing a win against Indy next week and a loss in Jacksonville to the Colts or Titans in the final two weeks to win the AFC South.
