Another game, another loss, for the Indianapolis Colts, who saw a once promising 8-2 start, snowball to a shocking 8-8 record for their latest annual season collapse—having now lost six straight games.
Of course, by virtue of the Houston Texans beating the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, the Colts already knew they were eliminated from playoff contention in this one, meaning they were purely playing for pride and hoping to avoid being swept by the Jacksonville Jaguars this now highly disappointing regular season.
The lack of success against their top divisional rivals, the Jaguars and Houston Texans, has only sadly continued for the Colts, who are now 2-9 against the pair under head coach Shane Steichen since 2023.
We’ll have to see if they can improve that mark with a win against the Texans on the road in the regular season finale, but given how poorly things have gone as of late, I would realistically doubt it—especially if rookie quarterback Riley Leonard is making his 1st career start next weekend.
In perhaps the final start of his 18-year arguably future Hall of Fame career, the 44-year-old Philip Rivers completed 17 of 30 throws for 147 total passing yards, a passing touchdown, and an interception.
Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for 70 total rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Through no fault of his own, Taylor has failed to rush for over 100 total yards in any of the Colts six straight losses and has never averaged more than 4.0 yards per carry during that same span. It seems like an eternity ago, in which Taylor, who’s a 2025 Pro Bowler, was a bona fide NFL MVP candidate before the Colts recent nose dive.
Colts rookie tight end Tyler Warren led the Colts with 5 receptions for 43 total receiving yards, while fellow tight end Mo Alie-Cox had their only receiving touchdown of the afternoon.
Colts starting safety Nick Cross led the Colts defense with 12 tackles (9 solo), while veteran slot corner Kenny Moore II contributed 10 tackles (8 solo), and veteran linebacker Germaine Pratt had a pick in the end zone off Jaguars starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence with 21 seconds left in the first half.
Colts veteran defensive end Samson Ebukam recovered Jaguars wideout Jakobi Meyers fumble at the Indianapolis 17-yard line with 6:13 left in the first quarter.
Each of starting defensive end Laiatu Latu and defensive tackle Ade Adebawore chipped in for a sack, which comprised the Colts’ only 2.0 sacks collectively on the afternoon.
Colts interim kicker Blake Grupe made his only field goal attempt, which was a 33-yarder on Indy’s opening offensive drive, and he made all two of his extra point attempts.
In the end, this Colts game went how a lot of their divisional games tend to go as of late, with a lack of offensive firepower and not enough big plays defensively down the late stretch. The Colts actually led 10-7 at halftime, but it felt like it was only a matter of time before Jaguars would get hot and make a run to take the lead.
To their credit, despite this being essentially a meaningless game without the possibility of playoff contention, the Colts didn’t quit and were in it until the closing seconds—with a chance to even win the game, when rookie Riley Leonard’s hail mary attempt to deep ball threat Alec Pierce was picked off in the end zone.
It’s worth noting that Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner, who had been out since Week 12, re-aggravated his calf injury this Sunday, and while he was initially listed as questionable, did not return. He was seen along the sidelines in positive spirits but with a wrap on his injured left calf.
At this point, he should be safely shut down for the year, and it’s a fair question of why he even played at all in this one—with the Colts having nothing to play for.
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