The AFC playoff picture was unforgiving in a 2025 Indianapolis Colts season defined by razor-thin losses.
Seven of the Colts’ nine defeats were within a single possession when the clock struck zeros. Near miss after near miss. The front office found themselves measuring early progress and putting all their chips on the table at the trade deadline, but the team ultimately collapsed over the final two months of the regular season.
Indianapolis workhorse running back Jonathan Taylor made his third Pro Bowl after he rushed for 1,585 yards, while he led the league with 20 total touchdowns and 84 first downs. But his overall production decreased down the home stretch as teams capitalized on a compromised quarterback situation in Indy.
If Indianapolis was positioned atop the AFC standings by year’s end, the Colts absolutely could have made a run to the conference championship. Instead, the Colts lost seven straight games to close out another frustrating campaign. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots conquered an easier schedule, then allowed just 26 total points across three playoff games to claim an AFC Championship before its offense got pulverized by the eventual-champion Seattle Seahawks.
Perhaps the snapshot moment of the regular season came down in Seattle. Some players on either side would admit it became the pivotal result that caused one team to free fall off a cliff and the other team to soar to a Super Bowl XL title. Even without their starting quarterback, the Colts were still in a formidable position to clinch the playoffs entering Week 15.
After coming out of retirement with just five days of preparation, 44-year-old Philip Rivers steadied the Colts offense in a defensive slugfest against the Seahawks. After kicker Blake Grupe set a franchise record with a late 60-yard field goal, the Colts carried a 16-15 lead inside the final minute before Seahawks kicker Jason Myers delivered a game-winning field goal that spoiled Rivers return to NFL action. The Week 15 December defeat confirmed the Colts could still be competitive among the league’s best, but it still resulted in a fourth straight loss that dropped Indianapolis out of the playoff picture.
General manager Chris Ballard has never hidden from the reality that Indianapolis has just two playoff appearances during his nine-year tenure. As the Colts head into the 2026 offseason, the margin for error is shrinking, the lenient grace for excuses is gone, and the demand for results is greater than ever before.
The Colts enter April’s NFL Draft currently without a first round pick and six total selections, including two in the seventh round. One can argue acquiring a shutdown cornerback like Sauce Gardner is worth dealing a first round pick, but without the safety valve of premium draft capital, it places enormous weight on the outcome on Days 2 and 3 of the draft in Pittsburgh.
Ballard’s reputation for finding value in the middle rounds must define the franchise’s direction. The biggest priority was made clear during his end-of-season press conference, creating a turning point on defense. Ballard confessed the Colts need to get younger, faster and more disruptive on that side of the ball.
That evaluation process ramps up as the NFL Scouting Combine returns to Lucas Oil Stadium from Feb. 23 through March 2, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1987. Indianapolis was recently selected to host the event through 2028, keeping the league’s most important pre-draft showcase and the most important interviews in the lives of hundreds of prospects in downtown Indy.
In a conference stacked with explosive quarterbacks and skill players, surviving on bend-but-don’t-break principles is no longer a viable long-term plan. The Colts need defenders who can dictate the pace of play on their terms, not just absorb jab after jab. For the Colts, the task now is to construct a team that can finish games instead of surviving them. The next two months will determine whether the front office can execute Plan I.
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