The Rams beating the Colts 27-20 in Week 4 only made national headlines because of AD Mitchell’s goal line fumble, but a month later it looks like it was a matchup of the two best teams in either conference. The Colts stand at 7-1, best record in the league, and for the first time in Shane Steichen’s Indy career, he has a number one offense. At 5-2, the Rams are contenders to get the top seed in the NFC and reach the Super Bowl. Were we underrating the importance of L.A.‘s 27-20 win over Indianapolis at the time because we didn’t realize just how good a team with Daniel Jones at quarterback could be?
Are the Indianapolis Colts the best team in the NFL? Was Week 4 a preview of the Super Bowl?
This video by Alex Rollins highlights how and why the Colts might have the best offense in the league. Indianapolis is on pace to be one of the most efficient offenses in history.
But in Week 4, the Rams held Indianapolis to 17 first downs, the only time this year that the Colts have had fewer than 21 first downs. The Colts only had 333 total yards of offense, gave up a season-worst 462 yards of offense, and three of Indy’s four turnovers all year came against the L.A. Rams in Week 4.
If the Colts had only had two turnovers that day, maybe they would have won.
It helps that the Rams have Sean McVay calling their offense though, as Thinking Football explains what keeps atop the league’s depth chart of play callers in his own breakdown video:
The Colts string of knockout performances on offense is impressive though:
In 7 of their 8 games this season, the Colts have had an EPA of at least +14 on offense. That is a GREAT number for any team. Most teams would be lucky to hit it once per month.
However, the Rams held the Colts to an offensive EPA of -2.32. That’s not a terrible day for Steichen, but it’s by far his worst of the year. It could also be the main reason that Chris Shula gets a job offer in January: Owners love it when you prove yourself against the best competition.
The Colts have rushed for at least 120 yards in six of eight games, but the Rams held Indy to a season-low of 85 rushing yards. Jonathan Taylor’s league-best 850 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, on pace for over 2,200 total yards, has him in the MVP conversation alongside Matthew Stafford.
The Colts are on the road on Sunday, facing the Pittsburgh Steelers in a matchup of division leaders. However, based on how the two teams have played in 2025 it would be a sizable upset if the Colts lose this game. Based on how the Steelers play defense, Steichen’s offense could hit 45 points.
Daniel Jones is not in the MVP conversation, but leads the NFL with a 56.3% success rate as a passer, has scored 17 touchdowns including runs, and is doing so without a real big name receivers. I say that knowing that Michael Pittman Jr. is very talented and Tyler Warren could win Offensive Rookie of the Year and Alec Pierce is one of the best deep threats in the league, but maybe he doesn’t have Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne right now.
But you never know how much better the perception of these players could get if the Colts reach the Super Bowl.
(Ironically, Mitchell’s 96 yards against the Rams makes up 2/3rds of his total yards ALL SEASON.)
Based on how things have gone for them, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Colts in the Super Bowl this year. When they get there, they might just have a rematch on their hands.
Are the Colts-Rams headed for the Super Bowl and is that the best possible matchup we could get this year?
