The Indianapolis Colts are one of the more mystifying teams entering the 2026 season.
The Colts haven’t made it to the playoffs since the 2020 season when Philip Rivers was leading the team (during his first stint). However, Indianapolis has never been a consistently bad team and they’ve never been a really great team in the time frame since. In fact, they’ve won eight or nine games in four of the five seasons since.
Last season the Colts showed their most promise with Daniel Jones at quarterback. Jones had a resurgent season, leading the Colts to an AFC-best 7-1 record to start out the year, including wins over playoff teams such as the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers.
Jones emerged as a first-half season MVP candidate, throwing for 19 touchdowns and a career-high 100.2 passer rating with a 68.0% completion rate. He missed the final four games of the season due to an Achilles tear, with the Colts going 0-4 in those games and missing the postseason altogether.
Dwight Freeney, a Pro Football Hall of Famer who played for the Colts for 11 seasons, said he believes the Colts are a playoff team, but the big question mark is on defense. Indianapolis finished eighth in points scored but 21st in points allowed last season.
“I think they’re definitely a playoff team if they perform what they did last year,” said Freeney. “I think defensively that’s the big question mark for me. I think offensively they’re going to be okay, they’re going to be fine. If you remember, they were the top offensive team going into Week 7 or Week 8. One week or two weeks it’s happening, you can say it’s a fluke, but Week 8 or Week 9, that means they’re doing something good, something they need to hold on to. I think that team hopefully will show its face earlier in the year defensively. The question is, will they be able to put pressure on quarterbacks, will they be able to cover guys that they need to cover guys and have the back seven cover and play the run well?”
Colts Play in Competitive AFC South Division; Texans and Jaguars Were Playoff Teams
The Colts play in a really tough division with both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans having made it to the postseason last year. The Jaguars won the division with a 13-4 record and were at one point the hottest team in the league. Jacksonville won eight straight games to end the regular season before losing a tight game against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Texans made the postseason for the third consecutive season with a 12-5 record.
Dwight Freeney Believes Colts Will Be Playoff Team
While Freeney admits there are question marks with Jones considering his past history — he had one great season prior to 2025 — he believes the offense system is quarterback friendly and that Jones will do well. He also boldly says the Colts should be a “wild card” team if they don’t win the AFC South.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end once again re-iterates that the defense will be key if Indianapolis is to be a true playoff contender.
“They don’t need to be the best defensive team in the league with this offense, but they just need to be something that’s consistent in the top 10, maybe top 15, the lower half, not on the bottom half of the league defensively, and I think they’ll be pretty good this year,” said Freeney. “Where they rank, I think they’re right in the conversation, winning their division, it’s going to be a toss-up between Jacksonville and those three things really. But Jacksonville and the Colts, I think Houston’s also a good team, they’re great, they have great two pass rushers on the end, so it’s going to be a battle this year. But I do see them doing well, maybe even getting a wild card if they don’t win the division.”
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