Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen, left, talks with quarterback Philip Rivers (17) during a second-quarter timeout against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Kevin Ng-Imagn Images

Colts join undesirable club after playoff elimination

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Dec 27, 2025 8:47 PM ET

The Indianapolis Colts were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday thanks to the Houston Texans' 20-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. It is a stunning result when you consider where the Colts were just a couple of months ago.

Colts join undesirable club with playoff elimination

The Colts became just the sixth team in the Super Bowl era to miss the playoffs after starting a season with a record of 8-2 or better.

The previous five teams were the 1995 Oakland Raiders, the 1993 Miami Dolphins, the 1987 San Diego Chargers, the 1976 St. Louis Cardinals and the 1976 Cincinnati Bengals.

The Colts were one of the biggest surprises in the NFL through their first 10 games, winning eight of them, looking like a team that was going to not only run away with the AFC South but also perhaps contend for the No. 1 spot and home-field advantage in the AFC.

They were in such contention that they traded their next two first-round picks to the New York Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner in a win-now move.

Things did not play out the way they had hoped.

Colts join these teams since merger to miss playoffs after starting 8-2 or better:
1995 #Raiders
1993 Dolphins
1987 Chargers (strike season)
1976 Bengals
1976 Cardinals
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) December 28, 2025

The Colts enter Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is now meaningless for the Colts, having lost five consecutive games and six of their past seven games after a 7-1 start.

Injuries certainly played a role, especially as it relates to starting quarterback Daniel Jones. That forced them into bringing 45-year-old Philip Rivers out of retirement over the past two weeks. It would be dangerous for the Colts to simply blame everything on that. Things were starting to trend in the wrong direction even before Jones' injury. A lot of their early-season success was due to a very favorable schedule that got a lot tougher in the second half of the season.

Now the Colts are on the outside of the playoffs, still have questions about whether or not they have their quarterback and no first-round picks over the next two years address it. That is not where they expected to be a couple of months ago.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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