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what happened to the colts

The Indianapolis Colts just suffered a late-season collapse in 2025: after a strong start and real playoff hopes, they’ve been eliminated from postseason contention and are now shifting into evaluation mode for the finale.

Quick Scoop

  • The Colts were officially knocked out of the 2025 playoff race when the Houston Texans beat the Chargers, which mathematically eliminated Indy despite an earlier hot start.
  • Indianapolis has now dropped six straight games after once being in great position in the AFC, going from a contender to .500 and out of the picture late in December.
  • A big recent blow was a 23–17 home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17, a game that extended the skid and highlighted how far the team has fallen over the last month and a half.

What went wrong?

  • The early-season momentum evaporated as the team struggled to close out games, turning what looked like a “special” year into a missed-opportunity season.
  • Veteran QB Philip Rivers, brought back at age 44 for a late run, has gone winless in multiple starts, playing decently in stretches but not changing results on the scoreboard.
  • Injuries have hit key defenders, including Pro Bowl lineman DeForest Buckner (neck surgery, out for the season) and repeated issues for star corner Sauce Gardner, weakening what was supposed to be a strength.

Current situation and next steps

  • With nothing meaningful left to play for in the standings, the Colts are expected to turn to rookie quarterback Riley Leonard in the season finale against the Texans to get him live reps and evaluate the future at the position.
  • Rivers’ brief comeback may effectively be over, with teammates and coaches publicly praising his professionalism and willingness to help even as the late-season push fizzled.
  • The focus now shifts to the offseason: decisions on the aging QB spot, rehabbing injured stars, and whether the current core can rebound from a dramatic late-season collapse in 2026.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.