The Indianapolis Colts were on a mission, especially offensively, that was trending toward the team making the playoffs and being scary once there. The last month has been a reminder of just how brutal the NFL can be. Indy is still alive for the postseason, but maybe not really.
Losing a quarterback for any team makes staying postseason worthy difficult. Losing Daniel Jones probably means Indianapolis's season is done, even though four games remaining. Anthony Richardson is still on injured reserve, and Riley Leonard probably isn't ready to lead a team full-time.
Indy might have to look for answers on the free agent quarterback heap, but none of those players would fix all the problems the Colts had against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 36-19 loss, even if Jones had not suffered an Achilles tendon injury that is likely to cost him the rest of the season and well beyond.
Indianapolis Colts lose much more than Daniel Jones and a game in Week 14
The defense wasn't good enough to stop the Jaguars from doing basically anything they wanted. The Jags even tried to fumble enough to keep Indy somewhat close, but not really. The halftime score was 28-10, and the only question was whether Riley Leonard, after taking over for Jones, could play well enough for the Colts to think he should start the rest of the season.
Did he? Maybe. So, potentially, there was some positivity to take out of a messy Jacksonville day. Anything is needed because the future looks far more bleak. Jones and Sauce Gardner won't be back in Week 15 and maybe not the next week, either. Certainly not Jones.
A victory in Week 15 against the Seattle Seahawks seems unlikely. That would move the team to 8-6. Beating the San Francisco 49ers without Jones also seems like something that won't happen. The Colts very well could go from 7-1 to 8-9, and not all of the blame can go toward Jones being hurt while the team was in the midst of a 1-4 slide. One that might become 1-8.
So what needs to change to make the season shockingly successful? Riley Leonard needs to play great, and head coach Shane Steichen needs to create a game plan that elevates Leonard's skill set. The defense needs to be better overall.
At one point, with the game already decided in the third quarter, the Colts led time of possession by nearly 10 minutes, but the Jaguars' offense was averaging nearly two yards more per play (6.5 to 4.7). In other words, Jacksonville was making far better out of the more limited offensive snaps.
Still, Indianapolis Colts fans can hope 2026 is better. If the team can ever get healthy, Indy is dangerous. The team simply cannot stay healthy this year.