Week 10 of the 2025 NFL season has the Indianapolis Colts traveling to Berlin, Germany, to face the Atlanta Falcons. Indianapolis is coming off a rough performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which resulted in only the second loss of the season for the Colts.
The Colts' defense had a rough performance in Week 9 and will surely have the spotlight shining on it against the Falcons. If not for the lackluster performance against Pittsburgh, certainly for the blockbuster trade deadline deal, which brought them Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner.
Gardner has cleared concussion protocol and will be making his first appearance in an Indianapolis uniform. Sauce will help solidify the Indianapolis secondary, while the defensive line will need to be aggressive to stop the Falcons' elite running back Bijan Robinson.
Indianapolis Colts' looming bye week makes the Week 10 game even more critical
Indianapolis may have a 7-2 record, but the way Pittsburgh dominated the Colts on both sides of the ball makes the Week 10 tilt a must-win for Indy. After the game against Atlanta, Indianapolis will head into the bye week before a Week 12 battle awaits against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Had the Colts' bye week been in Week 10, the team would've had too much time to lament the drubbing the Steelers handed them, which could've sent the team into a downward spiral. They now have the opportunity to bounce back right away and carry some positive momentum into the bye week.
A loss in Week 10 could have massive consequences. After the game against the Chiefs, four of the Colts' final six games of the regular season will be divisional games. Indianapolis can ill-afford to go into that stretch of games with a possible three-game losing streak, which could derail their season.
In Week 4, Indy suffered its first loss of the season in large part due to two mistakes by Adonai Mitchell, who would later be sent to the New York Jets in the trade that brought Gardner to Indianapolis. The very next week, the Colts thoroughly dominated the Las Vegas Raiders by a score of 40-6.
To be clear, I am not insinuating the Colts will similarly handle Atlanta. I am, however, saying Indianapolis will need to come out aggressively and set the tone early and often. The team will need to reestablish itself as the top team in the AFC by taking out its frustrations on the Falcons.
By doing so, Indianapolis can quiet the critics who pounced on them after the loss to the Steelers and head into the bye week in a positive mindset. The Colts could then focus on the task that lies ahead in Kansas City as their next big test on the road.