The Indianapolis Colts have goals they have to meet in 2026. The playoffs are the minimum of those goals for general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen to keep their jobs. Indy's AFC South rival, the Houston Texans, have much bigger hopes, however.
That includes winning a Super Bowl, and NFL analyst Mike Florio believes the Texans can get a title with better play from quarterback C.J. Stroud. The odd part is that Stroud hasn't greatly struggled overall. He has just wilted at times when the games mattered most.
"(The Texans) don't need much more out of C.J. Stroud to be a Super Bowl Champion," Florio said on Pro Football Talk. "Not contender, not participant, they can win it all. You look at all the turmoil, all the turnover that so many of the teams have experienced this offseason, from the Bills to the Ravens, to the Steelers. You've got the Patriots licking their wounds, you've got the Bengals under a ton of pressure. The Texans just have a crippling defense, and that can go a long way if you can do just enough offensively."
NFL insider Mike Florio thinks an Indianapolis Colts rival could win the Super Bowl
Of course, Colts fans certainly want Houston to fall apart. Watching another division team win the Vince Lombardi Trophy while Indianapolis hasn't even taken the AFC South crown since 2014 would sting.
Houston does have an excellent defense, should have an improved offensive line, especially after signing longtime Colts starter Braden Smith this offseason, a decent group of wide receivers, acquired running back David Montgomery in a trade, and simply needs Stroud to be as efficient as he has been in most regular-season games once the postseason begins.
In the regular season of his three-year career, Stroud has had a very good interception rate of 1.7. His quarterback rating is a solid 93.5. His touchdown to interception ration is 62:25.
But in the postseason, he follows the trend of most other quarterbacks recently taken out of Ohio State and looks more like a backup unprepared for the spotlight. His TD to INT ratio is a bad 6:6. His interception percentage jumps to 3.1 percent (made much worse by throwing four interceptions against the New England Patriots last season in the Divisional Round game).
Ideally, though, it would be the Indianapolis Colts who are the reason that the Houston Texans (or Jacksonville Jaguars or Tennessee Titans) don't make the Super Bowl. Maybe Indy can remain healthy, quarterback Daniel Jones can come back quickly, and it will be Shane Steichen's team that makes a deep run in the playoffs.
Beating the Texans or any other AFC South rival to do so would simply be icing. In the NFL, anything is possible.
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