The Indianapolis Colts lost in Week 12. After Week 10 and 11 were less pretty, Sunday's game was seemingly back to the beginning until it wasn't. The team is 8-3 and is still in first place in the AFC South. Indy is still capable of excellence offensively, and the defensive secondary talent is elite.
But let's not kid ourselves completely. The Colts cannot rely on their defense to try to get victories. But this isn't about Los Anarumo and a bad defense. Instead of going fully negative, maybe the defense deserves some praise for keeping the team in the game after the offense went into a shell. By the end, Indy's D was gassed.
The Colts' defense is coached better than it has been in years. Has the defense been banged up? Yes, but other teams haven't survived as well with the same issues. Indy DC Lou Anarumo made sure that issue didn't pop up in Indy.
An ugly Week 12 loss proves the Indianapolis Colts found the right defensive coordinator
The Cincinnati Bengals are certainly missing their former defensive coordinator this season. Nothing in Anarumo's past suggests he should have been any team's answer for who should be its DC. To think he could be a head coach didn't make sense. His units hadn't been elite under his coaching.
The problem appears to have been the talent given him, not the scheme. Now, Anarumo and the Colts have good talent.
Anarumo has been a defensive coordinator in the NFL for eight seasons, including the first seven games of 2025. In five of those seasons, his defenses have been ranked in the bottom quarter of the league in yards allowed. And in five of those seasons, his defenses have been ranked 17th or worse in terms of points allowed.
Yet, Dianna Russini, an NFL analyst with The Athletic, says she is hearing that Anarumo is on the short list for potential head coaching candidates for the Tennessee Titans. Seeing Indianapolis's DC leave after one year when the team finally has a good defensive coordinator would be tough to see.
The numbers for the Indianapolis Colts' defense are better this season, and that is certainly true. But Indy has also faced a lot of exceedingly struggling offenses (the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Titans in Week 3), but let an Arizona Cardinals offense with a backup quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, roll up 400 total yards in a 31-27 Indy victory in Week 6.
All the while. Indianapolis has missed key cornerbacks and defensive linemen. The defense does bend, but it is the definition of not breaking.
In Week 12 against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Indianapolis Colts' defense dominated at times. KC was dreadful on third downs early in the game, but due to Lou Anarumo's system, not because of the Chiefs' mistakes. Anarumo is the riddle that Mahomes has never been able to figure out consistently.
The statistics from Week 12 are a bit of a lie. The Chiefs had nearly 500 total yards, and held the ball for 17 more minutes, but much of that came later in the second half. Had head coach Shane Steichen not forgotten to use Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis could have won by 10 points. Steichen's play-calling sunk the team, not Lou Anarumo.