Colts players are done with excuses (and everyone’s hearing about it)

The Indianapolis Colts have been dominating through 2024, but not everyone has been ready to believe the team is the real thing yet. Many of the teams the Colts have beaten so far have been easier teams, leading doubters to claim Indy's success is only due to the easy schedule. Their Week 7 victory over the Los Angeles Charger, though, proved that the Colts are the real deal.

The Colts managed to walk out of SoFi Stadium with a win over the Chargers, and their only loss so far was to the Rams - Los Angeles' other team. Both are solid teams, so beating one and barely losing to the other is a good sign for how the rest of the season should play out.

Still, the AFC is a tough conference, and plenty of people are not willing to buy into the hype surrounding the Colts. The Colts are expected to win the AFC South, and easily be playoff contenders, if not headed for the Super Bowl. Even though the Colts have been on fire, though, there are still plenty of haters out there... and the Colts are listening.

The Colts are using the doubt as fuel — and it’s showing on the field

Indy has taken to social media to fire back at people trying to diminish their success. It's not uncommon for people to be skeptical early in the season; after all, many teams have flamed out after appearing to do well at the beginning (looking at you, Jacksonville). But that isn't the case for the Colts, and they're tired of hearing from the haters.

Quarterback Daniel Jones struck first, in an interview with Evan Washburn after their victory over the Chargers. For Jones, the criticism likely felt personal, as very few people believed he would perform well with the Colts. Making him QB1 was widely criticized as a terrible idea, and Jones apparently hasn't forgotten how analysts reacted at the time.

And when Washburn flat-out said many on the outside were surprised to see how well the Colts were performing, Jones wasted no time clapping back.

"I mean, I don't know. Sounds like y'all didn't know much," he said. "But we're just gonna keep going, keep working, and we have a lot of confidence. I think we got a lot of good players, guys who work hard and do the right things."

Jones also wasn't the only person who is tired of seeing people underestimate his team. As mentioned, people will make excuses for why the Colts have won so much so far this season, and tight end Mo Alie-Cox went into Week 7 with an obvious ax to grind.

"What’s gonna be the excuse this week," he tweeted with a laughing emoji after the win. And as he predicted, the Colts won, with Zaire Franklin, chiming in "BTA" in response. Franklin continued on by wishing fans a happy victory Monday, adding a hashtag of #justlikelastweek. He then responded to someone noting that haters were quiet today by tweeting, "It's a beautiful sound my friend."

The Chargers were not a pushover team. Their defense is legit, and yet Jones, along with Jonathan Taylor and the rest of the offense, still steamrolled over them. Buckner and the defense managed to keep Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense in check, and all in all, there was very little to complain about for Colts fans.

But more importantly, as Jones, Alie-Cox, and Franklin all pointed out, the Colts have definitively silenced their critics and doubters. This Indianapolis team is clearly the real thing, and all the doubt being thrown their way is only fueling them on to further victories.