The Indianapolis Colts' season has begun anew. After two dreadful games to begin the season, and with a defense that looked unfixable, Indy is now 2-2 and still firmly alive in the playoff hunt. There is a lot of season left, sure, but things are trending in the right direction.
Plus, Indianapolis could be even better than it was in a Week 4 victory against the Washington Commanders. The final score was 30-13, and yet there were a lot of things to be unhappy about.
Oddly, that is a good sign. How much worse would it be to have lost 30-13 and had multiple issues? Winning while not playing exceedingly well is a fantastic thing. But what did we actually learn about the Colts in Week 4?
What we learned from the Indianapolis Colts' Week 4 victory against the Washington Commanders
The Colts are actually good...or not
After looking like a bad team in Week 1 and one just good enough to lose close games in Week 2, Indianapolis has been far more like fans hoped entering the season. The victory against the Houston Texans in Week 3 might serve as a turnaround moment for the season and the future of head coach Shane Steichen.
But are the Colts actually good? In Week 3, Houston was playing without wide receiver Nico Collins, a player who has tormented Indy for years. If there was any doubt about how valuable Collins is, one need look no further than the Texans scoring 30 points against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 with a healthy Collins who caught seven passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
In Week 4, Indianapolis was struggling early, but then Marcus Mariota, who was already subbing in for starter Jayden Daniels, was injured, and the Commanders were forced to play undrafted rookie Athan Kaliakmanis at quarterback. Indianapolis wasn't going to fail in that situation.
The Colts have a quarterback question to ask themselves next offseason
Daniel Jones was re-signed this past offseason to a two-year deal that will pay him as much as $88 million. Indy has an out after the first season, though, and releasing Jones would save the team $38 million toward the 2027 season.
Can the Indianapolis Colts do better than Daniel Jones at quarterback? Almost certainly, especially if he continues to play as he has through four games. His quarterback rating is 73.9, 24th in the NFL. He has more interceptions than touchdown passes. Indy has almost succeeded in the past two games despite the quarterback.
Indy overpaid for wide receiver Alec Pierce
Pierce was also paid this offseason by the Colts. His contract is for four seasons and is worth as much as $114 million. That is WR1 money, but the gamble was that Pierce, who has yet to have as many as 50 catches in a season, could be much more productive in the future.
His heel injury was one the team knew about when he was re-signed, but that isn't the biggest issue. The truth is that Shane Steichen's system doesn't need one wideout to be extremely productive. The ball needs to be spread around, and running back Jonathan Taylor needs to be allowed to do his thing. Pierce might still be a great player when healthy, but he's overpaid in Steichen's scheme.
Jaylahn Tuimoloau is beginning to be a solid player
Tuimoloau already has more run stuffs (six) than he had last season (four), and run defense is where he might be at his best. Promisingly, though, he also has at least one pressure in every game. He might not be Laiatu Latu, but he is helping more this season.
The edge rusher is also helping on special teams while he continues to improve defensively. He might not be a 2025 second-round bust after all.
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