Maybe the 2025 season was always going to be a setup for the Indianapolis Colts. The team jumped out to a 7-1 record by playing a historically high level of offense against mostly bad teams. Indy was great, but maybe they weren't as good as their record implied.
The second half of the season was going to be much tougher, even if Indy kept winning. Indianapolis had to play the Jacksonville Jaguars twice, the Houston Texans twice, the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Kansas City Chiefs. If the Colts finished with only three losses, the regular season would have been miraculous.
It won't be. Through Week 13, Indianapolis is 6-0 against teams that currently have losing records. Unfortunately, that exposes a truth about how good the Colts are against teams with at least .500 records, and Jeff Saturday knows it.
Jeff Saturday speaks truth about the Indianapolis Colts recent slide
On ESPN's Get Up show, the former Indianapolis Colts great didn't mince words, though he spoke the truth calmly and factually correctly. Why is Indy suddenly struggling? According to Saturday, it is because the Colts don't beat good teams.
He said losing to the Texans was a "bad sign," and added, "When (Indianapolis) plays good teams, they have not played well...When you shut Jonathan Taylor down, this looks like a completely different Colts team."
Oddly, it is head coach Shane Steichen who is partly to blame. His use of Taylor has diminished somewhat, but not always, because a specific game dictated the team throw more. Against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12, Indy led 20-9 in the fourth quarter, but Steichen stopped giving the ball to Taylor. He had seven total carries in the second half, and just one in the fourth quarter.
The Colts have to correct their current course of losing to teams with non-losing records. Indianapolis is 2-4 against those kinds of teams, and no team left on the schedule currently has a losing record. If Indianapolis wins three more games, it will probably be in the postseason, but it will have to go at least 3-2 in a way it hasn't this season.
The Indianapolis Colts are certainly capable of excellence and beating good teams. They are also likely capable of making a deep run in the playoffs, too. They just need to prove it.