5 key statistics that defined the Colts 2023 season

2-3 — Record down the stretch

Despite an up-and-down start to the season, there was a point in early December when the Colts’ playoff odds were as strong as they had been all year. After rattling off their fourth win in a row, Indianapolis was heading into Week 14 with a 7-5 record, a grasp on the seventh seed in the AFC, and, according to the New York Times, a 67% chance of making the playoffs. Maybe most important of all, the Colts’ schedule over their final handful of games was favorable and featured no elite teams or heavy favorites.

And yet, disaster struck. Indianapolis lost three of their last five matchups including absolute duds against the Cincinnati and Atlanta Falcons, capped off by a late-game collapse against Houston. It was a heartbreaking and, frankly, disappointing end to the campaign. The Colts faced so much adversity in the first half of the season and it finally felt like Indianapolis was building some momentum. Instead of riding that momentum to their first playoff appearance in three years, the Colts fizzled down the stretch. Although 2023 promised to usher in a new era in Indianapolis, the season ended in the same way it has in recent years — unfulfilled promise.

READ MORE