Deflategate and Josh McDaniels
The boiling point of the Colts-Patriots rivalry was the 2014 AFC Championship Game, which was (arguably) the first big game between the two of them in the post-Peyton Manning era. Indianapolis got absolutely crushed in the game 45-7 but after the game is when the rivalry became hotter than it ever had been.
The Colts notified the NFL about some underinflated footballs and local reporter Bob Kravitz was the first to report it and was public enemy No. 1 in the New England area. Long story short, it was found that the Patriots deflated some footballs before the game with orders from Tom Brady and he was suspended after a lengthy investigation and multiple court filings.
Finally, the last bit of rivalry renewal occurred when Colts GM Chris Ballard hired then Patriots OC Josh McDaniels to become the new head coach to replace the fired Chuck Pagano. McDaniels had an agreement in place with the franchise but just before the news conference to introduce him, he had a change of heart and left the Colts hanging and went back to be the Patriots franchise.
After that, Chris Ballard stated to the world as he left the podium to confirm the McDaniels move “The rivalry is back on.” While it appears that the Colts dodged a bullet by not hiring Josh McDaniels, as he eventually went on to coach the Raiders and was just recently relived of his duties last week. The Colts hired Eagles OC Frank Reich and it wasn’t much better of a result.