Death by a Thousand What-Ifs
December 29, 2025
The Indianapolis Colts entered the season with legitimate playoff expectations. After flashes of promise the year before and optimism surrounding their young core, the Colts looked like a team ready to take the next step in a wide-open AFC. Instead their season unraveled into one of inconsistency, missed opportunities, and ultimately, a playoff absence that felt both sudden and inevitable.
Injuries compounded the problem. Key players on both sides of the ball missed time, forcing the Colts to shuffle lineups and rely heavily on depth that wasn’t always ready for the spotlight. The downfall began with instability at QB. Whether due to injuries like Daniels Jones tearing his achilles in week 14 leaving the Colts scrambling to find a QB. They turned to Philip Rivers coming out of retirement at 44 years old. This is something that no one expected to happen, and unfortunately, his age and time away is showing on the field. Sauce Gardener was also placed on IR with a calf injury in week 17 leaving the Colts secondary damaged and broken. Inexperienced or uneven play, the Colts never found week-to-week reliability under center. They were doomed.
The offensive line, once a franchise strength, struggled to protect consistently, while defensive injuries led to breakdowns in coverage and run support. What was supposed to be a balanced roster slowly lost its identity. Drives stalled at critical moments, red-zone trips resulted in field goals instead of touchdowns, and close games consistently slipped away late. In a conference where every win matters, those offensive struggles proved costly.
Perhaps even more damaging was the Colts’ inability to close games. Time and again, Indianapolis found itself in winnable situations, fourth quarter leads, one score games, or late possession with a chance to steal a win. Too often, those moments ended in turnovers, blown coverages, or conservative playcalling that allowed opponents back into games. Those losses added up, turning what could’ve been a playoff resume into a collection of “what-ifs.”
The turning point came during the middle stretch of the season, when momentum should have been building. Instead, the Colts dropped crucial conference games and failed to capitalize on matchups against struggling opponents. As AFC playoff contenders surged late, Indianapolis stagnated, watching the standing tighten while their margin for error disappeared.
Missing the playoffs is a harsh outcome for a team with talent and potential, but it also offers clarity. The Colts now enter the offseason with hard questions to answer about leadership, development, and executions. If anything, this season will be remembered as a warning: in the NFL, promise means nothing without consistency, and the margin between playoff team and disappointment is razor thin.
Chris, Author
A once–wannabe pro football player whose career was cut short by injuries, Chris stayed in the game by trading pads for perspective. A diehard Lions fan and aspiring journalist, he brings grit, edge, and honesty to every breakdown. When he’s not talking ball, he’s baking or rapping for fun because the grind doesn’t stop, it just changes.
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