The Texans’ 20-16 win over the Chargers eliminated the Colts from playoff contention and made them the rare team to open a season 7-1 before failing to qualify for the postseason.
Only five other teams have suffered similar slides since the AFL-NFL merger and none of those teams have done it since the NFL moved to a 17-game season.
The Colts were able to get to 8-2, but they have lost their last five games heading into Sunday’s game against the Jaguars. That collapse means they have now gone five straight seasons without a playoff berth.
Their last trip to the postseason came after the 2020 season. That was Philip Rivers’ last full season in the NFL and the Colts coaxed the quarterback out of retirement a couple of weeks ago after Daniel Jones tore his Achilles. Rivers has played better than most people would have predicted, but the results haven’t changed and the Colts will be left to ponder what might have been.
They’ll also be left without their next two first-round picks to help shore up the roster. They sent both those selections to the Jets in a trade for cornerback Sauce Gardner and the first of those picks will be coming a lot earlier in the 2026 first round than originally anticipated as a result of the late season swoon in Indianapolis.
