Two weeks of trade talk are finally over in Indianapolis, and what’s left is a 2-7 Colts team with eight games to play. The front office shipped Josh Downs to Kansas City and Keenan Allen to San Francisco at the deadline, kept Jonathan Taylor and left Shane Steichen to figure out who catches passes for Daniel Jones the rest of the way.
There’s no draft-pick reason to lose, either. Indianapolis sent its 2027 first-round pick to the Jets in the Sauce Gardner trade a year ago, so every win from here helps only the people trying to keep their jobs. Steichen is one of them, with owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon still weighing his future after firing general manager Chris Ballard on Oct. 19.
The schedule does give him a chance. By our count, the nine teams Indianapolis has already faced are a combined 38-35-1, a .520 winning percentage. The final eight opponents are 29-36-1 (.447), based on ESPN’s current standings, and three of them have two wins or fewer.
Most winnable games left for Indianapolis
1. vs. Miami Dolphins (Week 10, Nov. 15)
The Dolphins are 1-7 with a minus-74 point differential, third-worst in the NFL, and they’ve won just once in four games away from Hard Rock Stadium.
Indianapolis needs this one more than any other game left. The Colts haven’t won since beating Washington 30-13 in London on Oct. 4, and the five-game slide that followed ended with a loss to Dallas in which they led in the final two minutes. Jones has 10 interceptions to clean up, and a Lucas Oil Stadium crowd that has seen one home win all year could use something to cheer.
2. at Tennessee Titans (Week 15, Dec. 20)
Tennessee is 1-7 and 0-4 at home, with a minus-55 point differential.
The problem is where that one win came from. The Titans beat the Colts 26-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Oct. 18, so a December trip to Nashville carries some risk for a team that has already lost to them once.
3. at Philadelphia Eagles (Week 14, Dec. 13)
Philadelphia has lost seven straight and sits at 2-7, with a minus-73 point differential that ranks fourth-worst in the league. The Eagles are 1-4 at Lincoln Financial Field.
The timing works in Indianapolis’ favor as well. The Colts come off their Week 13 bye, giving them two weeks to prepare for a road game that looked like one of the hardest on the schedule when it was released in May.
4. at Houston Texans (Week 11, Nov. 19)
Houston is 3-5, and all three of those wins came on the road. The Texans are 0-4 at NRG Stadium, and the Colts already beat them 19-17 in Week 3.
The turnaround is what keeps this game from ranking higher. Indianapolis hosts Miami on Sunday and then plays in Houston on Thursday night four days later, with a receiver room still sorting itself out. Steichen said Anthony Gould will start in the slot in place of Downs, and Gould has one catch this season.
Toughest games left for the Colts
5. vs. New York Giants (Week 12, Nov. 29)
The Giants are 5-2-1, have won two straight and are 2-1-1 on the road. Their plus-10 point differential suggests a team that has won a lot of close games rather than one that’s blowing people out.
Close games are about the only place the Colts have been competitive. Four of Indianapolis’ seven losses have come by six points or fewer, including the overtime loss in Kansas City in Week 2.
6. at Cleveland Browns (Week 17, Jan. 3)
Cleveland is 5-4 despite a minus-35 point differential, and the Browns are 3-0 at home.
A January game on the lakefront is a tough ask for a team that is 1-4 away from Lucas Oil Stadium this season. The Colts’ only road win came in London against Washington, and they’ve lost their four true road games by an average of 14 points.
7. vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Week 16, date TBD)
Cincinnati has won four straight, sits at 6-2 and is 4-1 away from home. Its plus-65 point differential ranks fourth in the NFL.
Put the numbers together and this matchup looks rough for Indianapolis. The Bengals score 30.0 points per game, while the Colts allow 27.7, and that defense has played without DeForest Buckner since he was traded Oct. 27. Week 16 is also a flex game, so it could land in a bigger TV window.
8. vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Week 18, date TBD)
Jacksonville has the NFL’s best point differential at plus-108 and beat the Colts 42-7 on Nov. 1, building a 28-0 halftime lead, according to the Jaguars’ game report.
The Jaguars lead the AFC South by three games and could still be playing for seeding in Week 18, which makes the season finale the toughest game left on the schedule.
Taylor will be part of all eight after the Colts turned down second-round offers for him at the deadline. After the Dallas loss, he talked like someone who understood what the city means to him.
“I think you play every game like it’s your last, but at the end of the day, this has been a spot where I grew up,” Taylor said. The first four games on this list are where he and the Colts can still give Indianapolis something to show for the rest of 2026.
More on the Indianapolis Colts
- Colts’ Shane Steichen Reveals Surprising Plan to Replace Josh Downs
- 3 Released Veterans the Colts Could Still Sign After the Deadline
- Daniel Jones Has 10 Interceptions, and That’s the First Fix for the Colts Before Miami
- NFL Insider Drops Telling Jonathan Taylor Prediction After Colts Keep Him
