Colts’ season comes down to one game, a ‘night and day’ improvement from ’22

Stephen Holder, ESPNJan 2, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
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INDIANAPOLIS — The music was blaring at such a thunderous level in the Indianapolis Colts‘ locker room Sunday afternoon that coach Shane Steichen could barely get through his postgame news conference in an adjacent room.

The jubilance prompted by the Colts’ massive win over the Las Vegas Raiders was inescapable, even before you reached the locker room doors.

But once you got past the thumping Lil Wayne track and the typical revelry that follows every NFL victory, something else became very apparent: an unwavering focus on the next step.

The Colts’ very season is on the line in Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Houston Texans, the rare win-and-in game in the NFL that will decide whether either team makes the postseason (if the game ends in a tie, the Colts will need help to make the postseason). The reality of those stakes hit home quickly for a Colts team that was playing for nothing more than pride on the final weekend of last season.

The signs of that understanding were everywhere.

“It’s an in-division game,” guard Quenton Nelson said of the finale against Houston. “They know us, we know them. And you win starting right now. You win on Sunday night, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. You win by doing everything you can to be at your best.”

After Sunday’s game, quarterback Gardner Minshew gathered the team immediately after Steichen’s postgame speech. Minshew broke down the day’s final huddle with a succinct message for a team that began this season 3-5 but now has a chance to redefine itself.

“We never asked for this s— to be easy,” Minshew was captured saying in a video released by the team. “All we asked for was a chance. And we’ve got it. Now, what are we gonna do with it?”

Shortly after, Steichen stood at a podium and shot down the very notion that he might pause to savor the hard-earned victory.

“Zero time to enjoy this win,” he said.

The Colts’ disposition is notable because it is an indication that this team is not caught up in how far it has come. Rather, this is a team focused on how far it can go.

The temptation to do otherwise would be understandable. The Colts (9-7) have already more than doubled their win total from last season (when they went 4-12-1) and still have an outside chance of winning the AFC South. They are in that position despite losing starting quarterback Anthony Richardson and only having running back Jonathan Taylor for nine games of 16 games.

Now, they merely need to win Saturday night’s matchup with the Texans to earn an AFC wild-card berth. A Colts win and Jaguars loss to the Titans on Sunday would hand the Colts their first AFC South title since 2014.

The game will be one of the biggest played in Lucas Oil Stadium in at least a couple of seasons. That’s because the 2022 season was one to forget for the Colts, with Indianapolis firing coach Frank Reich at midseason and finishing with the NFL’s worst point margin.

By the time the Colts reached the 2022 finale, also against Houston, the only thing hanging in the balance was draft position. The contrast in situations, just one year later, is remarkable.

“It’s truly night and day,” receiver Alec Pierce said. “It’s been great this year to be playing for something meaningful. Last year was definitely different. It was a new experience for me, not having anything to really play for. You want to go out there and win the game … because that’s what you’re supposed to do. But nothing’s going to come out of it.”

Having so much on the line this week, Pierce added, “it just keeps you really in it and motivates you.”

The Colts were estimated to have a 17% chance of making the playoffs before this season began. And that was before the injuries.

They’ve passed so many tests, like rebounding from an earlier three-game losing streak and a Week 16 beatdown in Atlanta. Now, here’s come another revealing moment for a team that has embraced pressure all season long.

And the Colts wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I like to be put under pressure,” nose tackle Grover Stewart said. “Time for a big-time players to step up and make big plays.”