1. A 21-season streak comes to an end.
Let's begin at the finish with the Colts' Week 18 season finale against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. That game will be the first time the Colts finish a season against the Texans in Houston since 2003, ending a somewhat odd 21-season streak.
The Colts won that game on Dec. 28, 2003, by the way, with Edgerrin James rushing in a touchdown and Peyton Manning finding Brandon Stokley for a score to erase a 14-point fourth quarter deficit before Mike Vanderjagt hit a 43-yard field goal as time expired for a 20-17 win.
With this game against the Texans, too, the Colts will go at least seven seasons without facing the Tennessee Titans to end a season. The last time the Colts ended their season against the Titans was 2018 (at Tennessee); the last time the Colts hosted the Titans to end a season was 2015.
2. AFC South games are backloaded.
Four of the Colts' final six games are against divisional opponents: Week 13 vs. Houston, Week 14 at Jacksonville, Week 17 vs. Jacksonville and Week 18 at Houston. Both of the Colts' games against the Titans are in the first half of the schedule (Weeks 3 and 8).
This backloading is a reversal of a recent trend. This is how many AFC South games the Colts had played by Week 9 since the NFL switched to a 17-game schedule:
- 2024: 4
- 2023: 4
- 2022: 5
- 2021: 3
The last time the Colts had less than half their divisional games take place in the first half of a season was 2020, the final season of the league's 16-game schedule. Notably in 2021, the Colts faced the Jaguars in Week 10 and had a Week 14 bye, meaning four of six divisional games took place before the bye.
3. The No. 1 overall pick streak.
For the sixth consecutive season, the Colts will play against the No. 1 pick from that year's NFL Draft:
- 2020: Joe Burrow (QB, Cincinnati Bengals)
- 2021: Trevor Lawrence (QB, Jacksonville Jaguars)
- 2022: Travon Walker (DE, Jacksonville Jaguars)
- 2023: Bryce Young (QB, Carolina Panthers)
- 2024: Caleb Williams (QB, Chicago Bears)
- 2025: Cam Ward (QB, Tennessee Titans)
4. The Los Angeles double.
Both the Colts and the Houston Texans will play two road games in Los Angeles this year, becoming the seventh and eighth teams to play multiple away games at SoFi Stadium in a season since it opened in 2020.
Previously, the Las Vegas Raiders (2022, 2024), Denver Broncos (2022), Seattle Seahawks (2022), New England Patriots (2020) and New York Jets (2020) have made multiple trips to the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
This is the second year in a row in which the Colts will play multiple games in the same road stadium, following 2024's Weeks 11 and 17 trips to MetLife stadium to face the New York Jets and New York Giants, respectively.
5. Bonus things.
5A. The Colts, as most (but not all) teams opt to do after an international game, will have their bye in Week 11 after returning from Berlin to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10. The notable thing here is over the last five years, the Colts have had their bye be in either the latest possible week (Week 14 in 2021, 2022 and 2024) or after an international game (Week 11 in 2023 and 2025).
The last time the Colts had their bye in the first half of a season was 2020 (Week 7).
5B. The Colts' Week 15 game against the Seattle Seahawks will be the first time the Colts play the Seahawks without Russell Wilson behind center since 2009 (a span of only three games, but still). That game in 2009 saw Peyton Manning throw for 353 yards to beat Seahawks backup Seneca Wallace, 34-17, at Lucas Oil Stadium.
5C. Only two Colts opponents have new coaches for the 2025 season: The Las Vegas Raiders (Pete Carroll) and the Jaguars (Liam Coen). Coen is the only first-team head coach the Colts will face; Carroll, of course, has 18 years of head coaching experience with the New York Jets (1994), New England Patriots (1997-1999) and Seattle Seahawks (2010-2023).
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