The Colts flew west over the Atlantic Ocean last November with an 8-2 record and the NFL's best offense. They had a running back in the midst of a supernova, an ideal pairing between coach and quarterback, standout pass-catchers and a rock-solid offensive line.
This was a team that, on that flight from Berlin to Indianapolis, had the look of a Super Bowl contender.
A month later, Daniel Jones pounded the rain-soaked turf at EverBank Stadium as the realization set in that his season was over. Philip Rivers came out of retirement at the age of 44. The Colts narrowly lost a handful of games to a gauntlet of opponents, and ultimately crashed out of the playoffs with an 0-7 record.
But instead of blowing this operation up, the Colts saw those first half highs and worked to not just replicate, but build upon, them in 2026. Will the Colts' offense score on a remarkable 57.6 percent of their possessions again, as they did in the first 10 games of the 2025 season? Maybe, maybe not (no team has scored on over 53 percent of their possessions in at least the last 20 seasons).
And, after an offseason filled with "what if" questions, we're close to answering those with "what is." But before we do, here's one final look at five big reasons why the Colts believe they can once again find the success they enjoyed over that outstanding start to the 2025 season:
1. Daniel Jones and Shane Steichen's relationship.
The surest path to success in the NFL is to have a playcaller and quarterback operating on the same wavelength, one that allows an offense to identify and execute solutions no matter the defense they're facing.
The Colts, unequivocally, have that with Shane Steichen and Daniel Jones.
"I think that Shane and Daniel really align with the way our system works," Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon said earlier this year. "... I love to see when players, especially on offense at the quarterback level — we might scheme up and install something, but then he might say 'okay, well could we change this piece?'"
Steichen and Jones' mind meld gives space for tweaks and ideas to put the other 10 players on the field in the best position to make plays – and to keep opposing defenses guessing. A lot of that work takes place behind the scenes between Monday morning and Saturday night of a given game week.
And on Sundays, because of that preparation, Steichen has the right menu for Jones, who goes from identifying how the opposing defense is playing into getting the Colts into the right call to be efficient and explosive after the snap.
"When we're watching tape going against opponents, how to attack a coverage, little nuances — we can change a route here and there at the line of scrimmage or get to a run play, change a protection off certain looks that come up," Steichen said. "You can't get four play calls in the huddle — sometimes we give two or three — but he can always get to what he needs to get to given the situation and the right look."
2. With Jones healthy, look for Jonathan Taylor to return to form, too.
Taylor powered the Colts' 8-2 start with 1,139 yards on 189 carries (6.0 yards/attempt) with 17 total touchdowns over the first 10 weeks of the 2025 season. But over his final seven games, Taylor never rushed for more than 90 yards in a game and totaled just three touchdowns.
The Colts have no reason to doubt who Taylor is as a running back – he's the NFL's active leader in rushing yards per game (90.5), after all. But Steichen and his coaching staff spent significant time this offseason digging into the reasons behind Taylor's decline in production, which, it should be noted, came against the NFL's Nos. 1, 3, 4, 9 and 11 defenses by rushing yards per game.
Finding a way to generate production from Taylor regardless of circumstance or defense certainly is important, but one key circumstance will be different on Sept. 13: Taylor and a healthy Jones will be together again in the Colts' backfield.
Defenses, now, will have to respect Jones' ability to roll out on play action – less to run (which he can do, even after the Achilles' injury) and more to dump a pass off to a wide-open receiver in the flat. It changes the math on how teams can defend the run. And it could very well benefit Taylor, who the Colts expect to be an engine of this offense again in 2026.
3. The wide receivers fit well together, again.
Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds likened building a wide receiver room to building a basketball team, with each player bringing different physical builds, athletic traits and play strengths to an offense. In 2025, that analogy worked ideally, with Alec Pierce, Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs all complementing each other's skillsets and strengths in an impressive way.
Pittman was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March, but the Colts signed veteran Keenan Allen in August to help round out the basketball team in their receiver room. The 6-foot-2, 211 pound Allen, even at the age of 34, remains one of the most technically skilled route runners in the NFL.
The Colts' offense needed reliability more than explosiveness – that's Pierce's wheelhouse – and believes it got that in Allen, who last year had nearly identical production to Pittman.
But before Allen signed, the Colts had spent time this offseason working on how to get Downs more involved in the offense after his production dipped in 2025. We'll see how that looks come Week 1, but expect Downs' short-area quickness, feel for space and acceleration to be weaponized quite a bit in this year's offense.
4. Is there more for Tyler Warren?
Warren led the Colts with 112 targets in 2025 as part of a Pro Bowl rookie season, with the first-round pick catching 76 passes for 817 yards with five total touchdowns. His dogged physicality in the run game helped open lanes for Taylor and gave Steichen more flexibility to threaten defenses from 12 personnel (one back, two tight ends, two receivers) than in years past.
Warren appeared in all 17 games in 2025 but averaged just 3.7 receptions and 28.6 yards over the final seven games of the season; he averaged five catches for 61.7 yards over the first 10 games.
Steichen noted Warren came into camp in "great" shape and made strides getting in and out of his breaks on routes. For Warren, improving at the little things will set him up to have an even bigger impact in 2026.
"He's just a tremendous player," Steichen said. "He's got a natural feel, a natural knack for the game on how to get open, how to run routes, and he makes plays."
5. There's deserved trust in the offensive line.
A year ago, it was understandable to question how the Colts' offensive line would handle two first-time starters playing next to each other in center Tanor Bortolini and right guard Matt Goncalves, with Goncalves playing guard consistently for the first time in his football career.
The Colts' offensive line in 2025 had Pro Football Focus' fourth-highest overall grade at 81.1. Needless to say, those changes worked out just fine in isolation; holistically, going with Bortolini and Goncalves – fourth- and third-round picks in 2024, respectively – allowed the Colts the flexibility to sign safety Cam Bynum and cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. in free agency.
In 2026, the Colts let longtime right tackle Braden Smith sign with the Houston Texans in free agency and plugged in 2025 fourth-round pick Jalen Travis at right tackle. Travis impressed coaches behind the scenes until December of his rookie year, when he stepped in for Smith to start and held his own – including in games against the Seahawks and Texans, widely regarded as the NFL's top two defenses last season.
The Colts enter 2026 not only confident in Travis, but in how offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. has helped prepare the Iowa State product for this moment. Sparano, certainly, has earned the benefit of the doubt – look no further than, again, the development of Bortolini and Goncalves.
