1. The Colts are still working toward playing a complete game in all three phases.
Each of the Colts' five losses has seemingly followed a different script.
Defensive issues cost the Colts against the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers. Turnovers cost the Colts against the Ravens, Tennessee Titans and, on the final play of Sunday's game, the Vikings. Special teams miscues hurt the Colts against the Titans and Minnesota Vikings.
The flip side is the Colts have had some good showing on offense (like Week 2 at the Chiefs), on defense (like Weeks 6 and 7 against the Titans and Vikings) and special teams (like Weeks 2 and 5 against the Chiefs and Steelers), but haven't put those three phases together.
Even in wins over the Houston Texans and Washington Commanders, the Colts had a minus-four turnover differential.
"We know we can play with anybody," safety Cam Bynum said. "It's just a matter of finishing the game and playing complete games every single week."
The Colts allowed 186 yards of total offense in Week 6's loss to the Titans and 275 yards of total offense against the Vikings in Week 7; it's only the sixth time in franchise history the Colts have lost consecutive games while allowing 275 or fewer yards of offense.
For head coach Shane Steichen and his team, though, the efforts to turn this season around – and play a complete, four quarter game across all three phases – will continue heading into Week 8's road date with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"We ain't quitting," Steichen said. "You know what I mean? We're all professionals. We go back to work. We work. The secret to success is hard work, and you got to keep doing it over and over again. And sometimes in life, it's going to knock you down, and you got to climb out of it as much as you can, as much as possible. You got to keep your head down and work. That's all you can do. We're all pros here."
2. Spencer Shrader's two missed field goals didn't diminish the Colts' confidence in him.
This is an admittedly small sample size, but entering Week 7, Shrader had made 36 of 37 field goals – good for a rate of 97.3 percent, the highest in NFL history for a kicker with at least 37 field goal attempts.
Only three kickers have attempted at least 40 field goals and made 90 percent or more of them entering Week 7: the Chargers' Cameron Dicker (92.6 percent, 149 attempts), the Vikings' Will Reichard (90 percent, 80 attempts) and the Browns' Andre Syzmt (90 percent, 40 attempts).
Shrader made his first field goal of Sunday's game and then missed from 56 and 48 yards. He's now 37 of 40 (92.5 percent) in his career.
So, no, the Colts aren't taking Shrader's first career game with multiple missed field goals – and his first missed field goal since last September – as a reason to lose trust in their kicker.
"I got a ton of confidence in Spence," Steichen said. "He's been money all year. And today wasn't his day, and that happens in the National Football League. Some guys have off days, but I got a ton of confidence in Spence moving forward."
Shrader said he didn't do a good enough job following his routine prior to missing from 56 yards, and then said he "wasn't able to follow my routine" prior to the 48-yard miss, which pushed wide right.
"Obviously a really difficult game," Shrader said. "Feel very embarrassed, feel very responsible for the team's loss, but also thankful for these guys and the support, and just loving on me afterwards and knowing that I have a big role on this team. I want to be there for them. This is going to sting, this is going to hurt, but the only thing that I can do is get back to work this coming week and figure out how I can get better."
3. Tyler Warren's absence was felt.
Two weeks ago, Warren put together his most productive game of the 2026 season, catching seven of nine targets for 83 yards against the Steelers. Even as things have become compressed for the Colts' passing offense, Jones and Warren found a way to carve out several big plays through the air.
Then, leading into Week 6, Warren sustained a hamstring injury in practice. He didn't play against the Titans, then didn't practice all week leading into Sunday's game against the Vikings.
Those two games are the first two regular season games Warren has missed in his career.
For an offense already missing wide receiver Alec Pierce, who's on injured reserve with a heel injury, Warren's absence has made a challenging situation even more difficult. To illustrate how different the players on the field with Jones have been in the last two weeks, think about it this way: Three of the Colts' top four targets from 2025 aren't on the field, between Warren (112 targets), Pierce (84 targets) and Michael Pittman Jr. (111 targets).
Those three players represented 58% of the Colts' total targets in 2025. Obviously, Pittman isn't coming back, but at some point, the Colts expect to get Warren and then Pierce back this season.
For now, though, the Colts' offense will continue to seek solutions in its passing game with plenty of differences between its 2025 and 2026 weapons.
4. Seth McGowan continues to run with aggression and physicality.
McGowan, the seventh-round rookie from Kentucky, set new career high water marks with 11 carries and 46 yards against the Vikings. He and Jonathan Taylor are forming an interesting 1-2 punch in the Colts' backfield: Taylor is patient, cerebral and explosive, while McGowan is a one-cut-and-go back who plays with excellent physicality.
"His energy is so great," left guard Quenton Nelson said. "He runs so hard. The kick returns were huge as well. He runs angry. Really like him."
Nelson was right to point out McGowan's work as a returner, too. He had five returns for 140 yards on Sunday, including a 43-yarder, and is eighth in the NFL in yards per return average (28.3).
But on an afternoon in which the Colts' plan was to pound the ball on the ground and try to win a low-scoring, close game, what McGowan brought to his team's offense carried plenty of weight.
"Seth's been big for us," Jones said. "I think running the ball, he's a tough, physical runner. Yards after contact and all that stuff has been great. And then in the return game, a number of big returns that put us in good field position. Seth's been doing a really good job."
5. Adetomiwa Adebawore continued his impressive start to the season.
Adebawore enters Week 8 with four sacks and eight quarterback hits, both of which tie him with DeForest Buckner for the most on the Colts. The 2023 fourth-round pick had four sacks in 17 games last year and continued his impressive ascent with two sacks and five pressures on Sunday against the Vikings.
For Adebawore, though, he isn't thinking about being in a groove or in the midst of some sort of breakout season.
"I feel like I'm doing what I've been doing as far as preparing each week, and just whenever it's my time to make the play, go out there and execute," Adebawore said after Sunday's game.
Instead, more important to Adebawore is the performance of his team, not what he's doing individually – as impressive as it may be.
"I'm honestly not trying to think about that," Adebawore said. "Trying to win games right now. It's a tough loss. We got to just be better and try to win."
