Game Preview

Colts head coach Shane Steichen will play his starters between eight and 12 snaps in Saturday's final tune-up before the 2026 regular season kicks off on Sept. 13.

The Colts will sit the vast majority of their starters in Saturday's preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Lucas Oil Stadium, but there still will be plenty to watch in downtown Indianapolis during the second of three preseason contests.

The Colts play their first preseason game of 2026 on Thursday night against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

Running back Jonathan Taylor is neck-and-neck with Buffalo Bills running back James Cook for this year's rushing crown, while wide receiver Alec Pierce leads the NFL in yards per reception and is 29 yards away from reaching 900 receiving yards for the first time in his career.

The Colts could be eliminated from the postseason by the time they kick off on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but whether they will or won't be out of the playoffs didn't impact their preparation leading up to this weekend's game.

The Colts' game plan in Week 15 was to lean heavily on their run game. Could this week's matchup against the San Francisco 49ers be a prime opportunity to do that again?

The Colts, as of Friday afternoon, have not decided who will play quarterback on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. But if it's Philip Rivers, he won't be expected to be the only reason why the Colts pull out of a three-game losing streak.

The Colts haven't won in Jacksonville – and haven't won the AFC South – since 2014. But that losing streak won't determine the outcome of Sunday's game. Here's what will.

The Colts return to Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time in over a month to host the Houston Texans on Sunday, kicking off a stretch of four AFC South games in the final six weeks of the 2025 season.

Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. cleared concussion protocol, meaning he's set to play opposite Sauce Gardner against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12.

The Colts will host the first regular season game held in Berlin on Sunday at Olympic Stadium.

The Colts will look to stay undefeated against AFC opponents on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.

The Colts may be 6-1 and the Titans may be 1-6, but head coach Shane Steichen's message this week was one that re-emphasized focus and discipline for a divisional matchup.

The Colts (5-1) return to SoFi Stadium to face the AFC West-leading Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) on Sunday afternoon.

The Colts (4-1) host the Arizona Cardinals (2-3) on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, with the main storyline for Week 6 being the status of quarterback Kyler Murray.

The Colts will look to bounce back against a Las Vegas Raiders team that, even at 1-3, features a couple of league-wide star players.

The 3-0 Colts head to Los Angeles to face the 2-1 Rams in Week 4.

The 2-0 Colts head to Nashville for their first road game – and first AFC South contest – of the 2025 season on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. But while the Colts' start to 2025 has been the opposite of the Titans', head coach Shane Steichen and team leaders feel they have this team in a good spot to avoid any sort of letdown game in Week 3.

The Colts won their season opener for the first time since 2013, but quickly moved past their 33-8 thumping of the Dolphins to prepare for the challenge of facing the Broncos, who made the playoffs in 2024.

The Colts kick off the 2025 regular season on Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Miami Dolphins at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Rookie Riley Leonard will start and play the first half while former undrafted free agent Jason Bean will play the second half of the Colts' final preseason game of 2025.

Daniel Jones will start Saturday's preseason game against the Green Bay Packers with Anthony Richardson Sr. playing the bulk of the first half.

Anthony Richardson Sr. will play about a quarter and a half to start Thursday night's preseason opener, with Daniel Jones playing the remainder of the second quarter. The Colts' plan will then flip in preseason Week 2, with Jones starting against the Green Pay Packers on Aug. 16.

The Colts were eliminated from the playoffs with their Week 17 loss to the New York Giants, but are emphasizing professionalism heading into their season finale on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts need plenty of help on Saturday for their game Sunday against the New York Giants to matter in the AFC playoff race – but this team's focus is not on scoreboard watching the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos on Saturday.

The Colts need plenty of help to make the playoffs, but more importantly, they need to help themselves by, as head coach Shane Steichen said, raising their standard starting this week against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts' playoff odds would get a major boost by beating the Denver Broncos on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.

The 5-7 Colts will look to spark a late-season playoff push against the 3-8 New England Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, where they haven't won since 2006 – when both starting quarterbacks in this game were four years old.

The Detroit Lions will arrive in Indianapolis with a 9-1 record built on a ruthless offense and ballhawking defense.

After spending the last two weeks on the sidelines, Anthony Richardson will start on Sunday against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.

The Colts' defense has been more aggressive over the last three weeks, which has helped forge a certain identity within that group. That identity, though, will be put to the test in Week 10 against perennial MVP candidate Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills' offense.

Flacco will start his third game with the Colts on Sunday night against Brian Flores' Vikings defense, which has been among the NFL's best units this season.

The Colts can match the Texans' record with a win on Sunday – but could fall effectively three games behind Houston in the AFC South with a loss. This week's game has massive implications for the Colts, and also begins a stretch of games against opponents with a combined 22-11 record.

The Colts (3-3) will look to go over .500 for the first time in 2024 on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins (2-3) at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts will be halfway through their divisional schedule when the clock hits zero on Sunday in Nashville. With an 0-2 record against AFC South opponents, Week 6 will be critical in keeping afloat the Colts' chances of contending for their first divisional title in a decade.

The Colts on Sunday will look to win in Jacksonville for the first time since 2014. Will they be without Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor and several other starters for Week 5?

The 1-2 Colts host the 3-0 Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts will look to win their first game in 2024 on Sunday against the Chicago Bears (1-1) at Lucas Oil Stadium.

While Sunday's game at Lambeau Field will feature the Packers starting their backup quarterback, the Colts know they need to limit the impact of Green Bay's veteran running back to emerge from Week 2 with a win.

After months of wondering what the Colts' offense could look like in 2024 with Anthony Richardson, we'll finally start to find out on Sunday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Colts will play their starters into the second quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night at Paycor Stadium, the team's final preseason tune-up before the games start to count Sept. 8.

While the Colts will rest the majority of their starters on Saturday night, there are still plenty of things to watch when the Arizona Cardinals arrive at Lucas Oil Stadium for the second of three preseason games this summer.

The Colts open their 2024 preseason on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Denver Broncos, which begins a critical 12-day stretch for the team to be as ready as possible for Sept. 8's regular season opener against the Houston Texans.

The winner of Saturday night's Colts-Texans game will make the playoffs, and would win the AFC South if the Jaguars lose on Sunday.

The Raiders are 4-3 since Antonio Pierce was named interim head coach, and Las Vegas' defense – led by defensive end Maxx Crosby – will provide a strong, physical challenge for the Colts in Week 17.

The Colts have a chance to lead the AFC South with two weeks to go, but have to take care of business in Atlanta and get some help in Tampa on Sunday.

Saturday's Colts-Steelers tilt at Lucas Oil Stadium will have the biggest impact on the AFC playoff race of any game this weekend.

Jake Browning lit up the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense in Week 13, vaulting the Cincinnati Bengals to 6-6 – one game behind the 7-5 Colts, who've cemented themselves in the AFC playoff picture with Gardner Minshew II behind center.

The Titans enter Week 13 with a 4-7 record, but have been significantly better when playing at Nissan Stadium than when they're away from Nashville.

The Colts are 5-5 and sit ninth in the AFC standings entering Week 12.

The Colts arrived in Germany on Friday with one mission – and it wasn't to taste the best schnitzel in Frankfurt.

Colts players and coaches this week talked about what Frank Reich meant to them during his time in Indianapolis. But once the reunion is over pre-game, the implications of Week 9 for both teams will come into focus.

By Wednesday of this week, the Colts flushed any lingering feelings they had about the controversial ending to their Week 7 loss to the Cleveland Browns and turned their attention fully to fixing some things ahead of Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.

The Colts on Sunday will face a defense that's not just playing like one of the best defenses in the NFL this season, but a defense that's playing like one of the best in the NFL in recent memory.

Gardner Minshew will play in Jacksonville for the first time since the Jaguars traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles – where he linked up with Shane Steichen – before the 2021 season.

The Colts and Titans enter Week 5's meeting at Lucas Oil Stadium with 2-2 records.

Anthony Richardson cleared concussion protocol on Friday and will start for the Colts on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Anthony Richardson (concussion) will not play on Sunday in Baltimore.

Stroud, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, was sacked five times for 58 yards in his NFL debut last weekend against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Colts will open the 2023 season against the defending AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.