The Indianapolis Colts kicked off the 2025 offseason with a bang by signing free agent Daniel Jones as a direct competition for Anthony Richardson for the starting quarterback role. Jones went on to outperform Richardson and won the job.
What followed was one unexpected on many levels as the Colts’ offense started the season unleashing terror over their opposition. While Jones worked his magic teaming up well with his pass catchers, most notably, Michael Pittman Jr., Tyler Warren, and Alec Pierce, the ground game flourished with Jonathan Taylor putting up impressive numbers.
After starting the season 8-2, the Colts went on to lose the remaining seven games to finish the season with an 8-9 record. They subsequently missed the playoffs and finished third in the AFC South. The sudden collapse was a direct result of injuries to key defensive players such as DeForest Bucknor, Charvarius Ward, Sauce Gardner, Daniel Jones, and more.
Looking forward to the upcoming season, the Colts have made multiple key moves during the offseason. They have re-signed players such as Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce, amongst others, but they also traded away top players like Zaire Franklin and Michael Pittman Jr. It will be interesting to see whether the Colts can challenge the Texans and Jaguars for the divisional crown this season.
Indianapolis Colts Total Wins Over/Under Odds for 2026-27 Regular Season
After finishing the previous season with 8 wins and 9 losses, the Indianapolis Colts are now favored to win fewer than 9 games once again in the upcoming 2026-27 NFL season, as per the odds via DraftKings.
The table below shows the Over/Under for the Colts’ total wins in the upcoming regular season.
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The Colts will be entering the 2026-27 NFL season with an eye on the postseason, seeing as they narrowly missed it last year despite an impressive start. For that, however, a lot will depend on the health of their starters and key players on both sides of the ball.
Indy has done well to lock down top receiver Alec Pierce to a long-term deal. They have also extended Daniel Jones for another two years, even though he continues to recover from injury. Tyler Warren and Josh Downs are expected to continue their form from last season, while running back Jonathan Taylor is a good bet to have another explosive season.
The defense is where the Colts may falter, but if players such as Buckner, Gardner, Ward, and others are healthy, that will have a big impact. The Colts retain a team that has the ability to challenge in the AFC South and even make the postseason. Their pursuit will be aided by the fifth-easiest strength of schedule amongst the 32-team league. We can see their list of opponents as given below.
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Miami Dolphins
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Cleveland Browns
Pittsburgh Steelers
Kansas City Chiefs
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Commanders
Minnesota Vikings
Going up against the Texans and the Jaguars twice each will be a great challenge for the Colts, as both teams are on the rise and made the playoffs last season. Apart from these two teams, the Colts will face only the Steelers and the Eagles as the teams to have made the postseason in the 2025-26 season.
While that may be, the Colts are likely to face stiff challenges from teams such as the Ravens, Bengals, Chiefs, Cowboys, and perhaps the Vikings as well. Based on the results of the previous season, the only easy matchups will be against the Titans, Browns, and the Giants.
Early prediction: Colts 2026-27 regular season record: 8-9
Indianapolis Colts Major Injuries and Concerns going into 2026-27 NFL Season
Injuries
The biggest injury concern for the Indianapolis Colts is that of quarterback Daniel Jones, who sustained a torn right Achilles tendon in December 2025 and also suffered a broken left fibula. Currently, Jones is undergoing rehab and is questionable for training camp, but expected to be fit for Week 1 of the 2026-27 NFL season.
While the offense is not dealing with too many injuries, the same cannot be said of the defensive side of the roster. In fact, the secondary of the Colts is pretty banged up, with cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward dealing with different issues. Gardner is recovering from a calf-related problem, whereas Ward was placed on IR three times last season due to concussions.
Safety Hunter Wohler suffered a Lisfranc foot injury during last year’s preseason and subsequently missed the entire 2025 campaign. Entering his second season, Wohler is expected to compete for the starting role.
Defensive tackle and veteran defender DeForest Buckner suffered a herniated disc in his neck last season, requiring surgery that placed him on IR. Now 32, Buckner’s health will be monitored closely as he is a critical part of the Colts’ defense up front.
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Roster concerns
The roster concerns for the Indianapolis Colts start with the allocated cap space. Big contracts for Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce have put the Colts on the back foot. Further, the defense has plenty of areas that need to be improved ahead of the 2026-27 NFL season.
Linebacker Zaire Franklin’s trade has left a hole that needs to be filled, particularly by an experienced veteran. The defensive line is not up to the standards. The Colts’ pass rush finished 30th in the league last season. The D-line is aging and needs a balance between youth and experience.
On the offensive side of things, the core offensive line does not need much tampering, but the departure of Braden Smith has left a void that needs to be addressed.
Indianapolis Colts NFL 2026-27 Draft Picks and how they can have an impact on the Total Over/Under Wins Odds
The upcoming draft is not one that Colts fans would be too happy about. Indianapolis has just 7 draft picks, but what is worse is the fact that they have no first-round pick. Their first selection of the 2026 NFL draft will come in the second round, pick number 47 overall.
Following that, the Colts have one pick each in rounds 3, 4, and 5. Finally, Indy has a total of 3 picks in the final round of the draft. With serious needs for quality players on defense, the Colts may have to trade up or take a gamble by staying where they are in the draft.
As per the current situation, the Colts do not have too many early-round picks, and that leads us to believe that the draft may not have much effect on their overall number of wins for the 2026-27 season.
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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!
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