Indianapolis Colts opponents 2026: Who’s on the schedule, how easy or hard will their schedule be

The Colts held a competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones for the Week 1 starter and after getting out to an 8-2 record, the choice of Jones was obviously the correct one. Unfortunately, things fall apart at some point for 31 teams each season and for the Colts it became a full blown disaster when Jones suffered a torn Achilles against the Jaguars in Week 14.

The Colts’ offense, when on, was a big helping of Jonathan Taylor with mistake free passing from Jones and a strong offensive line. It worked early and often, but there were chinks in the armor before Jones’ injury. We saw enough from Jones to know he can function well with a good offensive line and All Pro running back keeping the chains moving. But when things start to breakdown, Jones has a hard time leading the team with his talent alone. That is the way for most average to above average quarterbacks in the league. Jones is valuable in the right setting, but he’s not the key to the Colts winning in the future.

The Colts will have eight home games and nine road games next season pending the announcement of the matchups for the 2026 international games. They face the AFC North and NFC East along with their own division, the AFC South. The South did see a bit of a resurgence this season, as the Texans and Jaguars have come on strong. But, the NFC East and AFC North have seen better days. On the whole, the schedule doesn’t look daunting at this point.

Jones should be able to get back from his injury ahead of Week 1 if everything goes as planned and Jonathan Taylor is still in his prime. Their defense has good pieces and their offensive line remains one of the better units overall. They should be able to make another run with this core group, but they’ll continue to live on the edge with Jones at quarterback. They’ll need to stay healthy and run pure for a chance to go deep in the playoffs.