Every Colts Primetime Game in 2026: TV Schedule, Dates, & Matchups

For the first time since 2022, the Indianapolis Colts are slated for multiple primetime matchups in a single season. The Colts' official 2026-27 schedule can be found here.

Colts fans were once used to having multiple nationally televised games scattered throughout the schedule, especially during the Peyton Manning years, but have since fallen into irrelevancy after Indianapolis entered the annual quarterback carousel following Andrew Luck's abrupt retirement ahead of the 2019 season.

It wasn't an immediate banishing to the shadow realm that is no primetime shine, as the Colts were afforded nine such opportunities across the 2021-23 seasons.

After reuniting quarterback Carson Wentz with then-head coach Frank Reich ahead of the 2021-22 season, the NFL rewarded the Colts with five primetime matchups for that season. The Colts would go 4-1 in those five games in 2021, proving that Indianapolis can still shine on the brightest stage.

Even though that 2021-22 team would soon thereafter implode and miss the playoffs entirely, and would go on to replace Wentz with an aging Matt Ryan in the following offseason, the NFL provided the Colts with four primetime matchups for the 2022-23 season. This is when the NFL would soon realize that the Colts cannot be trusted to perform on the biggest regular-season stage, no matter how intriguing their previous offseason move might have been.

The Colts went 1-3 in such matchups in 2022, with their lone win being one of the most memorable Thursday Night Football outings in recent history -- a 12-9 overtime victory in Denver that featured only field goals from both sides.

As a result, Indianapolis has been put on the primetime back burner ever since. The Colts have been afforded just one primetime matchup in each of the last three seasons, each of which they've lost.

After yet another late-season collapse in 2025, most fans and analysts alike merely assumed that Indianapolis would get just one primetime opportunity, if that, in 2026, but in a shocking turn of events, the NFL is buying what the Colts are selling.

Two of the Colts' home games, a Week 16 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals and a Week 18 season-finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars, are still to be determined, so an additional primetime matchup via flexing can add onto the slate in question.

Let's dive into the Colts' multiple primetime matchups for the upcoming season.

Week 2: Colts at Chiefs (Sunday Night Football)

8:20 PM EST | NBC

Daniel Jones Patrick Mahome — Nov 23, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) meet on field after the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

This rematch from last season will be most focused on the health of both starting quarterbacks. Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes (ACL, LCL) and Indianapolis' Daniel Jones (Achilles, fractured fibula) are both returning from major leg injuries suffered in the second half of the 2025-26 season.

Jones actually suffered a fractured leg injury during his matchup with the Chiefs last season, but continued to play through it until he ultimately had his season ended with an Achilles tear against the Jacksonville Jaguars just two weeks later.

Both quarterbacks have their eyes set on recovering by the time the regular season arrives, but time will tell if their scheduled rehab goes to plan.

The Chiefs crawled back from an 11-point deficit to beat the Colts in overtime last season, which kicked off Indy's late-season downfall as Jones fought through injury. So long as their road to recovery remains the same, we'll see part two of Jones versus Mahomes. On the flip side, there's a real possibility where neither can go, opening the door for a potential Justin Fields versus Anthony Richardson Sr./Riley Leonard matchup on primetime.

Week 11: Colts at Texans (Thursday Night Football)

8:15 PM EST | Amazon

Colts Texan — Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) looks over the line before snapping the play Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, during a game against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This AFC South matchup on Thursday Night Football presents potential divisional stakes on one of the regular season's biggest stages. Coming in at just over the midway point of the season, this divisional matchup could end up determining the AFC South Champion.

Divisional stakes aside, history suggests that the Colts will lose this matchup. Under head coach Shane Steichen, the Colts are 1-5 against the Houston Texans, and are 0-3 in primetime matchups overall.

At least this game is slated late enough in the season to have more confidence in quarterback Daniel Jones being healthy enough to get the job done, though that only matters so much, given Jones' storied injury history.

Trends and history suggest that the Colts will inevitably lose said primetime matchup against the Texans, but given that this regime has its back against the wall as to right the ship entirely, Indianapolis must find a way to finally win the AFC South regardless of how much the odds are stacked against them.

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