The Good, Bad, & Ugly From Colts' Painful Season Finale

The Indianapolis Colts wrapped up their 2025-26 campaign with yet another loss against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon. The Texans scored a garbage-time touchdown to make it a 38-30 defeat for Indianapolis.

The Colts lost their final seven games of the season, all of which came after a Week 11 bye. The offense battled with a 30-point performance, but it wasn't enough to stop the Texans from marching downfield all day long.

The Colts are the first team in NFL history to start a season 7-1 and finish with a losing record. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Colts' seventh consecutive loss.

The Good

Alec Pierce

It doesn't matter that Alec Pierce was ejected; that just makes his numbers even more impressive. The fourth-year receiver finished with 4 receptions for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Colts' season finale.

Pierce was inches away from scoring a third touchdown in what may have been his best performance of the season against one of the best secondaries in the league. The Texans were missing Kamari Lassiter, but that shouldn't distract from how well Pierce performed.

With Pierce's rookie contract set to expire, the Colts must make bringing back one of the league's best vertical threats a top priority in the spring. Pierce added a few more million to his eventual contract today.

Riley Leonard

Although there was an early fumble and a few misjudged passes, Riley Leonard performed incredibly well against an elite Houston defense. Leonard announced himself early with a 66-yard bomb to Pierce and never looked back, completing 21 of his 34 pass attempts for 270 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception.

Leonard got it done on the ground, too. He ran into the end zone for the second time this season and converted some crucial third downs thanks to his legs.

Leonard showed poise and decent control of Steichen's playbook, especially for a first-year quarterback. The Colts may have seen enough from Leonard to make him the full-time QB2 next season.

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The Bad

Michael Pittman Jr.

Entering Sunday's action, there was already some discussion regarding Michael Pittman's future with the Colts. Because the team should re-sign Pierce, they may be looking for ways to save money in the offseason, and one of those ways is by cutting Pittman.

Pittman finished the day with 2 receptions for 11 yards. He dropped a couple of passes in the first quarter, one of which would have been a touchdown. The sixth-year receiver finished the year with under 800 yards for the first time since his rookie season.

If the Colts cut Pittman, they'll take on a $5 million dead cap hit. If they keep him on the roster, they'll have to pay him nearly $25 million.

Jonathan Taylor

It's been an extremely rough stretch for Jonathan Taylor over the past month. The Colts' workhorse was in MVP conversations only a few months ago, but now he's completely out of the race for any award.

Taylor ended with 14 carries for 26 yards, which averages out to 1.9 yards per carry—his lowest mark of the season. Taylor's highest rushing total over the past seven weeks was 87 yards against the Seattle Seahawks. The Colts went 3-9 in games where Taylor failed to reach 100 yards.

The Colts needed more production out of their main back, but it just never happened with quarterback issues. Teams stacked the box, which caused Taylor and the run game to struggle mightily.

The Ugly

Late-Game Defense

Cam Bynum C.J. Strou — Nov 30, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) and Indianapolis Colts safety Cam Bynum (0) greet each other after a game at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

It seems that when the fourth quarter rolls around, the Colts' defense falls apart. We first saw it against the Los Angeles Rams, when Tutu Atwell exploded for a long touchdown grab to give his team the lead with little time left.

We saw it against the Kansas City Chiefs, when Mahomes diced up the Colts' secondary to lead his team to an 11-point comeback in the final period of play.

We saw it against the Seattle Seahawks, when the Colts gave up two chunk plays to let Jason Myers kick a game-winning field goal just moments after Blake Grupe drilled a 60-yarder.

Finally, to close out the season, we saw it against the Texans, who were led by Davis Mills to their sixth field goal of the game. The Colts have now lost five straight to Houston.

Indy's Pass Rush

Adetomiwa Adebawore C.J. Strou — Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore (95) works to get to Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, during a game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the third time this season, the Colts finished with zero defensive sacks. Indy ends the year with 41 sacks, which is five more than their total from 2024.

Indy couldn't get home against Davis Mills or C.J. Stroud. Considering how much draft capital has been invested into this defensive line, there's no excuse to have such a mediocre unit.