Someone has to take responsibility for the Colts missing the playoffs after losing to the Texans in Week 18.

The Indianapolis Colts dropped 23-19 against division foe Houston Texans in Week 18 to fall just short of entering the AFC playoffs for the first time since 2020.

This season, the AFC South was expected to be one of the more ordinary divisions in all of football. The division began with two new first-year head coaches and two rookie, first-round quarterbacks for the Texans and Colts, respectively, while the Titans drafted Will Levis in the second round, who finally ended up starting.

Given their talent and surprise comeback to the playoffs last season, the Jacksonville Jaguars were expected to sweep the division. However, injuries and inconsistency hampered them later in the season, leaving the division wide open until the last game, making Week 18 a must-see.

With a win on Saturday night, the Texans (10-7) and Colts (9-8) could at the very least make the playoffs and, with a Jaguars defeat, win the AFC South. In the end, the Colts’ loss was primarily due to poor quarterback play, which allowed Houston to defeat Indianapolis. Of course, unlike the Texans, the Colts were missing their star rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury a few weeks ago.

After the Colts’ terrible last two seasons, in which they blew their hopes of making the playoffs at the last minute in 2021 and fell far short of expectations last season, winning only four games, it’s difficult to consider 2023 a success. Again, this is especially true given the circumstances the Colts were facing. However, every NFL team will tell you that missing the playoffs is always considered a season failure, regardless of the circumstances.

Someone has to take the blame every week, and it’s no different in Week 18 for the Colts, who will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

Gardner Minshew throws for less than 200 yards, and the offense struggles to produce.
As previously stated, the Texans possessed the superior quarterback, and it was clear. Minshew had only completed nine passes and was well under 100 yards passing at the half. However, at the end of the day, he had completed 13 of 24 passes for 141 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.