The Colts haven’t been to the playoffs since 2020. Their four-year drought is the fourth-longest in the NFL.
“First time in my career I’ve ever gone 4 years without making (the playoffs),” general manager Chris Ballard said in his press conference Wednesday. “It’s a bothersome thing especially with the expectations we have here in Indy.”
Ballard went on to say that under Jim Irsay’s leadership, the Colts never wanted to be in the middle of the pack. That hasn’t changed now that Irsay’s daughter, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, is at the helm.
“She always says, ‘I don’t want to be good. I want to be great,’” Ballard said. “That’s always the goal.”
For Ballard, there’s a common theme as to why the Colts haven’t been able to play postseason football. It stems back to showing up when it matters most.
“At the end of the day, we have to finish the seasons better,” he said. “We have had some really good football teams that just haven’t gotten it done.”
Indy has controlled their own destiny multiple times when it came to clinching a playoff berth. Each time, they’ve dropped the ball.
In 2021, the Colts just needed a win over the Jaguars in their final regular season game. Despite Jacksonville entering Week 17 with only two wins, Indy completely faceplanted, losing 26-11 and fumbling away their postseason opportunity.
“We were in the driver’s seat and we pissed it down our legs,” Ballard said on Tuesday.
2022 was a lost season, as the Colts finished 4-12-1 and wound up selecting Anthony Richardson Sr. fourth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
2023 and 2024 were the years which have stung the most. With backup quarterback Gardner Minshew II being the starter for the final 12 games, Indy came within a play of not just the playoffs, but an AFC South title when Tyler Goodson couldn’t haul in a Minshew pass to the flat on 4th-and-1.
2024 was perhaps worse. With two games to go, all Indy needed to do was win out to give themselves a shot.
Their final two opponents? The 2-13 New York Giants and the 4-12 Jaguars.
A disastrous defensive performance in New York led to allowing the second-worst scoring offense (16.1 points per game in 2024) to put up 45 in a 12-point win which meant nothing to their season.
Moving forward, Ballard wants to see the Colts close seasons on stronger notes, as ultimately it could be the difference between a playoff berth and front office reset.