JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mark this day in Indianapolis Colts history — one of the worst in recent memory. Dec. 7, 2025, was the day another Colts season likely came to an end in Duval County. It was also the day another Colts quarterback suffered a devastating, perhaps franchise-altering, injury.
The Colts’ 36-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday would have been painful enough on its own. Both teams entered the game tied atop the AFC South standings at 8-4, and Indianapolis’ third straight loss likely ensures that it won’t win the division, and it puts serious pressure on the team’s playoff hopes. But then again, a loss at EverBank Stadium was hardly surprising. The Colts have not won a road game in Jacksonville since 2014, a streak that was pushed to 11 years Sunday as Indianapolis suffered its most lopsided defeat of the season.
What added insult to injury, quite literally, was the loss of quarterback Daniel Jones. Indianapolis’ starter suffered a right Achilles injury while throwing a pass with 35 seconds left in the first quarter, and for a brief moment, his typically stoic exterior cracked. Jones slammed his helmet in frustration and, perhaps more than anything else, genuine fear. A fractured left fibula couldn’t even keep him sidelined the last couple of weeks, but a torn right Achilles — which the Colts fear Jones suffered, per league sources — was too much to overcome.
“It could be season-ending,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “I don’t have the full details on it, but we’ll get more clarity on that.”
The only other info Steichen offered was that, “It’s not looking good,” evidenced by Jones’ significant limp when he returned to the sideline while wearing a boot on his right leg. The weight of his injury was almost palpable in the visiting locker room as the Colts tried to come to grips with the absence of their QB1.
“It was tough,” wide receiver Alec Pierce said. “I’m really, really close with him. Definitely don’t want to see that out of anybody, regardless. That’s our team leader. That’s our team captain right there. Everything runs through him.”
And for two months, it all ran so well. The Colts were nearly infallible during their 7-1 start, with Jones leading the way. The 28-year-old was playing at an MVP-caliber level, throwing for 2,062 yards and 13 touchdowns against three interceptions, plus four rushing TDs. His resurgence in Indianapolis, less than a year after being jettisoned by the New York Giants, helped turn his new franchise into a dark-horse Super Bowl contender. But following an overtime win against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10, which lifted the Colts to 8-2 for the AFC’s top seed, nearly everything that could have gone wrong has.
#Colts Week 14 recap! pic.twitter.com/MH6mlDf5Hw
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) December 7, 2025
Just look at the last seven days. Star cornerback Sauce Gardner is out indefinitely due to a left calf injury he sustained last week against the Houston Texans. His absence is especially noteworthy because of the tangential effect his acquisition had on Jones and the direction of the franchise. Indianapolis traded wide receiver AD Mitchell and its next two first-round picks — critical capital for any team in pursuit of a quarterback — to the New York Jets in exchange for Gardner. A deal of that magnitude never would’ve happened if the Colts didn’t fully believe Jones was their future. But what does that future look like if he’s sidelined for the rest of this season and potentially most of next year, too?
The answer to that question won’t be easy for general manager Chris Ballard or principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon to find. The short-term solution is to hand the keys to backup Riley Leonard, though that may present even more problems. The rookie sixth-round pick started the year as Indy’s QB3 and was never supposed to play this season. But now, after serious injuries to Jones and Anthony Richardson Sr., who remains on injured reserve due to an orbital fracture he suffered during pregame warmups in Week 6, Leonard has suddenly taken the reins as QB1.
“Obviously, your first thought is to pray for Daniel and hope he’s great because that’s not how you envision getting snaps,” Leonard said. “I always envision myself working and working and developing into a starter — (a role) that I earned. Whether I earned it or not is kind of irrelevant. Daniel went down; my turn was up. It’s super unfortunate to see that, but hopefully everything works out.”
Leonard showed a bit of promise Sunday, finishing 18-of-29 passing for 145 yards and one interception, plus a 6-yard rushing TD. But he’ll need to show a lot more to help the Colts avoid being on the wrong side of history. The last team to start 7-1 and miss the playoffs was the 2012 Chicago Bears, per ESPN. Indianapolis, obviously, does not want to join them.
“I think it’s more than, ‘Hold on to the rope,’” running back Jonathan Taylor said when asked how his team must respond. “I think it’s, ‘Hold on to the rope and begin to pull yourself up.’ I think when you just hold on to a rope, you’re just hoping the rope doesn’t break. You gotta fight, scratch and claw. It’s not gonna be given to us. Everything in this league is earned, so I think collectively and individually, it’s not just ‘Hold on to the rope.’ It’s, ‘Grab the rope and pull yourself up as hard as you can.’”
If the Colts don’t take Taylor’s advice, they will likely find themselves staring at an all-too-familiar crossroads at the end of the year, though they may already be there given the timing and probably months-long recovery timeline of Jones’ Achilles injury.
This franchise, yet again, has uncertainty at the most important position in football. It’s an issue that has plagued Ballard during his nine-year tenure, and it looks like that trend will continue into Year 10 — assuming he’s still here — which has to be a horribly frustrating reality for Ballard after it appeared he had struck gold with Jones.
Steichen is in a tough position, too, as he tries to guide his team into the playoffs for the first time during his three-year tenure, while also shuffling starting QBs for the third straight year. The road will be difficult, with the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Jaguars and Texans all waiting to crush the Colts’ hopes.
But perhaps the person under the biggest microscope during the final month of the season is Irsay-Gordon. Nearly seven months after she took over for her late father, she stood on the sideline in the rain at EverBank Stadium and watched the Colts get pushed to the brink of a freefall. It’s her job to navigate what comes next for the franchise, with the futures of Jones, Ballard and Steichen likely at the center of every decision.
“Do you have a crystal ball with you?” Irsay-Gordon rhetorically responded in June when asked if the Colts are in “playoff-or-else” mode regarding the stakes for the season. “Of course, things happen. … We all have to look at all these factors. I mean, if we had all these injuries decimate (our team) — knock on wood on that — (it could change my perspective). I’m just saying there are so many different directions. That’s part of why it’s so fun and scary to work in sports sometimes.”
One thing is certain after this terrible day in Colts history: The fun is over. Now comes the scary part.