The promising season was always doomed, it turns out. Indianapolis Colts fans deserved better. The team hasn't won an AFC South title since 2014, and this year was finally going to be the year. A 7-1 start implied greatness.
Instead, Indy had a historic fall. Not since the team expanded to a 17-game schedule in 2021 (which allows a team to start well, and still not make the postseason) had a team begun 7-1 and not made the playoffs. Only five teams since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 had started a season as successfully as the Colts and not made the playoffs.