Ah, 2011. To be young again. Fifteen years have passed since then and a thousand things have changed in the NFL. History doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme. The 2026 season for the Colts is starting to look and feel a lot like that disastrous 2011 season when Peyton Manning missed the entire year. Somehow, some way, though, it might actually be worse.
Let’s go back to where it all started. Kerry Collins was brought in off the street and proceeded to get lit up to open the season in Houston.
Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky took it from there and produced a 2-14 season after an 0-13 start. Manning, Saturday, Clark, Addai, Garçon, Diem, Brackett, and many others were gone by 2012. It marked one of the darkest times in Colts franchise history.
As dark as that season was, 2026 said, “Hold my beer.” You see, in 2012, the Colts were able to draft Andrew Luck. Remember? 2011 was the “Suck for Luck” year. There was an incredible consolation prize for being so bad. 2026? Well, it may not be as awful from a record or even on-the-field talent perspective, but it actually looks worse.
Key players like Buckner, Nelson, and Downs are gone already. The departure of more names is sure to follow. Unlike the 2011 team, there is no positive mantra to pull the team through. There is no Luck coming to resurrect them. Heck, there isn’t even a first-round pick. That is what makes this year worse. It’s not about 2026 itself. It’s about the long-term effects. The future is murky. After 2011, there was a direction and goal during the season. This season sees the Colts treading water, or worse, drowning. Many more questions linger over the Colts now than in 2011. To make it worse, the answers aren’t as clear either.
2011 was a gut punch for a fanbase that was used to high-level winning. Watching Manning and others walk out the door was enough to make a grown man cry. There was hope and a direction forward, though. This year, 2026? What are we working towards? Where is the hope? What is the future? A stockpile of draft picks and Jonathan Taylor is about all there is to be excited for. From “Suck for Luck” to “Sucks to Suck,” 2026 seems to be worse than the worst Colts season in recent memory.
