Stampede Blue
Buckle in Colts fans.
We have our first Colts Football-Free Weekend since August. After an 8-2 start to the season, many-a-Colts fan has grown addicted to watching the 2025 squad every Sunday. To sate your cravings for NFL Football during the Bye Week blues, we here at Stampede Blue offer you this handy Guide to your first Weekend in months without the Colts on your screen.
Who should you root for to help the Colts quest for the 1 seed?
Should you hope AFC South Divisional rivals continue to fall behind, or win a game to worsen their 2026 Draft slot?
Is there a team Colts fans should hope loses to help increase the odds one of their best players leaves in Free Agency?
Find out who you should (probably) root for this week!
The first game on the docket should be an easy one for Colts fans to instinctually have a rooting interest in: Anyone against the New England Patriots.
On Thursday Night Football the 8-2 Patriots host their 2-7 AFC East Divisional Rival Jets in a game most to be a rout for the home team in Foxborough. Jets doubters beware however, as they are on a two game winning streak! Albeit it was against the lowly Ohio teams: the Bengals and Browns…
Despite the odds, Colts fans want the Jets to endure. A loss drops the Patriots out of the tiebreakers with the Colts for the 1 seed in the AFC, as well as hurts the Most Valuable Player campaign of starting QB Drake Maye. A historic rival losing playoff seeding and potentially missing out on the biggest individual player award? Sounds like Colts fans have reason to break out the Adonai Mitchell jerseys if the Jets win.
This one could have some conflicting views on who to root for. On the one hand, the 5-4 Steelers losing would increase the Colts odds of a good playoff seeding with Pittsburgh owning the head to head tiebreaker over the Colts. On the other hand, the Bengals losing could increase the likelihood star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson opts to leave Cincinnati in the 2026 offseason, potentially trying to reunite with former Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo in Indianapolis.
This game also has a sneaky impact on the Ravens, who could jump all the way from 10th in the AFC to the 4 seed with the Bengals upsetting the Steelers and if the Ravens take care of the Browns. While the Colts did fall to the Steelers this regular season, I doubt any Colts fan likes the idea of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry re-entering the playoff field.
It is up to each fan, but I lean rooting for the Steelers to lose in this case. Trey Hendrickson to the Colts is an idea that can only come to fruition in 2026 at the earliest and the Steelers losing has tangible benefits for the Colts in 2025....
