Indianapolis, IN
Colts’ Updated Playoff Picture Revealed
Following Saturday’s blowout from the Los Angeles Chargers and a narrow victory from the Cincinnati Bengals over the Denver Broncos, the Indianapolis Colts‘ playoff chances are still alive heading into their final two contests of the season.
Yet, while the road for the Colts to go dancing in the postseason is feasible, it won’t be a simple feat.
With the Chargers’ 40-7 victory over the New England Patriots, they effectively lock themselves into the 7th playoff spot in the AFC, leaving one spot up for grabs between the Colts, Bengals, and Miami Dolphins.
The task for the Colts is simple across the upcoming two games: win out.
With the NFL’s 32nd-ranked strength of schedule against the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, securing two wins down the stretch to go 9-8 on the season sounds simple enough. However, if the Colts want to find their way into that 7th seed, they’ll need some additional help, even if they win out.
Indianapolis will need to be in a three or four-way tie with the Broncos at a 9-8 record alongside the Bengals and/or the Dolphins in Week 18 to have what it takes to get the last spot in the AFC.
For that outcome to transpire, the Broncos will need to lose against the Kansas City Chiefs, along with either the Bengals defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers, or the Dolphins winning vs. both the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets to tie with the Colts. If that happens, while the Colts take care of their business– they’re in.
Bengals win. Which means if the Colts win out all they need next week is another Bengals win (Steelers) and another Broncos loss (Chiefs) and they’re the 7th seed and in the playoffs.
— Landon Oliver (@Landon3MR) December 29, 2024
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In the event of a multi-team tie in the standings, the deciding factor turns to each team’s win-loss record against their respective conference if they haven’t played head-to-head. For this case, Denver would have a 5-7 record against the AFC, Cincinnati would have a 6-6 record, and Indianapolis and Miami would tie at 7-5 if the Dolphins win out.
Since the Colts beat the Dolphins in Week 7, they have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami, so long as Indianapolis wins out over the final two weeks.
Simply put, a lot needs to go the Colts’ way over this week and next to make a last-ditch effort for a postseason run, but it’s far from out of the cards.
The first step to making such a miracle happen for Indianapolis lands on Sunday afternoon when Joe Flacco and the Colts travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the Giants at 1:00 PM.
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See the truck in the White River where officials performed a water rescue
The Indianapolis Fire Department was called to the river when a man swam out to the pickup, prompting an emergency water rescue.
Karen Rutledge was walking her dogs along the shore of the White River just before 3 p.m. on June 24 when she saw a man standing in the bed of a pickup stranded in the middle of the river.
She had received word of a potential drowning on the river from a public safety app and went to check it out, she said.
“I saw a guy standing on the truck, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s weird,’” she said. “And then I saw all the fire engines and everything.”
The Indianapolis Fire Department was called to the river when a man swam out to the pickup, prompting an emergency water rescue. Divers went out to the vehicle in a rescue boat, IFD Battalion Chief Candace Ashby said, and brought the man back to shore.
IFD Special Operations Command Capt. Chris Van Roo said the man told Department of Natural Resources officers he swam out to check whether anyone was in the vehicle. He is not believed to be the pickup’s owner and left the scene shortly after being brought safely to shore, both IFD and Rutledge said.
The pickup, a dark-colored Chevrolet, has been sitting in the river near West 16th Street and Waterway Boulevard — just off the bank of Belmont Beach — since Monday evening or Tuesday morning, first responders told IndyStar.
With potential incoming rain sweeping through Indianapolis this week, Ashby said, the DNR may not be able to remove the pickup from the river for several days.
“We just hope that no other [people go] to that truck,” she said.
Low-head dams along river pose dangers to those in the water
The pickup is stuck near the Emrichsville Dam on the White River at Belmont Beach. More than two years ago, the city received a $750,000 federal grant to remove the low-head dam as part of a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service effort to improve fish passage and safe recreational use of the river.
The Department of Public Works did not immediately respond to IndyStar’s inquiry about the status of the project.
Low-head dams can be extremely unsafe to those out on the water. In April 2024, two kayakers – Marcus Robinson, 30, and Solomon Shirley, 22 – drowned after their boats went over the Emrichsville Dam and were found capsized. In 2021, 17-year-old Kevin Rodriguez drowned near the same dam.
“Any low-head dam is dangerous,” Van Roo said, encouraging those on the river to be aware of their surroundings.
Mia Thurow is the breaking news and criminal justice reporting intern for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at mthurow@gannett.com. Reporter Ryan Murphy contributed to this article.
The Indianapolis Colts features some of the best players in the NFL, and those key names will be leaned on to achieve success and finally take a step over the hump of mediocrity.
In a recent article from Zachary Pereles at CBS Sports, he highlights the 100 most important players in the NFL ahead of the 2026 campaign.
For the Colts, three players land firmly on the list, and with good reason: this trio will be critical for Indianapolis to make the playoffs to keep jobs intact and the current setup in line.
Let’s begin.
No. 27: Daniel Jones | Quarterback
“Jones was outplaying even the highest expectations early in the year before fracturing his leg and then tearing his Achilles tendon a few weeks later. Can he get back to his 2025 form?”
Daniel Jones had a completely unforeseen career resurgence with the Colts in 2025. After beating out Anthony Richardson Sr. for the starting gig, he never looked back.
Jones was tearing defenses apart for the first 10 weeks of the season, leading Indy to an 8-2 record that put the Colts at the top of the NFL and a frontrunner for a Super Bowl push.
However, his production started to dip before a fractured fibula and subsequent season-ending Achilles tear. Regardless, this was the best Jones had ever looked in seven years as an NFL QB.
Now, the pressure is on, and many critics are stacked against him. Indy’s entire season rests on his health and efficiency under center.
If Jones can get back to square one, then this offense could resume its dominant ways. However, if he gets injured or defenses catch up to him in Shane Steichen’s offense, it could spell doom for this franchise.
No. 28: Sauce Gardner | Cornerback
“The Colts, looking like real contenders, sent two first-round picks to the Jets for Gardner. Then Daniel Jones and Gardner were both injured in the same game. Gardner’s injury was only a calf strain, luckily, but the quickest path for the Colts to get back to contention has him at the top of his game as Jones recovers.”
As Pereles puts in Sauce Gardner’s entry, the Colts went all-in on pushing for a Super Bowl by sending their 2026 and 2027 first-rounders to the New York Jets to obtain the top-level cornerback.
Pairing him with Charvarius Ward, this cornerback duo looked like a lethal combination. However, not only did Ward get sidelined with continued concussions, but Gardner succumbed to a calf strain that kept him to just four games with the Colts last year.
We didn’t get to see much of Gardner in Lou Anarumo’s scheme last year, but until proven otherwise, he’s still one of the hardest cornerbacks for any pass-catcher to shake.
As long as Ward and Gardner remain healthy and play well in Anarumo’s scheme, it will help Indy’s pass-rush and give quarterbacks and receivers a difficult time operating.
Even in his four games with Indianapolis, he still locked down receivers and took away areas of the field, limiting the options for opposing quarterbacks.
Given how much the Colts had to invest to get Gardner, he needs have a big 2026 season for that massive trade with the Jets to pay off. Even if it’s just been one season, it already looks like the Jets won the trade.
It will be up to Gardner to smash that narrative, and outside of DeForest Buckner, he’s arguably the most important defensive player on Indy’s roster.
No. 69: Jonathan Taylor | Running Back
“Taylor led the NFL in rushes (323) and rushing touchdowns (18) and was fueling one of the NFL’s very best offenses before Daniel Jones tore his Achilles. He’ll be the focal point again, and perhaps even more so early on as Jones finishes off his recovery.”
A player who needs no introduction, Jonathan Taylor is the gas, engine, wheels, and vehicle of Steichen’s offense.
Taylor put on another insane performance, rivaling his incredible 2021 season, where he led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,811. To reference last year, Taylor stacked up 1,585 rushing yards, 20 all-purpose TDs, and 99 total first downs.
While Gardner might be the most important defensive player on the roster, Taylor is the most important player on the entire team, regardless of whatever side of the ball is in question.
Running backs have a short shelf life in the NFL, but so far, Taylor looks like a player who is an exception to the rule.
This is no knock on the rest of Indy’s offensive talent, but without Taylor in the backfield, it makes things far easier to predict for opposing defenses.
As long as he doesn’t hit any dropoff in production, he’ll continue to be fed the pigskin to propel this offense and set up Jones and the receiving corps for efficiency in 2026.
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July 13, 1931 – June 22, 2026
Karl E. Muszar, Jr., 94, Indianapolis, was called to his heavenly home June 22, 2026. He was born July 13, 1931, in Indianapolis to Karl E. Muszar, Sr. and Golda Lucille (Martin) Jones.
Karl was a 1949 graduate of Howe High School. He then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where he served until 1955. Following his military service, he attended Purdue University and in 1958 earned a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering. Karl worked for Allison Aircraft until 1975 at which time he started his own consulting business, Metallurgical Engineering of Indiana, Inc. Karl enjoyed photography and hiking in the mountains of Colorado. He served as a board member of Heritage Christian School from1971 to 2001.
In addition to his parents, Karl was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Barbara J. (Foulk) Muszar; sister, Boni Kennelly, and stepbrother, Wesley Jones.
Survivors include his daughter, Michelle (Mark) Anderson; son, Jeffrey Muszar; granddaughter, Brittany (Alex) Winfield; great-grandchildren, Krystiyan Hall, Czarina Green, Mikhail, and Odessa Winfield; and many nieces and nephews.
Family and friends will gather at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 27, 2026, at Colonial Hills Baptist Church, of which he was an active member, and where the funeral service will begin at noon.
Burial will follow in Union Chapel Cemetery. In memory of Karl, contributions may be directed to Colonial Hills Baptist Church-Missions, 8140 Union Chapel Road, Indianapolis, IN 46240. Envelopes will be available at the church.
Bussell Family Funerals is privileged to assist the family in arrangements. Condolences: bussellfamilyfunerals.com.
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