The Indianapolis Colts have missed the playoffs in four straight seasons. Two of those seasons were under head coach Shane Steichen, but general manager Chris Ballard was there for all of them.

Heading into the 2025 season, Steichen and Ballard are both at risk of losing their jobs if results don’t come soon. The leash has been shortened drastically for Indianapolis’ front office following a pair of mediocre seasons that were filled with quarterback controversies.

2023 fourth-overall pick Anthony Richardson has struggled to stay on the field, starting 15 of a possible 34 games. In those 15 games he’s started, Richardson has left the field early due to injury in three of them. Basically, Richardson has finished 12 full NFL games.

The Colts signed former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones at the start of free agency in an attempt to foster competition for the starting job, but that might not do much if the goal is postseason football, and that isn’t achieved.

Bleacher Report analyst Brad Gagnon described every team’s “nightmare scenario” for the 2025 season, and for the Colts, it revolves around the success of Richardson and Jones.

“A scenario in which they win enough games to lack significant Round 1 draft capital but also don’t get enough out of either Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones to be confident in the quarterback situation entering 2026,” wrote Gagnon.

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The Colts have had two straight years of mid-first-round picks, selecting 15th overall in 2024 and 14th overall in 2025. Indianapolis is missing out on top-10 talent while simultaneously falling short of meaningful football.

Through two seasons, Steichen has coached the Colts to 17 wins and an equal number of losses. That sort of mediocrity can’t fly if he wants to stay in charge. Richardson and Jones will play a major role in determining not only this franchise’s future, but Steichen’s and Ballard’s as well.

Last year, Richardson started 11 games and threw for 1,814 yards, eight touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Jones started 10 games in New York and won just two of them while throwing for 2,070 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

Neither guy sticks out, but Richardson likely has the upper edge thanks to his connections to the front office. It’d be a better look for the organization for the guy they drafted to lead the team to the playoffs, but that’s far from a guarantee.

The Colts need reliable quarterback play more than anything. Having the same guy under center for every snap would help, too. Letting receivers and blockers feel more comfortable with who they’re protecting is step one in building a Super Bowl-worthy team.

No matter who wins the job, the Colts should try to stick with them for as long as possible. There’s no point in flip-flopping starters every week, especially if the result is a loss every time.

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INDIANAPOLIS — Imagine… A sports bar for women, showcasing women’s sports. Sports Bra is coming to Indianapolis.

“I think it’s a great idea. The concept is great,” Monique McIntyre, from Chicago, said.

“They just never put them on anywhere. I mean, that’s the problem. It’s just always been in the background. Now it’s, it’s must-see TV, right up front,” women’s sports fan Barb Brondyke said.

“I just remember wanting to be in the NBA, you know, from a really young age. And then when the WNBA started and when the Dream Team with Lisa Leslie and Cheryl Swoopes, and Cynthia Cooper were on TV, I was just like, that’s it. This is our time now,” Jenny Nguyen, Founder and CEO of Sports Bra, said.

Nguyen has always understood the reach of women’s sports. But it wasn’t until much later that she decided to create a space dedicated to women’s leagues.

“When it came to the idea of having a space, a sports bar that was dedicated to women’s sports, I didn’t know that it was a novel thing until I went to go online and wonder how other ones have done. And I realized that it hadn’t been done yet,” Nguyen said.

Her vision opened its doors in 2022. She said one tweet saying “at the sports bra” allowed her to expand her business beyond Portland and into a franchise, now opening locations in Las Vegas, Boston, St. Louis, and right here in Indianapolis.

“Indianapolis, I mean, there’s no doubt that there has been the Fever,” said Nguyen. “There’s always been this huge basketball fandom. You know, it’s, it feels like as old as the dirt in Indiana, right? And it’s homegrown, it’s in the water and the Caitlin Clark effect, Aliyah Boston effect. It watered the already fertile ground, and now we’re starting to see it blossom for women’s sports in a way that is undeniable,” she added.

Fans of women’s sports are excited for a space dedicated to women’s sports. A group of childhood friends traveled all the way from Iowa for Tuesday’s Fever home game.

“Any bar that you go into, and today, when we went in, they were showing baseball, and they were showing a replay of a men’s game. So to be able to go in and see nothing but women’s golf and women’s softball — the College World Series is going on right now — to be able to see those things and not have to ask. That’s awesome,” Brondyke said.

A movement, Nguyen said, brings her joy to be a part of.

“Girl, Amber, I was not going to cry today. You’re not going to make me cry,” said Nguyen. “It is such a blessing to be part of this movement. You’ve heard the term, it’s not a moment, it’s a movement, and it really, truly is a movement. And I do think that we’re at the beginning.”

Nguyen said her goal is to have the Indianapolis “Sports Bra” along with the other locations up and running by the end of 2026.

ESPN has its stat projections for the 2025 season for Indianapolis Colts’ second year WR AD Mitchell.

ESPN has released its 2025 projections, including the projected stat lines for Indianapolis Colts’ second-year wide receiver AD Mitchell.

So what might Year 2 look like, production-wise, for Mitchell?

Mike Clay, who puts these projections together each year, has Mitchell catching 30-of-55 targets for 429 yards with three touchdowns.

Year 1 was a very inconsistent season for Mitchell. We saw flashes of the speed, ability to separate, and playmaking potential, but we also saw dropped passes, him and the quarterback not being on the same page, and mistimed routes.

On game days, Mitchell was either the fourth or sometimes fifth wide receiver, behind Ashton Dulin, when it came to playing time. He finished his rookie year catching just 23-of-51 targets (45.1%) at 13.6 yards per catch with no touchdowns, per PFF.

As GM Chris Ballard said after the 2024 season, when asked about Mitchell, this year will be about finding that consistency. With the combination of speed and suddenness as a route runner that Mitchell possesses, he has the potential to attack all three levels of the field and do so in a variety of ways, which can be a stressor for a defense.

However, earning more targets, taking on more of those route running responsibilities, and not only being a deep threat like he often was in 2024, goes back to being more consistent.

But even if that is achieved, Mitchell finding an abundance of snaps may still be hard to come by in a receiver room with Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce, along with Tyler Warren at tight end. There are only so many snaps and targets to go around.

“That next step is like, alright, let me learn my role, let me focus on the things I can control and move from there,” said receivers coach Reggie Wayne. “He’s backing up Alec right now. I mean, you can’t throw Alec away. Alec just had a great year. Just coming in understanding, and understanding your place, but when your number is called, let’s make sure we hit a home run and not just a base hit.”