Indianapolis, IN
‘It’s gonna be high pressure’: Ericsson, Rahal, Coyne compete for final spots in Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS – After six hours of qualifying time and three qualifying attempts, Graham Rahal shot out of the priority lane at pit row as time expired. As soon as Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing shocked the field by moving into the Fast 12 with just seconds to spare, Rahal was on the oval track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
He was in the bottom four, staring the last chance qualifying round set for Sunday — the four slowest cars competing for three spots in the Indy 500 — in the face for the second year in a row. After the first lap of Rahal’s dramatic final attempt, he knew it wasn’t enough, expressing his frustration to his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew over his headset.
“When the car just doesn’t want to pull, there’s nothing you can do,” Rahal told NBC Sports moments later.
Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 is a game of inches – or milliseconds. 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson stared blankly at the table in front of him in the DEX Imaging Media Center just moments after his fate was sealed. His frustration wasn’t with his No. 28 Honda, it was with himself.
Ericsson’s crash Thursday during practice destroyed his primary car, sending him into qualifying with a backup car.
“I can only blame myself,” Ericsson said. “… Our car, for some reason, it’s not really got the speed or the grip at the moment. We just kept trying things, I thought we made some progress, but not enough.”
Yet Ericsson, now representing Andretti Global, felt that he took a step back in improving his backup car after his first round of qualifying. Feeling good going into qualifying given the circumstances, Ericsson was confused about his first-round finish in the bottom of the pack.
“We went out today and we were a lot slower than yesterday,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to us. … It’s really hard to go from a car they worked on for 12 months to a car they had to build over 24 hours.”
Ericsson posted a 230.342 mile-per-hour average lap speed on his second qualifying attempt, slotting in 30th of 34 drivers before being bumped into the bottom four soon after, a hole he couldn’t escape despite multiple attempts after.
Nolan Siegel and Katherine Legge of Dale Coyne Racing finished with two of the bottom four qualifying times after the first round. The 19-year-old rookie was in the same situation as Ericsson, driving a backup car after his crash on Turn 2 during Fast Friday. Siegel’s average lap speed of 226.621 mph was the worst of the first round, and his 228.276 speed on his second was still the slowest of the group.
“(The car is) really difficult to drive right now,” Siegel said. “It’s partly my fault, but we’ll figure it out. … At 230 mph, every bit of friction and drag matters.”
Legge “kissed” the outside wall on Turn 4 during her final lap of the first round of qualifying, almost suffering the same fate as her teammate did the day before, however, she finished the lap and posted an average speed of 230.244 mph.
“When you get in the (inside curbing) it just sucks you in, but it was corner four so I did what any sensible person would do,” Legge said. “I was staying flat come hell or high water.”
The No. 51 Honda driver said her strategy did not need to change going into the second attempt later in the day but she was concerned about her car. She said she certainly didn’t help the Dale Coyne engineers any by causing some light damage during her Turn 4 bump, but Legge also said some of the issues under the hood are more than could be fixed in a day.
“We’re quite a bit off right now. If we knew why, we’d be two mph faster,” Legge said.
An average lap speed of 230.830 mph was Legge’s second qualifying attempt, but it was less than a fifth of a second behind Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Pietro Fittipaldi, who posted a 231.100 mph average lap speed in round one. She went out to try twice more to no avail.
It was Rahal who posted the third-lowest average speed of the first round. After being bumped out of qualification for the Indianapolis 500 last season, Rahal said his frustration from 2023 continued to build after a poor finish during round one. He knew he would have to return to the track for a second try at qualifying after finishing with a 230.233 mph average lap speed, but his second attempt wasn’t good enough either, posting a 230.388 mph average to stay in the bottom four.
“For me, it’s disappointing,” Rahal said. “We shouldn’t be in this situation.”
Rahal’s biggest source of frustration from his first attempt boiled down to an unexpected mechanical issue. Shaking his head while in the car on the track, Rahal didn’t hide his exasperation; a feeling that stuck with him the rest of the day.
“It should have pulled fifth gear without any issue and it just simply didn’t,” Rahal said. “… It certainly seems like we’re just slow.”
Ericsson, Rahal, Legge and Siegel make up the official bottom four heading into the final day of qualifying, where the final three positions in the upcoming 108th Indianapolis 500 will be determined during a last chance qualifying round from 4:15-5:15 p.m. Sunday, May 19.
“This place is tough, I think everyone can say that,” Ericsson said. “… It’s hard, but if it was easy anyone could do it. It’s gonna be high pressure tomorrow, but I’ve done this long enough to know how to deal with that.”
Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.
Indianapolis, IN
3 Fantasy Takeaways from Chiefs’ Clutch Win Over Colts
It wasn’t pretty, but the Kansas City Chiefs got back on track against the Indianapolis Colts. They returned to their win column after two straight losses, downing Indy at Arrowhead, 23-20 in overtime, to move to 6-5 on the 2025 NFL season. Not only was this a huge victory for the Chiefs, but they also gave one of their potential Wild Card competitors their third defeat of the year.
It wasn’t Patrick Mahomes and the offense that led the way for Kansas City in this one. Instead, the defense kept them in the game while the Chiefs struggled on the other side of the ball. They allowed Daniel Jones and the Colts’ league-leading attack to gain just 255 total yards, as well as limiting Jonathan Taylor to a paltry 3.6 yards per carry.
KC’s offense actually put them in danger of losing this game, as one of Indy’s touchdowns came after a Patrick Mahomes interception that set the Colts up in the red zone. Still, the Chiefs did enough on O to get the win, stringing together a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter and overtime to complete the comeback.
1. Patrick Mahomes
It’s hard to say that Patrick Mahomes is back after this game. He finished Week 12 with 352 yards on 29-of-46 passing, but was shut out of the end zone entirely while throwing a costly interception early in the contest. He did get back to making plays with his legs, though, gaining 30 yards on four carries.
It wasn’t a fantastic fantasy day for Mahomes, as he finished with 18.08 points in standard leagues. However, it was an encouraging showing for his prospects for the rest of the season. The two-time MVP made several huge plays in this game to get his team the win. He’ll start finding the end zone once again, and it’s clear that this offense still runs through Mahomes’ arm.
2. Kareem Hunt
At 30 years old, Kareem Hunt just set a new career high. Not in touchdowns, yards, or even yards per attempt, but in carries, as he rushed the ball 30 times against the Indianapolis Colts. He converted them into 104 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t an incredibly efficient performance, but it’s clear that he has the trust of the coaching staff. So long as Isiah Pacheco remains out, Hunt is a must-start solely due to volume.
3. Rashee Rice & Xavier Worthy
Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy had arguably their best game as a tandem in this one. Neither found the end zone, but they combined for 12 catches and 200 yards receiving. Rice led the way with eight receptions for 141 yards.
Both wideouts made huge plays in crunch time to pull out KC’s first one-score victory of the season. Their fantasy managers will be hoping that they can use this game to build momentum for the home stretch of the fantasy campaign and the long-awaited playoffs.
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Indianapolis, IN
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes makes NFL history against Colts
The Kansas City Chiefs entered Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts at 5-5, sitting third in the AFC West behind the Denver Broncos (9-2) and Los Angeles Chargers (7-4).
The Colts, meanwhile, were one of the AFC’s hottest teams at 8-2, led by quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Jonathan Taylor.
At halftime, Indianapolis held a 14-6 lead, capitalizing on Patrick Mahomes’ early interception, who finished the half with 14-of-21 passing for 117 yards and one interception.
However, the biggest headline came in the second quarter, when Mahomes reached 35,000 career passing yards, becoming the fastest player in NFL history to achieve the milestone.
Read More: Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell Announces Brutal Injury News Hours Before Packers Game
Since being drafted 10th overall in 2017, Mahomes has become the face of the league, now boasting more than 35,000 passing yards along with over 260 passing touchdowns across nine NFL seasons.
Over that span, he has earned two NFL MVPs, three Super Bowl MVPs, three Super Bowl titles, and six Bro Bowl selections.
In 2018, his first year as the Chiefs’ full-time starter, he became just the second player in league history to throw for more than 5,000 yards (5,097) and 50 touchdowns (50), alongside Colts legend Peyton Manning.
Sunday’s performance also moved Mahomes inside the top 35 all-time in career passing yards.
Read More: Buccaneers’ Todd Bowles Offers New Bucky Irving Update Amid Injury Concerns
Heading into Week 12, Mahomes ranked fifth in passing yards (2,625) and seventh in touchdowns (18), along with just six interceptions and the third-best QBR (72.7) this season.
He was previously listed as the odds-on favorite to win the MVP, but back-to-back losses to the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos have slowed momentum and quickly put the Chiefs’ season in jeopardy.
After Indianapolis, Kansas City will travel to Dallas for a primetime Thanksgiving game against the Cowboys on November 27.
The Chiefs then face the Texans at Arrowhead, host the Chargers, visit the Titans in Tennessee, return home against the Broncos, and finish the stretch on the road in Las Vegas.
With three of these being key divisional matchups, Kansas City will need Mahomes to keep producing at a high level to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Indianapolis, IN
Early 2026 Mock Draft Predicts Colts Fix Defensive Issues
The Indianapolis Colts will walk into high-level hostile territory tomorrow afternoon when they face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
If Indianapolis can win and move to 9-2, while sending the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs to 5-6, it will give them a massive momentum boost as they embark on the rest of their tough schedule.
Recently, the Colts added superstar Sauce Gardner to Lou Anarumo’s defense, removing their first-rounders for 2026 and 2027. However, in Pro Football Network’s early mock draft from James Fragoza, Indy still feels defense is a need to add to.
Here are the picks in Fragoza’s mock for the Colts.
Round 2 – Pick 60 | Safety Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
“From effort to instincts to feel in zone, Dillon Thieneman is a defensive coordinator’s dream in the deep third. He may not have the jaw-dropping athletic abilities of others in the defensive backfield, but he’s nearly always in the correct position.”
Oregon Ducks safety Dillon Thieneman is a perfect fit for Lou Anarumo’s defense, if the veteran coordinator remains with Indianapolis in 2026.
Thieneman started his college career with the Purdue Boilermakers, putting up 210 tackles, six picks, nine pass breakups, and two fumbles forced during his 24 games with Purdue.
However, after joining the Ducks, he’s continued his defensive efficiency. This year, Thieneman has put up 49 tackles, a pick, and four pass breakups.
Thieneman has also displayed fantastic Pro Football Focus grades of 84.1 overall, 78.7 tackles, 89.2 coverage. and 10 stops (constitutes a ‘failure’ for the offense.)
If the Colts decide to select Thieneman, he adds much-needed coverage ability to the safety room with Nick Cross and Cam Bynum. Given that Indy also has seventh-rounder Hunter Wohler, adding Thieneman gives them a complete safety room.
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Round 3 – Pick 92 | Linebacker Whit Weeks, LSU
“Although Whit Weeks isn’t as hyped as Harold Perkins Jr., he’s delivered big-time results as LSU’s rangy linebacker, racking up 125 tackles last year and staying productive despite a late-season leg injury this season.
His speed and instincts pop off the tape, and he’s tough enough to stack blocks and cover ground.”
The Colts have starting linebackers Zaire Franklin and Germaine Pratt, but neither excels in pass coverage. The Colts do have Jaylon Carlies, but he’s hardly played and remains injured.
Enter LSU linebacker, Whit Weeks.
Weeks has covered pass-catchers well this year in his six games, as well as stacked 29 tackles, 2.5 tackles or loss, and 1.0 sacks. Even with his ankle injury, Weeks is a solid add to any defense.
Last year with the Tigers, Whit led the NCAA in solo tackles with 61, but also looked fantastic in stopping ball carriers in the backfield with 10.0 tackles for loss.
This would be an excellent addition to Indy’s defense and gives more depth to a linebacker position that desperately needs more help in pass coverage. Keep an eye on for the Colts to be interested in a player like Weeks.
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