{"id":233458,"date":"2025-05-21T12:21:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T16:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=233458"},"modified":"2025-05-21T12:21:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T16:21:13","slug":"why-the-indianapolis-colts-can-win-the-afc-south-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/05\/21\/why-the-indianapolis-colts-can-win-the-afc-south-in-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Indianapolis Colts Can Win the AFC South in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Indianapolis Colts could win the AFC South title in 2025. They haven\u2019t won the division since back in 2014. Yeah, that was a long time ago. Andrew Luck was the quarterback back then. Again, that was a long<\/em> time ago.<\/p>\n

The Colts almost won the AFC South two seasons ago. However, they lost to the Houston Texans<\/a> in the regular season finale. Meanwhile, the Texans won the division that year, led by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud<\/a>. The Texans won the AFC South again last year, and they\u2019re expected to do it again in 2025. But don\u2019t rule out the Colts capturing the title.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jan 18, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) drops back to pass during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs in a 2025 AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why the Indianapolis Colts Can Win the AFC South in 2025<\/h2>\n

Possibly-Improved Defense<\/h3>\n

In 2024, the Colts finished with an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs. A bad defense was one of the reasons for the team\u2019s disappointing year. Fortunately, the defense should be much better in 2025. Indianapolis parted ways with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and replaced him with Lou Anarumo<\/a>. Anarumo\u2019s defense helped the Cincinnati Bengals make a Super Bowl appearance during the 2021 campaign<\/p>\n

This offseason, the Colts gave Anarumo an upgraded defense to work with. The team signed quality defenders like Charvarius Ward, Camryn Bynum, and Joe Bachie. Later in the draft, they selected edge-rusher J.T. Tuimoloau, cornerback Justin Wally, and defensive tackle Tim Smith.<\/p>\n

The new guys could team with defenders like DeForest Buckner, Kenny Moore II, and Zaire Franklin to give Indy a top-notch defense this upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Talented Offense<\/h3>\n

The Colts have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball as well. They lost<\/a> center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries to the Minnesota Vikings. Yet their offensive line should still be fine<\/a> without the duo. Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves, Kelly and Fries\u2019 replacements, should step up and do a commendable job. Plus, Indy still has seven-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson.<\/p>\n

The Colts also have a good wide receiver room that\u2019s led by Michael Pittman, Jr., Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce. Plus, tight end Tyler Warren, whom the team drafted<\/a> 14th overall this year, could immediately emerge as a star.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Colts still have Jonathan Taylor on the roster. The 2021 rushing champion remains one of the best running backs in the NFL. This offseason, the team signed a solid backup for Taylor in Khalil Herbert and drafted D.J. Giddens out of Kansas State. They should provide much-needed depth.<\/p>\n

Quarterback is a huge question mark, though. Anthony Richardson<\/a> and Daniel Jones will battle for the starting job. Who will win? Look for Richardson to be QB1. Richardson, the fourth overall pick in 2023, has gotten off to a disappointing start to his career. He has battled several injuries and struggled as a passer. Yet, he has shown flashes of becoming a star.<\/p>\n

Richardson is primed for a breakout year. It\u2019s time for him to prove he’s the franchise quarterback he was predicted to be. Look for him to lead the Colts to an AFC South title this year. Indy fans have waited a long time.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Grace Hollars\/IndyStar-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the 2025 season, the Indianapolis Colts are primed to win the AFC South title for the first time since 2014. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":233625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[54,12],"tags":[9564,7800,6237,4817],"class_list":["post-233458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-colts","tag-anthony-richardson","tag-indianapolis-colts-news","tag-jonathan-taylor","tag-lou-anarumo"],"modified_by":"Will Koshover, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233458"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233626,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233458\/revisions\/233626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}