Colts Have Humorous 'Winner' and 'Losers' of NFL Schedule

Have you ever bought an outfit that you loved so much that you didn't care when it was appropriate to wear it, you were just gonna do it anyway? That's what many people think about the Indianapolis Colts and their "Indiana Nights" uniforms.

The Colts unveiled their alternate theme back in 2023 and have worn it once each in the two seasons following; against the Cleveland Browns in 2023 and last year against the Detroit Lions. The only problem is that the Colts have only worn their Indiana Nights uniforms during 1:00 p.m. kickoffs.

In their defense, they didn't have any pre-scheduled primetime games in 2023, and their only one last year was on the road and also got flexed to a 1:00 p.m. start (it turns out no one wanted to watch the Colts vs. New York Jets before going to bed).

As of 2025, the inappropriate outfit choice is no more, as the Colts have one primetime game scheduled -- Week 16 at Lucas Oil Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football -- and they are donning the Indiana Nights uniforms. Unless, y'know, the NFL flexes the game out of primetime again.

Nate Davis of USA Today Sports calls this a "win" for the NFL schedule release:

"It’s been two years since Indianapolis unveiled its alternate uniform, which features a black helmet and "heathered" uniform design – the team claims the locals clamored for these," Davis wrote. "Unfortunately, the Colts have been relegated to wearing the 'Indiana Nights' kit for 1 p.m. ET kickoffs because they haven’t been relevant enough to play ... at night.

"But fear not, the Colts will host the San Francisco 49ers on 'Monday Night Football' in Week 16," Davis continued. "Open the Lucas Oil Stadium roof and drink in the Indiana stars, you Hoosiers!"

To counter that win, the Colts took a couple of losses in Davis' observations. First is the now-infamous schedule release video that the Colts originally put out on Wednesday night, but took down shortly thereafter due to "including an insensitive clip involving Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill" as well as "exceeding our rights with Microsoft."

"The schedule release is tantamount to the Super Bowl for social departments throughout the league as they brew up a mixture of creativity, shade and anticipation while rolling out their respective teams’ fall lineup," Davis wrote. "USA TODAY Sports' Jordan Mendoza ranked this year's efforts, and the Los Angeles Chargers once again distinguished themselves. The Colts did not ... hardly the first time the franchise has been embarrassed in the Super Bowl, regardless of version. The team apologized to Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill on Thursday."

Davis also bemoans what the NFL is doing to the country of Germany for potentially subjecting them to Daniel Jones quarterbacking a team in front of their fans once again.

"Decades removed from World War II, they’ve been valued American allies for the past 80 years," Davis wrote. "Yet we keep sending them Daniel Jones as an NFL ambassador? Maybe Volkswagen is still being penalized for that emissions scandal …"

Jones was the starting quarterback for the New York Giants in 2024 in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Munich, Germany. Jones averaged 5.1 yards per pass attempt in the game, was sacked twice, and turned the ball over another two times.