The Indianapolis Colts emerged as arguably the top surprise of the 2025 NFL season by winning eight of 10 games ahead of their Week 11 bye.
Coming off that break, Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. sent a message to those who previously doubted what the club could achieve during the ongoing campaign.
Michael Pittman Jr. rips preseason predictions after Colts’ 8-2 start
“I would personally rather people underestimate us, just because it gives us that edge. For whatever reason, people don’t want to believe,” Pittman recently said, as Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star shared on Tuesday. “At the beginning of the season, there were experts telling us we were only going to win three games, and we saw that.”
Numerous outsiders scoffed when the Colts signed quarterback Daniel Jones to a one-year “prove it” deal this past offseason after he went 3-13 in his last 16 starts with the New York Giants. Per Pro Football Reference, Jones heads into Week 12 ranked eighth in the league among qualified players with a 66.4 adjusted QBR and third with 2,659 total passing yards on the season. That said, some concerns arose after he was responsible for six fumbles (three lost) and four interceptions over two games before the Colts’ bye.
Meanwhile, ESPN stats show that Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor leads the league with 1,139 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.
“We saw all that talk about how, ‘Danny Dimes can’t do this or can’t do that,’ and, ‘This offense can’t do this, blah, blah, blah.’ We haven’t paid attention to it,” Pittman continued. “We know we have good players. …The defense this year has been lights out. The offensive line is killing it, and (Taylor) is an MVP front-runner. We’re gonna keep pushing. It doesn’t stop here.”
Michael Pittman Jr. shares Colts’ mindset ahead of Chiefs game
As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had the Colts as 3.5-point road underdogs for their game at the Kansas City Chiefs this coming Sunday. The 5-5 Chiefs wouldn’t be a playoff team if the season ended on Tuesday, but Pittman suggested the Colts will treat Kansas City like a legitimate Super Bowl contender throughout the week.
“We’ve gotta know that our work isn’t done,” Pittman added. “Yeah, we’re sitting at 8-2, but we still have a lot of good teams out in front of us. Any time you play the Chiefs, they always play tough. Just knowing we have to go there and play in one of the most hostile environments in all of football – their fans do a really great job of showing up and being loud – you can never take them lightly because they have so much talent, and their record doesn’t tell the full story.”
