Indianapolis Colts’ 2024 NFL Schedule: Release date, opponents, biggest games, and predictions

The NFL offseason is entering its final laps as the 2024 NFL Draft has concluded.

Now, the Indianapolis Colts are turning their attention to UDFA signings , rookie minicamp, and finalizing their 90-man roster for this year's Training Camp.

While the NFL hasn't released the upcoming season's schedule quite yet, we do know the Colts' 2024 opponents. With the draft in the books, we now have a much clearer picture of what those teams will look like for the season.

So, let's not waste any more time and review everything we currently know about the Colts' 2024 schedule.

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Colts' Schedule Release Date

The NFL teased during the draft that the 2024 schedule would be released in May, although an exact date has not been announced. However, based on the last couple of years, it should come out around the middle of May, as it was released on May 12th, 2022, and May 11th, 2023.

Home and Away Opponents

Games played in Indianapolis, Indiana, at Lucas Oil Stadium: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears

Away Games: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos

Biggest Games on the Colts' 2024 Schedule

AFC South games: The days of the AFC South being one of the worst divisions in the NFL are over. All four teams entering next season believe they will be better teams in 2024 than they were in 2023. Each team has its eyes on the AFC South crown. There will be no easy divisional games for the Colts this season.

Young  QB Duels: All of the Colts' divisional matchups also fall in this category, but the Colts will potentially face many of the most promising young QBs in the NFL next season. This will allow the team and fans to see how Colts 2nd year QB Anthony Richardson stacks up.

• Houston Texas X 2 (C.J. Stroud)
• Jacksonville Jaguars X 2 (Trevor Lawerence)
• Tennessee Titans X 2 (Will Levis)
• Chicago Bears (Caleb Williams)
• New England Patriots (Drake Maye)
• Green Bay Packers (Jordan Love)
• Minnesota Vikings (J.J. McCarthy)
• Denver Broncos (Bo Nix)

Super Bowl Contenders: The Colts also have multiple of the top teams in the NFL who many view as Super Bowl contenders on their schedule.

• Buffalo Bills
• Miami Dolphins
• Detroit Lions

Predicting Primetime Matchups

The Colts don't typically receive many primetime games. But there are multiple intriguing matchups that could potentially draw a primetime window. Below are the games I believe have the best chance.

Houston Texans: A rematch of the Week 18 matchup that ended up being for the AFC South championship seems like a great option for a primetime slot. And the NFL would have two matchups to choose between to do so. With the Texans winning that matchup in Lucas Oil, I'd assume the game @ Houston would be more likely of the two. That Week 18 matchup was missing Anthony Richardon, which robbed us of a Stroud vs Richardson duel for the AFC South crown.

Chicago Bears: I have a feeling that the new-look Bears, led by Caleb Williams, will end up with a solid amount of primetime games. And with the Colts also having a young, exciting QB in Richardson, I think this matchup has to be in consideration.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Pittsburgh Steelers end up with among the most primetime games in the NFL, no matter the outlook around their roster. This next season, though, they have a QB duo of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, where either of them playing raises their floor as a roster higher than when Kenny Pickett was under center.

Other Matchup Storylines:

Aaron Rodgers with the Jets: The Colts have faced future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers multiple times over the years, but never with the New York Jets. Rodgers injured himself on the very first possession of the season, derailing his first season away from the Packers. This makes this upcoming season feel like his true first year there.

New Look Patriots: The Colts and Patriots rivalry, even after both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have both played elsewhere since, has lived on in recent matchups. The hatred between both fan bases is evident each time these teams play each other. This time around, though, we will be without Bill Belichick as the Patriots head coach, so I guess we will have to wait and see if the emotions surrounding this rivalry remain.

Strength of Schedule

Sharp Football Analysis uses Vegas' current win projections for each team to create a more accurate strength of schedule graph. Their most recent graph can be seen below. Disclaimer: their most recent graph was made before the 2024 NFL Draft and has not been altered via the results.

Related: Grading the Colts 2024 NFL Draft class