We've known who the Colts will play in 2022 since the end of the 2021 regular season, but we now know in what order they'll play those teams. To find dates, kickoff times and TV networks for the Colts' 2022 schedule, click here.
But an illustrative way to think about the Colts' schedule is to look at it through the lens of the quarterbacks they'll face this season. Among them: Two Super Bowl winners and six former top-10 picks; all but three opponents have a quarterback on their roster who's started a playoff game. Here are the signal-callers the Colts are on deck to face this season:
Week 1: @ Houston Texans
- 2021 starters: Davis Mills, Tyrod Taylor
- On the roster: Davis Mills, Kyle Allen, Jeff Driskel, Kevin Hogan
While Mills' raw numbers as a rookie may not have seemed impressive – 6.8 yards per attempt, 16 touchdowns to 10 interceptions and a 2-9 record – he had a couple of fantastic games that flashed some intriguing upside.
In Week 5, Mills completed 72 percent of his passes for 312 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Patriots; in Week 16, he led an upset of the Chargers by completing 78 percent of his passes for 254 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions; in Week 18, he nearly engineered an upset over the Titans by completing 70 percent fo his passes for 301 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Mills did not have much success against the Colts, though – he completed 35 of 57 passes (61 percent) for 292 yards (5.1 Y/A) with no touchdowns, two interceptions and a passer rating of 60.
Week 2: @ Jacksonville Jaguars
- 2021 starter: Trevor Lawrence
- On the roster: Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Beathard, Jake Luton, E.J. Perry
Lawrence, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, led the NFL with 17 interceptions and completed just under 60 percent of his passes as a rookie. But the Jaguars hired the offensive-minded Doug Pederson as head coach and re-vamped the weapons around Lawrence with free agency signings like Christian Kirk, Zay Jones and Evan Engram.
Lawrence, of course, possesses plenty of talent and quarterbacking skill – Pro Football Focus earlier this year tabbed him as a breakout candidate for the Jaguars in 2022.
And we all know how Lawrence ended 2021 on a high note for him – he completed a season-high 72 percent of his passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 111.8 passer rating in Jacksonville's 26-11 win over the Colts in Week 18.
Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs
- 2021 starter: Patrick Mahomes
- On the roster: Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne, Shake Buechele, Anthony Gordon, Dustin Crum
Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP, is entering his fifth year as the Chiefs' starting quarterback – and Kansas City has made it to at least the AFC Championship Game in each of his four seasons as a starter. The Chiefs are 50-13 with Mahomes starting; one of those 13 losses, though, was to the Colts in 2019.
In 2021, Mahomes posted his lowest passer rating (98.5) as the Chiefs' starter – yet he still threw for 4,839 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Week 4: Tennessee Titans
- 2021 starter: Ryan Tannehill
- On the roster: Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis, Logan Woodside
Tannehill's 2021 passer rating of 89.6 was his lowest since 2015, and his 14 interceptions were his highest total since his second year in the NFL. Still, the Titans went 12-5 and earned the AFC No. 1 seed – and that was with Derrick Henry missing the second half of the season.
Tannehill completed 41/60 passes (68 percent) for 462 yards (7.7 yards/attempt) with six touchdowns, four interceptions and a passer rating of 96.7 against the Colts in 2021.
Week 5: @ Denver Broncos (Thursday Night Football)
- 2021 starter: Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Lock
- On the roster: Russell Wilson, Brett Rypien, Josh Johnson
The Broncos kicked off an unprecedented offseason of player movement by trading three first-round picks and a package of players to the Seattle Seahawks for one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in the league in Wilson.
The 33-year-old Super Bowl winner and nine-time Pro Bowler will join up with former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was hired as the Broncos' head coach earlier this year, and a solid group of teammates around him.
Wilson threw four touchdowns to lead the Seahawks past the Colts in Week 1 of the 2021 season.
Week 6: Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 7: @ Tennessee Titans
Week 8: Washington Commanders
- 2021 starter: Taylor Heinicke
- On the roster: Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke, Sam Howell, Cole Kelley
Washington traded a 2022 third-round pick and a 2023 conditional third-round pick to the Colts in exchange for Wentz back in March. In Wentz's lone year with the Colts, he completed 62 percent of his passes, averaged 6.9 yards per attempt and threw 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Commanders selected Howell in the fifth round (144th overall) of this year's NFL Draft, and also have Heinicke – who threw for 300 yards against the eventual Super Bowl champion Buccaneers in a Wild Card playoff game two years ago – on their roster as well.
Week 9: @ New England Patriots
- 2021 starter: Mac Jones
- On the roster: Mac Jones, Brian Hoyer, Bailey Zappe
An example of why we don't always know in the spring what will happen in the fall: At this time last year, Jones was slated to compete with veteran Cam Newton to be the Patriots' starting quarterback. Jones won the job, then quarterbacked the Patriots to the playoffs by completing 68 percent of his passes for 3,801 yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, good for a 92.5 passer rating.
Jones' accuracy and processing ability made him a solid NFL starting quarterback in Year 1. He returns to a Patriots roster that's mostly intact from 2021 – but will be without offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who was hired as the Las Vegas Raiders' head coach.
The Colts got the better of Jones in Week 15 of last season in their 27-17 win at Lucas Oil Stadium. Jones was picked off twice – by Darius Leonard and Bobby Okereke – and completed only 58 percent of his passes, his second-lowest rate of his rookie season.
Week 10: @ Las Vegas Raiders
- 2021 starter: Derek Carr
- On the roster: Derek Carr, Nick Mullens, Jarrett Stidham, Chase Garbers
Carr threw for a career high 4,804 yards in 2021 and steadily quarterbacked the Raiders to the playoffs amid a tumultuous season. The Raiders, with a new general manager (Dave Ziegler) and head coach (Josh McDaniels), signed Carr to a multi-year extension this offseason.
Carr led Las Vegas to a 23-20 win over the Colts in Week 17 of the 2021 season, which helped vault the Raiders into the postseason for the first time since 2016.
Week 11: Philadelphia Eagles
- 2021 starter: Jalen Hurts
- On the roster: Jalen Hurts, Gardner Minshew, Reid Sinnett, Carson Strong
Paired with first-year head coach and former Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni, Hurts quarterbacked the Eagles to a playoff berth in 2021. Hurts did a ton of damage on the ground – 139 carries for 784 yards (5.6 yards per attempt) with 10 touchdowns – and completed 61 percent of his passes for 3,144 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Week 12: Pittsburgh Steelers (Monday Night Football)
- 2021 starter: Ben Roethlisberger (retired)
- On the roster: Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Chris Oladokum
Following the retirement of Roethlisberger, the Steelers signed Trubisky – the former No. 2 overall pick – in free agency and drafted Pickett No. 20 overall. Along with Rudolph, who started 10 games for the Steelers from 2019-2021, head coach Mike Tomlin said he expects a "fierce competition" in the coming months to determine who Pittsburgh's QB1 will be.
Trubisky only attempted eight passes (one of which was intercepted by Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin) in 2021 while he backed up Josh Allen with the Buffalo Bills. Prior to that, he completed 64 percent of his passes and averaged 6.7 yards per attempt with 64 touchdowns, 38 interceptions and a passer rating of 87.0 in four seasons with the Chicago Bears.
Pickett finished third in last year's Heisman Trophy balloting after completing 67 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards with 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions for Pitt in 2021.
Rudolph owns a career 80.9 passer rating over 17 games (10 starts) since the Steelers drafted him in the third round (76th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Week 13: @ Dallas Cowboys (Sunday Night Football)
- 2021 starter: Dak Prescott
- On the roster: Dak Prescott, Cooper Rush, Will Grier, Ben DiNucci
Prescott returned from a gruesome leg injury in 2020 to put together one of his finest seasons as a pro in 2021. He set career highs in completion percentage (68.8 percent) and touchdowns (37) while throwing for 4,449 yards to push the Cowboys to an NFC East title. With this game slated for Sunday Night Football, it's worth pointing out Prescott is 18-9 in primetime over his career – and he's started more primetime games (27) than early afternoon games (23) in six seasons with the Cowboys.
Week 14: Bye week
Week 15: @ Minnesota Vikings
- 2021 starter: Kirk Cousins
- On the roster: Kirk Cousins, Sean Mannion, Kellen Mond, Nate Stanley
Cousins is one of two quarterbacks (along with Russell Wilson) to have a passer rating above 100 in each of the last three seasons. He threw for 33 touchdowns with a career low interception rate of 1.2 percent in 2021, and in 2022 he'll be re-united with first-year head coach Kevin O'Connell, who was his quarterbacks coach in 2017 with Washington.
By passer rating, Cousins had his worst game as a pro in Week 2 of the 2020 season against the Colts – he completed 11 of 26 passes for 113 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions, good for a rating of 15.3 in a 28-11 loss.
Week 16: Los Angeles Chargers (Monday Night Football)
- 2021 starter: Justin Herbert
- On the roster: Justin Herbert, Chase Daniel, Easton Stick, Brandon Peters
Herbert used his explosive arm strength to throw for over 5,000 yards and earn a trip to the Pro Bowl in 2021, his second season as the Chargers' starting quarterback. He was Pro Football Focus' third highest-graded quarterback last year and has quickly established himself as one of the most dynamic passers in the NFL. This Monday night matchup will be Herbert's first against the Colts.
Week 17: @ New York Giants
- 2021 starter: Daniel Jones
- On the roster: Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor, Davis Webb, Brian Lewerke
Jones, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, will enter his fourth year with the Giants holding a career 84.3 passer rating and 12-25 record. The Giants hired former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll – who helped Josh Allen develop into one of the league's best quarterbacks – as head coach earlier this year.
Week 18: Houston Texans
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