The Colts have gotten off to a poor start on defense in 2026.
While the viral social media post claiming that the Colts have allowed the most yards through two games in league history is false, Indianapolis has not been much better than that.
The 2016 Raiders gave up 1,035 total yards in their first two games — ironically going 1-1 in that span.
The 2026, 0-2 Colts have surrendered 1,029 yards and 74 points, both of which rank dead last in the league after losses to the Ravens and Chiefs. Indianapolis has also surrendered a league-worst 7.2 yards per play.
Indianapolis brought in Lou Anarumo as defensive coordinator last year with the expectation that he’d raise the level of play from former coordinator Gus Bradley. But the unit was only marginally improved last year — going from No. 24 in points allowed and No. 29 in yards allowed in 2024 to No. 21 in points allowed and No. 23 in yards allowed in 2025.
Given the historically bad start, head coach Shane Steichen was asked in his Wednesday press conference if he has confidence in Anarumo to be able to turn the unit around.
“Yeah, absolutely. I have confidence in Lou, no doubt about it,” Steichen said, via transcript from the team. “He’s been doing it for a long time in this league. He’s had success in this league, and I have no doubt that this thing will get turned defensively.”
Steichen noted the defensive issues begin with poor tackling.
“I think we had a ton of missed tackles last week, last couple weeks, and those are leading to explosive plays, especially in the run game,” Steichen said. “And then we’ve got to be great on the backend in coverage. I mean, it’s all part of it. All ties in together. The rush and coverage work together, and we got to get that stuff cleaned up moving forward so we’re not giving up those big plays and those yards.
“Again, we want to be better than it was the first two games,” Steichen added. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. We have to be better there. But I do. I have a lot of confidence in [Anarumo] and what we’re doing moving forward. I think there’s the communication stuff. We’re getting that stuff cleaned up, and again, it goes back to tackling, and fundamentals, and we’ve got to do a great job of tackling moving forward.”
We’ll see if the Colts can show improvement when they play the Texans at home on Sunday.
Still looking for their first win of the season, the Texans will face the division-rival Colts in Indianapolis this weekend.
Defensively, they may have gotten a leg up on their preparation from last week’s opponent.
That’s at least the implication from defensive end Will Anderson, who discussed facing Daniel Jones a week after facing Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow in his Wednesday press conference.
“He’s tough. He’s really tough,” Anderson said of Jones, via transcript from the team. “He kind of reminds me of Joe Burrow in a sense. If you disrespect the pocket, he’ll take off on you. He wants to stand in the pocket, and he wants to show that he’s a quarterback. I think he’s been doing a really good job of that.
“We have a ton of respect for him. It’s going to be a great challenge for us. Him and Joe Burrow really remind me a lot of each other. It’s going to be good for us.”
While Houston lost to Cincinnati 20-6, the Texans held Burrow to 20-of-31 passing for 207 yards with two touchdowns. The defense also sacked Burrow five times.
Darius Slayton was watching last Sunday night’s game between the Colts and Chiefs, which meant he saw Colts wideout Alec Pierce leave the game after aggravating a heel injury.
Slayton said on Wednesday that he “wasn’t cheering for that,” but he knew that Pierce’s injury might create an opportunity for him to land his first job since being released by the Giants this summer. Not only did the Colts have an immediate need for receiver help, they also have Slayton’s former Giants teammate Daniel Jones as their quarterback.
That history likely played a role in Slayton signing with the Colts this week and he said he expects to get right back into a groove with the quarterback.
“Really enjoyed playing alongside him,” Slayton said, via the team’s website. “He’s a good quarterback. He’s smart. He can spin it. . . . Philosophically, I think we see the field pretty similarly, and that’s something that worked well for us in the past. And I expect it to work well for us going forward.”
Pierce averaged more than 20 yards a catch in each of the last two seasons, but Slayton has not been that kind of wideout during his time in the NFL so the Colts will have to adapt their offense to the players available as they try to find their first win of the season.
The Texans were without six players in Wednesday’s practice, five of them rehabbing injuries.
Offensive tackle Trent Brown (knee/wrist), defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (knee), wide receiver Nico Collins (hamstring), linebacker Jake Hummel (groin), offensive guard Ed Ingram (groin) and tight end Dalton Schultz (rest) did not practice.
Collins injured his hamstring in practice last week and missed the Week 2 loss to the Bengals.
Defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (rest), defensive end Logan Hall (knee) and safety M.J. Stewart (knee) were limited.
Safety Reed Blankenship (thumb) and linebacker Wade Woodaz (thumb) were full participants.
The Colts will not have receiver Alec Pierce for at least the next four games.
Via multiple reporters, head coach Shane Steichen told reporters in his Wednesday press conference that Pierce is being placed on injured reserve after aggravating the heel he had surgically repaired during the offseason in Sunday night’s loss to the Chiefs.
For now, Pierce will try to rehab the injury without undergoing another procedure. But there is no current timeline for his return.
Steichen added that Pierce hit his benchmarks for recovery and the team’s medical staff had cleared him to play.
“We never would have put him on the field if we didn’t feel good about it and he didn’t feel good about it,” Steichen said, via Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star.
Pierce, who signed a four-year, $114 million deal with the Colts in March, caught four passes for 61 yards in the season opener before catching an 11-yard pass on Sunday night before departing the game.
Pierce registered his first 1,000-yard season last year. He led the league in yards per reception in both 2024 and 2025.
