Alternate Timeline:
Andrew Luck Announces Retirement after 18 Seasons: 3/12/2030
After seven successful yet injury riddled seasons, Andrew Luck sets up a meeting with Colts Owner, Jim Irsay. Luck explains to Irsay that the injuries have taken a toll on his body, and they have taken away his love for the game. He informed Jim he plans to retire. Irsay said “We have those second-year guards, Nelson and Smith, and are going to invest heavily in our O-line to keep you healthy. Think about it and please give me and our fans one more year.” Luck went home and laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He kept going back and forth until eventually getting up to call Irsay and said just three words. One. More. Year.
Flash forward to the playoffs. The Colts are the second seed in the AFC. The Wild Card series was Chiefs vs Buffalo and Houston vs New England. The Chiefs beat the Bills on a cold night in Arrowhead to advance and the Watson led Texans beat the aged Brady. Houston went to Indy where Luck led the Colts to a commanding 30-17 Divisional Round win. The Chiefs beat the Ravens in Baltimore and had to return to their house of horrors in Indianapolis. Luck and the Colts jump out to a 21-6 lead at the half. Mahomes Magic and Co had already come back from double digit deficits twice in this postseason, so it wasn’t time to celebrate yet. The Chiefs stormed back and were up by four at the two-minute warning. Hilton failed to get out of bounds and went down at the 30-yard line with a running clock. Luck forced it to Hilton again and the ball bounced off his hands into the hands of Chiefs newcomer Tyrann Mathieu for the game sealing interception. Being so close to the Championship game is what reignites Lucks fire and drive. Luck would win Comeback Player of the Year.
Phillip Rivers announced he was signing with the newly named Washington Football Team. Washington was the favorite to win the NFC East and had +4000 odds to win the Super Bowl. What about the Colts? They were +500 and only trail the reigning Super Bowl Champion Chiefs. Newly acquired Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman looked to revamp this offense so they could beat the high scoring Chiefs and Bills in the playoffs.
The Colts offense was vastly improved, and they finished with a 13-3 record and the third seed in the AFC. They beat the Browns to a pulp in the wild card round, extending Cleveland's playoff win drought. Rivers was also enjoying success as he beat Tom Brady's new Buccaneers squad. Both Rivers and Luck had extremely close divisional round games against the Bills and Saints. They both came out with huge wins. The Ravens and Chiefs beat each other up in the Divisional round and the Chiefs had to face the red-hot Colts in an AFC Championship rematch at Arrowhead. Rivers traveled to Lambeau ready for a cold championship weekend. Rivers and the Washington Football teams Cinderella story came to an end at the hands of Aaron Rodgers. A Davante Adams touchdown with 45 seconds left on the clock sealed the deal for Green Bay. Back in Kansas City, it was a 30-30 tie in the fourth. Luck got the ball and relied on rookie running back Jonathan Taylor to eat up the remaining time on the clock. Zero seconds remained on the play clock when Colt's kicker Rodrigo Blankenship hit a 39-yard field goal to send Luck and the Colts to the Super Bowl down in Tampa.
The Colts offensive line lived up to the promises from Jim Irsay two years prior. They dominated the line of scrimmage. Taylor rushed for over 100 yards and Luck finished with 300+ yards, 3 touchdowns, and no sacks. Rodgers struggled against the Colts defense as he threw two interceptions, and the run was stymied. The Colts and Andrew Luck won Super Bowl LV, with Luck taking home MVP honors.
The Colts doubled down on offense and Luck by selecting Amon Ra St. Brown out of USC in the 3rd round of the 2021 Draft (The pick that was in the Wentz trade). The duo of Amon Ra and Pittman proved to be game changing, and Luck won the league MVP passing for over 5,000 yards and 51 touchdowns. At 13-4, Frank Reich also won coach of the year as they secured the top seed in the playoffs. The Colts enjoyed a first-round bye and faced an up-and-coming Bengals team with ROTY Ja’marr Chase who had beaten the Raiders 26-19. The Colts started off sloppy with special teams miscues and a fumble from both Taylor and Luck. Burrow and the Bengals took advantage of the field position and upset the #1 seeded Colts at home.
After being torched by Ja’Marr for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns, the Colts selected Trent McDuffie with the 16th pick in the 2022 Draft (The other pick used in the Wentz trade). In a tough Week 4 matchup, Titans DE Jeffery Simmons drove Luck into the ground injuring his shoulder. Luck was out multiple weeks before returning. Once he returned, he still did not look right as they would limp into the playoffs as the seventh seed. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills would go on to sit their starters with 10 minutes left in the blowout win.
In 2023, the Colts were once again among the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Luck remained healthy but Pittman dealt with a hamstring injury and was in and out of the line up all season. Amon Ra tore his ACL in Week 3 and missed nearly the entire season. Jonathan Taylor played through a shoulder injury but failed to surpass 100 yards in a game the entire season. The defense doesn’t fare much better health wise and the Colts missed the playoffs completely.
2024 and 2025 went very similarly for Andrew Luck. He would throw around 4,000 yards and 30+ touchdowns with the Colts making the playoffs as the fifth seed. 2024 was a divisional game in the wildcard round as the Colts faced the Titans in what would become known as the “Henry Hoedown”. Derrick Henry would rush for over 260 yards and Titans QB, Will Levis, wouldn’t attempt a single pass the entire game. In 2025, the Colts would go to Miami to face the Dolphins on Wild Card Weekend. Tua and Luck would go nuclear passing for over 1,000 yards combined. That is a record that still stands today. The Dolphins would win 53-50.
The Colts fired Frank Reich and brought in Matt LaFleur after he was released from Green Bay. The Colts hoped he could take Luck to that next level at this stage in his career, similarly to what he did with Rodgers. The Packers hadn’t made the playoffs since their Super Bowl loss to the Colts 5 seasons ago. This move was very unpopular with the fans in Indianapolis. Colts super fan and former player Pat McAfee said” This dude STINKS! You see what he did with our boy Aaron, but has he done anything since? Nahhh! He better be ready to coach his ass off because this team is ready for another parade DAHN TOWN!”
LaFleur would institute a new system and the 2026 Colts began dominating again. They captured the second seed in the AFC off the back of NFL MVP Jonathan Taylor and OPOY Amon Ra St. Brown. They would beat the Chiefs in the divisional round but did not escape unscathed. Taylor picked up a concussion during the game and was ruled out for the AFC Championship. Team doctors said he hadn’t cleared for the week, but they predicted he would be ready by the time of the Super Bowl. The surprise AFC matchup was between the Colts and the Jets. Colts were heavy favorites and were picked unanimously across the board. Arch Manning and the Jets would win in dramatic fashion off of an overtime punt return touchdown.
Jonathan Taylor informed the team he would retire at the conclusion of the 2027 season. After a 1-4 start, the team banded together for one last run with the running back they had all come to love. He had passed Edgerrin James on the All-Time Colts RB rankings and was a legend in the city. The Colts would end up as the fourth seed. Justin Herbert and the Chargers traveled to Indy as road favorites. They had become hot at the end of the season and had beat the Colts just 4 weeks prior. The Colts defense hardened, and they were able to squeeze out a win against a scary good Chargers team. They then played the Ravens in the divisional round in Baltimore. Lamar Jackson went on to throw an interception and fumble three times giving the Colts a 27-17 win. They then had a chance at redemption by traveling to Cincinnati to play the Bengals who had beaten them many years prior. The Colts would rely on the leadership of Luck to pull out a grimy 17-13 win and send the Colts back to the Super Bowl.
Jonathan Taylor won Super Bowl MVP after rushing in three touchdowns against the 49ers in the final game of his career. Andrew Luck became the best QB in Colts history with two Super Bowl wins and sole owner of all the team's individual records. Jonathan Taylor and Quenton Nelson would retire after the Super Bowl, but Luck returned to the team to finish out the final three years of his contract. He had signed a 4 year/$250 million deal that he planned on seeing through until the end.
Over the next three years, his arm power and abilities would decline while still playing at a high enough level for the Colts to make the playoffs. In 2028 they would lose to the Chargers in the AFC Championship. In 2029 the Colts would lose to the Bills in the Wild Card Round. In his final year, 2030, Luck would lose in the divisional round during a snowstorm. The Cleveland Browns fans rejoiced, winning their first playoff game in 10 years. Andrew Luck would retire being Top 10 in every individual statistic for QBs. The Colts built a statue of him throwing the game winning touchdown from his first Super Bowl victory right outside Lucas Oil Stadium. In his closing remarks, he thanked Jim Irsay for what he had said to him that day over a decade ago. He contributed his success to always being in one frame of mind… One. More. Season.
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