Frequently Asked Questions About Colts vs Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs lead the all-time series against the Indianapolis Colts with a record of 13-9 as of the end of the 2023 season. This includes regular season and playoff games combined. The Chiefs have won seven of the last ten meetings, establishing recent dominance particularly since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback in 2018. The home team has historically held an advantage in this series, with the Chiefs posting a 7-3 record at Arrowhead Stadium and the Colts going 6-3 at home during the rivalry's history. The series dates back to 1970 when the Colts were still located in Baltimore, and the competitive balance has shifted multiple times depending on which team had superior quarterback play and coaching.

The biggest comeback in this rivalry occurred on January 4, 2014, when the Indianapolis Colts overcame a 28-point deficit to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 45-44 in an AFC Wild Card playoff game. The Chiefs led 38-10 early in the third quarter before Andrew Luck orchestrated one of the greatest playoff comebacks in NFL history. Luck threw for 443 yards and four touchdowns in the game, with key contributions from receivers T.Y. Hilton and Reggie Wayne. The comeback ranks as the second-largest in NFL playoff history, trailing only the Buffalo Bills' 32-point comeback against the Houston Oilers in 1993. This game ended Kansas City's 11-game winning streak and remains the most memorable moment in the rivalry for Colts fans.

Patrick Mahomes has been exceptional against the Indianapolis Colts, posting a perfect 5-0 record as a starter through the 2023 season. In those five games, Mahomes has thrown 13 touchdown passes against only one interception, maintaining a quarterback rating of 118.4. He has averaged 281 passing yards per game against Indianapolis, consistently exploiting matchups against Colts defensive backs. Mahomes' best performance came in 2019 when he threw for 321 yards in a 13-7 defensive struggle, demonstrating his ability to win games even when scoring is limited. His mobility and arm talent have proven particularly challenging for Indianapolis defensive coordinators to scheme against, as he can extend plays outside the pocket and deliver accurate throws from unconventional arm angles.

The Colts and Chiefs typically play each other once every three years during the regular season based on the NFL's scheduling rotation. As members of different divisions (Colts in the AFC South, Chiefs in the AFC West), they are not annual opponents like division rivals. However, they can meet more frequently if both teams finish in the same position within their respective divisions the previous season, as the NFL scheduling formula includes intra-conference matchups based on prior year standings. Additionally, the teams can meet in the playoffs if both qualify and are matched according to seeding. Between 2010 and 2023, the teams met eight times in regular season play and once in the playoffs, averaging approximately one meeting every 18 months when playoff games are included.

Patrick Mahomes holds the best record among quarterbacks in the Colts-Chiefs rivalry with a perfect 5-0 mark as Kansas City's starter. Peyton Manning posted a 4-2 record for the Colts against Kansas City during his tenure in Indianapolis from 1998 to 2011, throwing 15 touchdowns against four interceptions in those games. Andrew Luck went 2-1 against the Chiefs, including the memorable playoff comeback victory in 2014. On the Kansas City side, Alex Smith was 2-1 against Indianapolis, though he suffered the devastating playoff loss in the 2014 Wild Card round. Trent Green, who quarterbacked the Chiefs from 2001 to 2006, was 1-2 against the Colts during an era when Peyton Manning dominated most AFC opponents. The quarterback position has clearly been the determining factor in this rivalry's outcomes throughout its history.

The Colts-Chiefs rivalry has featured considerable scoring variance, ranging from defensive struggles to high-scoring shootouts. The average combined score across all 22 meetings is approximately 51 points per game, with the Colts averaging 24.1 points and the Chiefs averaging 27.2 points. However, recent meetings have trended toward lower scores, with three of the last four games featuring totals under 30 combined points. The most common margin of victory is between 3-7 points, occurring in nine of the 22 meetings, indicating competitive games often decided in the final minutes. The largest margin of victory was 35 points when the Chiefs defeated the Colts in 2019. Games in the 2000s under Peyton Manning typically featured higher scoring, while the Mahomes era has seen more defensive-oriented contests despite Kansas City's offensive reputation.

No, the Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs have never met in the AFC Championship Game. Their three playoff meetings have all occurred in earlier rounds: the 1970 Divisional Round when the Colts were still in Baltimore, the 2003 Divisional Round, and the 2014 Wild Card Round. This absence of a conference championship meeting is somewhat surprising given that both teams have made multiple AFC Championship Game appearances during overlapping periods. The Colts reached the AFC Championship four times between 2003 and 2014, while the Chiefs have appeared in five consecutive AFC Championship Games from 2018 to 2023. The scheduling and seeding have never aligned for these teams to meet with a Super Bowl berth on the line, though both franchises have won Super Bowls during the 21st century—the Colts in 2006 and the Chiefs in 2019 and 2022.