Colts face an uphill battle to save their season as problems mount and Chris Ballard is fired

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The firing of Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard hit coach Shane Steichen hard.

For 2 1/2 seasons, they worked virtually arm in arm to get the franchise righted and back to the playoffs. They seemed to be in sync when quarterback Anthony Richardson was drafted No. 4 overall in 2023 and again when they signed and re-signed quarterback Daniel Jones. In January, they also were given a second chance by team co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon.

But now, with a 2-4 record, Steichen, must navigate this long road back into the postseason picture without the man who has been in his corner since the day he was hired in 2023.

“Disappointed,” Steichen said when asked to describe his initial reaction to the move. “Obviously, I've got a relationship with Chris. He's a phenomenal human being. Just one of the best people I've ever been around. I'm grateful every day I'm in this building, and I don't take that for granted. And I've got to get these guys ready for the Vikings.”

Steichen's fate seems OK — for now.

But if this season continues to unravel, he could be the next one out. Irsay-Gordon made her expectations clear in January when she kept Steichen and Ballard around for one more year — she wanted this team in the postseason, competing for a Super Bowl.

So far, though, it looks as if it's more of the same. Turnovers, missed tackles and now special teams miscues have led to another slow start. They've struggled to run the ball, too, and Sunday's 26-20 loss to previously winless Tennessee drew the ire of Colts fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium as they lost for the 11th time in 13 games.

“That one hurts, it stings. You don’t want to lose division games at home,” running back Jonathan Taylor said Sunday. “No one’s coming to save us, but you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and figure what type of kind of team you want to be. If you want to be a really good team, you just can’t lose division games at home.”

If the miscues aren't fixed fast, things could get worse. Indy visits Minnesota (5-0) this week and defending AFC South champ and current division leader Jacksonville (4-2) next week before returning home against Dallas on Nov. 8 as they try to deal with a major distraction.

So even though Steichen hated to see his friend go, his message to the team remains simple — play to Ballard's standard by staying focused, digging deep and turning things around.

“I said ‘Look, here’s the reality of the situation. We're 2-4. We dug ourselves a hole," Steichen said. "We dug ourselves a hole together, and we've got to dig ourselves out together. That was the message — a ton of football ahead of us, but we've got to put our heads down and work.”

Keenan Allen. Despite his slow start, injury and the uncertainty over his pending legal case, the six-time Pro Bowler appears to be rounding into form. He had eight catches for 82 yards.

Turnovers. Entering Monday night, only five teams have more giveaways than Indy (11), and no team has fewer takeaways than the Colts (three). So in the one stat that correlates best to winning and losing in the NFL, Indy ranks last in the league with a minus-8 turnover margin.

WR Deion Burks. The rookie who played at Purdue and Oklahoma is gaining playing time and making an impact. Against the Titans, he had two receptions for 41 yards, one carry for 7 yards and averaged 20.6 yards on four kickoff returns. With return specialist Anthony Gould (concussion) injured, Burks could get even more playing time.

Jones. It's been a rough start for the quarterback. He's completing 59.6% of his throws, has four TDs and six interceptions, no 300-yard games and has been sacked 15 times. He's also had three straight games with passer ratings under 80 in addition to all those turnovers.

Besides Gould, All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner left with a calf injury. Steichen called Gardner week to week Monday. TE Tyler Warren was inactive Sunday because of a groin injury he suffered in Friday's practice. No. 1 receiver Alec Pierce (heel) is now eligible to return from injured reserve. But Steichen said he's still rehabbing and won't practice this week.

Five — The Colts allowed Tennessee to score on all five of its second-half possessions after a first-half shutout.

The Colts are facing major obstacles as they begin this two-game road trip against two potential playoff teams.

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Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) runs for a touchdown past Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) throws a pass as he is pressured by Tennessee Titans defensive end John Franklin-Myers (91) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen speaks during a press conference following an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/David Dermer )

FILE - Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard on the sidelines during an NFL preseason football game against the Atlanta Falcons in Indianapolis, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Zach Bolinger, File)

The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays will play a Suds vs. Sun World Series that will produce a first-time champion and likely baseball's first all-indoor championship.

The best-of-seven showdown between low-payroll pennant winners opens Friday night in Milwaukee. It'll be the first World Series between title-less teams since the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Kansas City Royals in 1980.

One city is known for the television sitcom “ Laverne & Shirley," the home of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, cheeseheads and breweries that have included Miller, Pabst and Schlitz. The other is a vacation destination featuring warm weather, beaches and art museums.

Just five of the current 30 teams have never won a title, with Colorado, San Diego and Seattle also ringless.

“The city is ready. I know that the fans are ready, and I know that we’ll be ready,” said Milwaukee's Jake Bauers, MVP of the four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series.

Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski heads the pitchers with his 100 mph-plus heat, and each team features a dynamic 22-year-old anchoring the lineup: Jackson Chourio of the Brewers and Junior Caminero of the Rays. Tampa Bay's Freddy Peralta and Drew Rasmussen could pitch against their former teams.

The Brewers started as the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969, then were bought by Bud Selig's group in bankruptcy court and moved to Milwaukee for the 1970 season. The team's only Series trip was a seven-game loss to St. Louis in the 1982 Suds Series, back when the Brewers were in the American League.

Tampa Bay, which defeated Cleveland in six games for the AL pennant, launched as the expansion Devil Rays in 1998 and dropped the “Devil” ahead of the 2008 season. The team's two Series appearances ended with losses to Philadelphia in 2008 and the Dodgers in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

This will be only the sixth time since the start of the wild-card era in 1995 that teams with the top records in each league meet in the World Series after Atlanta-Cleveland (1995), New York Yankees-Braves (1999), Boston-St. Louis (2013), Dodgers-Rays (2020) and Dodgers-Yankees (2024).

Milwaukee had MLB’s 19th-highest payroll as of Aug. 31. Tampa Bay was 25th.

Not since 1991 had both pennant winners been among the bottom 50% in player spending. Minnesota was 15th among 26 teams when it beat Atlanta (19th) in seven games.

Tampa Bay’s ballpark has a fixed roof and Milwaukee’s is retractable — it probably will be closed with game-time temperatures predicted to be in the upper 40s or low 50s.

When all World Series games were played at retractable-roof ballparks in 2020 (Texas) and 2023 (Texas and Arizona), there were three open-air games each year.

The roofs of both ballparks came into play this postseason.

In the ninth inning of Milwaukee’s 3-2 win over the Padres in Game 1 of their NL Division Series, San Diego’s Ty France hit a high drive that appeared it might be headed over the left-field wall for a go-ahead homer until it struck a cable on the retractable roof in Milwaukee.

Two nights later, Yankees rookie Spencer Jones hit a flyball off a catwalk at Tropicana Field that was caught by Rays right fielder Victor Mesa Jr. for an out in the second inning of New York’s 5-2 loss in Game 2 of their AL Division Series.

Greg Vaughn, Willy Adames and Matt Garza are the most prominent players with lengthy stretches on both teams, and Bauers made his big league debut with the Rays in 2018.

Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold worked for the Rays for nine years before Milwaukee hired him as an assistant GM in October 2015.

Those 1982 Brewers were known as Harvey's Wallbangers, a nickname given by first baseman Cecil Cooper. The Brewers led the major leagues in home runs under manager Harvey Kuenn and had a roster with five future Hall of Famers: Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons and Don Sutton.

Various players over the years have claimed The Pfister Hotel, where many teams stay in Milwaukee, is haunted. Opened in 1893, the hotel has Romanesque Revival architecture, and players have claimed to hear spooky noises and footsteps.

If there is a Game 7, it would be played in Milwaukee on Halloween night.

Milwaukee's Pat Murphy, winner of the last two NL Manager of the Year awards, has two tattoos referencing Bruce Springsteen: “No Retreat No Surrender” on his left forearm and “The Boss” on his back.

He first went to a Springsteen concert in 1980 when he was in college, then another when he was coaching at Notre Dame.

“He grew up a Catholic kid in New Jersey. I was a Catholic kid from upstate New York,” the 67-year-old Murphy said. “There’s just so much that resonates with me how he speaks about things.”

The 1982 Series was played at Milwaukee County Stadium, home of the Braves from 1953-65 before they moved to Atlanta, and then the Brewers from 1970-2000. This year's championship will be played at American Family Field. Known as Miller Park from 2001-20, the ballpark is adjacent to the County Stadium site. It was host of the 2002 All-Star Game, which ended in a 7-7, 11-inning tie after both teams ran out of pitchers.

Milwaukee's ballpark is known for its Racing Sausages in the middle of the sixth inning, with the Brat, Polish, Italian, Hot Dog and Chorizo competing. It also has the Uecker Seat in the last row of section 422 in the left-field upper deck — it includes a bronze statue of Bob Uecker, the beloved funny man who broadcast Brewers games for 54 seasons until his death last year.

Tampa Bay's home, Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, is on its third name. Known as the Florida Suncoast Dome from 1990-93 and the ThunderDome from 1993-96, the stadium got its current name about 18 months before the Rays' first game in 1998.

Its only prior World Series games were in 2008, when the Rays split the first two games against Philadelphia before the Phillies won three straight at home. Tampa Bay's other Series appearance was in 2020, when due to the coronavirus pandemic the entire series was played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

The Trop reopened this season after repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Milton. The Rays plan to move to a new stadium across the bay in Tampa in 2029.

Milwaukee went 29-13 in cream uniforms during the regular season, 17-7 in pinstripes, 27-12 in navy blue, 9-6 in City Connect outfits and 21-21 in light blue. During the postseason, the Brewers are 4-0 in cream and 3-1 in navy.

Tampa Bay was 36-19 in home white, 32-33 in road navy, 8-2 in road Columbia blue, 12-3 in Devil Rays throwback jerseys, 6-4 in City Connect and 3-3 in road gray. In the playoffs, the Rays are 3-1 in home white, 1-0 in Devil Rays throwbacks and 3-1 in road gray.

Milwaukee was 32 for 128 (.250) and had a .347 on-base percentage in its NLCS sweep of the Dodgers, the exact same numbers Los Angeles batters had in their NLCS sweep of the Brewers last year.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen celebrates the end of the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of an American League Championship Series baseball game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio watches from the dugout during the third inning of Game 3 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski reacts to striking out Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani during the third inning of Game 1 of baseball's National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)