The rush of 2022 free agency and the 2022 NFL Draft have passed. This means the long and slow spring and early summer months are just around the corner. The NFL has given fans one last big-ticket topic to discuss (no pun intended), which is the official release of the 2022 NFL schedule. While fans have known WHO their respective teams are going to play for some time, knowing when adds intrigue and there is plenty of it to go around for Colts fans.

It’s time to get those tickets. I am tentatively planning to use some airline credits to make the trip to Vegas. LOCK-IN TICKETS HERE

As of 8 PM EDT today, the NFL released the full schedule. Here’s how it looks for the Colts.

2022 Colts preseason schedule

• Week 1: @ Buffalo Bills, TBD
• Week 2: vs. Detroit Lions, TBD
• Week 3: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, TBD

2022 Colts regular season schedule

• Week 1: @ Houston Texans, Sunday, September 11, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 2: @ Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, September 18, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 3: vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, September 25, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 4: vs. Tennessee Titans, Sunday, October 2, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 5: @ Denver Broncos, Thursday Night Football, October 6th, 8:15 p.m. ET
• Week 6: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, October 16, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 7: @ Tennessee Titans, Sunday, October 23, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 8: vs. Washington Commanders, Sunday, October 30, 4:25 p.m. ET
• Week 9: @ New England Patriots, Sunday, November 6, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 10: @ Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, November 13, 4:05 p.m. ET
• Week 11: vs. Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, November 20, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 12: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday Night Football, November 28, 8:20 p.m. ET
• Week 13: @ Dallas Cowboys, Sunday Night Football, December 4, 8:20 p.m. ET
• Week 14: BYE WEEK
• Week 15: @ Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, TBD
• Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Chargers, Monday Night Football, December 26, 8:15 p.m. ET
• Week 17: @ New York Giants, Sunday, January 1, 1:00 p.m. ET
• Week 18: vs. Houston Texans, TBD

The biggest initial shocker from the schedule is that the AFC South schedule is shocking. How the NFL settled on having the AFC South race all but decided in the first 7 weeks of the season is bizarre. All of those games will be at the standard 1 PM ET Sunday kickoff time as well. Outside of a random chance that the Week 18 game against Houston will decide the Division, the late-season division drama will be absent this year.

On the flip side, Colts fans might not see that schedule is unfavorable. Only the Titans and Colts have really solid foundations to work from heading into the season. This means the Colts should have the upper hand, even on the road, at Houston and in the revenge game at Jacksonville.

Their next two divisional games are at home. If they can beat the Titans and finish a sweep of the Jaguars, they will be heavily in control of the AFC South and not even to the halfway point of the season. If Matt Ryan brings stability at quarterback and this defense plays anywhere close to its potential, a 4-0 AFC South start isn’t too difficult to imagine.

The other intriguing items that stand out include four primetime matchups, including two Monday Night Football games, both at home and one Sunday Night Football game, at Dallas, in the back half of the season. The only primetime game in the first half is at Denver Week 5. This is big because the Colts have rarely received primetime exposure at this level and because home primetime games have been even rarer.

The other thing that stood out was that most of the toughest opponents outside of the division will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Kansas City Chiefs will play at the Luke for the Colts’ home opener in Week 3. The Eagles, Steelers, and Chargers are all played in Indianapolis as well. The toughest non-division road games are at New England, Las Vegas, and Dallas in a tough stretch from week 9-13.

Lastly, the Colts are recipients of another super-late Bye. It’s hard to imagine that players wouldn’t like to have that break come a little earlier in the season but then again getting some rest late could come in handy if the Colts are poised to make a deep playoff run.

As of this writing, the Colts are listed with +2200 odds to win the Super Bowl in 2022. Keep an eye on DraftKings Sportsbook for updates.