Colts 2026 Uniform Schedule: The 'Anvil Strike' Rivalries Jersey, a Cowboys White Out, and Indiana Nights Under the Lights

via the Indianapolis Colts

The Colts have locked in their 2026 alternate uniform schedule, and it is a three-game slate with real range: a brand-new Rivalries jersey, an all-white "White Out," and the return of the Indiana Nights set that has quietly become one of the best alternates in the AFC. All three come out at home at Lucas Oil Stadium, and they are spread cleanly across the season so no single stretch gets loud all at once.

Week 3 vs. Texans: The "Anvil Strike" Rivalries Jersey Debuts

Indianapolis is part of the 2026 class of the NFL x Nike Rivalries program, and the Colts debut their new Rivalries uniform in Week 3 against the Houston Texans on September 27. The reveal landed Tuesday morning, August 25, and the look is called Anvil Strike.

via the Indianapolis Colts

The build: a dark "Anvil Steel" anthracite jersey and pants with the classic royal blue numbers, an updated shoulder-pad stripe with horseshoe-inspired grommets, high-shine reflective accents, and, for the first time in team history, the horseshoe stitched onto the jersey itself as a silver metallic mark. On top of it all sits a metallic royal blue helmet with a silver horseshoe, a high-gloss version of the most famous shell in football.

via the Indianapolis Colts

Our verdict: the metallic blue helmet is a beautiful object, and it is stranded on a uniform that has nothing to do with the Indianapolis Colts. That is the whole problem. Take the shell off and what is left is an anthracite jersey and anthracite pants in a color the franchise has never worn, tied to an anvil that appears nowhere in Colts history. This is a club whose entire visual power is subtraction: royal blue, white, a horseshoe, and the discipline to stop there. Anvil Strike answers that with a dark neutral, which is the one direction that identity cannot absorb.

The details make the miss worse rather than better. Putting the horseshoe on a Colts jersey for the first time in franchise history should be a landmark, and instead it arrives as a silver mark on a grey shirt where it barely separates from the fabric. The grommet stripes and the reflective trim are careful work that you will never see past the third row. And the finished silhouette, a grey body under a bright blue lid, belongs to Detroit, which is a genuine identity problem when the entire premise of the program is a uniform built to be unmistakably yours against a rival who knows you best.

We do not hand out many of these, and we are not grading the craftsmanship, which is fine. We are grading the decision. When the best sentence available about a uniform is that its helmet would look tremendous on a different one, the design has failed the assignment. Indianapolis should put that metallic blue shell in the regular rotation and leave the rest of this in the box.

Here is how it slots into the closet next to the white, primary blue, and Indiana Nights sets:

via the Indianapolis Colts

Rivalries jerseys and the rest of the collection go on sale Tuesday, September 1, at NFLShop.com, Nike, Fanatics, team stores and select retail locations.

Week 9 vs. Cowboys: The White Out

The White Out is the Colts' all-white combination, the white jersey worn with white pants, and it returns in Week 9 for a marquee home date against the Dallas Cowboys on November 8. There is nothing fancy here, and that is the appeal. Indianapolis has one of the cleanest color palettes in football, and stripping it down to head-to-toe white with the royal-blue horseshoe doing all the accent work is a genuinely sharp, minimalist look. We grade it a B: it is crisp and it photographs beautifully, but an all-white kit is inherently a little safe, and it leans on the crowd and the opponent to bring the color.

Week 16 vs. Bengals: Indiana Nights

Saving the best for last: Indiana Nights returns for a fourth season in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals. This is the set with the black helmet, a black-and-deep-blue color story inspired by the Indiana night sky, and the state-honoring "Indiana" C logo. In a league where a lot of "night" alternates end up as generic blackout jobs, this one actually has a point of view, the blue keeps it tied to the Colts' real identity instead of throwing the whole brand out for a black jersey. It is the strongest look on their 2026 slate and one of the better alternates in the conference. We grade it an A-, and the black helmet is what pushes it over the top.

Here is the Indiana Nights set up close, so you can see the black helmet and the heather-blue jersey:

The Full 2026 Colts Uniform Schedule, Week by Week

Week 1 combination, as announced for game week: white helmet, blue jersey, white pants. Combinations are compiled from the teams' own game-week posts, and the tracker logs what is actually worn once the game is played.

Their Week 1 opponent: the Baltimore Ravens 2026 uniform schedule has the other side of this matchup, and the 2026 NFL uniform tracker logs what both teams actually wear once it is played.

Blue at Lucas Oil, white on the road, and three confirmed alternates, all of them at home. Week 4 against Washington is in London, where Indianapolis is the designated home team, but the Commanders' published uniform schedule has them in burgundy for that game, and two clubs cannot both wear color without a league sign-off, so the Colts are in white at Tottenham.

Every ★ is officially confirmed by the Colts. The rest follow the standard blue-at-home, white-on-the-road split, which is the club's usual practice but has not been announced week by week. Pant colors and exact combinations are an equipment-staff call the week of each game.

The Bottom Line

The Colts' 2026 alternate schedule is well built: the new Anvil Strike Rivalries jersey debuting in Week 3 against the Texans, the clean White Out for the Cowboys in Week 9, and the excellent Indiana Nights closing things out against the Bengals in Week 16. Three home games, three distinct looks, no overlap. The scheduling is the strong part. Anvil Strike itself grades an F from us, a superb metallic blue helmet attached to an anthracite uniform that has no roots in Indianapolis, and the Week 9 White Out and Week 16 Indiana Nights are both comfortably better nights to look at.

Frequently Asked Questions

What jersey are the Colts wearing today?

Indianapolis has three confirmed alternate games, all at Lucas Oil Stadium: the new Rivalries jersey in Week 3 against Houston, the all-white White Out in Week 9 against Dallas, and Indiana Nights in Week 16 against Cincinnati. Every other week is the standard royal blue at home and white on the road.

What jerseys are the Colts wearing this week?

Indianapolis has three confirmed alternate games, all at Lucas Oil Stadium: the new Rivalries jersey in Week 3 against Houston, the all-white White Out in Week 9 against Dallas, and Indiana Nights in Week 16 against Cincinnati. Every other week is the standard royal blue at home and white on the road.

What uniform did the Colts wear last week?

For the uniform we logged in their most recent game, see the NFL uniform tracker, which we update through the week. The grid above is the season plan, and the tracker is the record of what actually went on the field.

What are the Colts wearing next week?

The standard royal blue at home or white on the road, unless the week is one of the three alternate dates above.

When do the Colts wear alternate uniforms in 2026?

The Colts wear alternates for three home games at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2026: the new Rivalries jersey in Week 3 vs. the Houston Texans (September 27), the White Out in Week 9 vs. the Dallas Cowboys (November 8), and Indiana Nights in Week 16 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals (December 26-27).

What is the Colts' Indiana Nights uniform?

Indiana Nights is the Colts' alternate set featuring a black helmet and a black-and-deep-blue design inspired by the blue and black of Indiana's night sky, with the state-honoring "Indiana" C logo. It returns for a fourth season in 2026 and is worn in Week 16 against the Bengals.

What is the Colts' White Out uniform?

The White Out is the Colts' all-white combination, a white jersey worn with white pants and the royal-blue horseshoe as the only real accent. In 2026 it returns for the Week 9 home game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Has the Colts' Rivalries uniform been revealed?

Yes, on August 25. It is called Anvil Strike: a dark anthracite "Anvil Steel" jersey and pants with royal blue classic numbers, horseshoe-inspired grommets in the shoulder stripes, the first horseshoe ever placed on a Colts jersey in silver metallic, and a metallic royal blue helmet. It debuts in Week 3 against the Texans on September 27 and stays in the rotation for three seasons.