JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After two surprising wins set the stage for the most strangely significant 2-13 vs. 4-11 game in recent memory and quite possibly in NFL history, the Indianapolis Colts played Sunday's season finale a lot like they played most of their first 13 games.
Now, there's finality but just one certainty: The Colts will have the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL Draft.
As for everything else, the drama is just beginning.
Because the Colts played the 2011 season without their franchise quarterback, they're in position to draft a new franchise quarterback. Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck are the two most talked-about guys in the NFL who didn't take a single NFL snap this season.
Might they be teammates four months from now? They might. Nobody knows who the Colts' quarterback will be in 2012. Nobody knows who the head coach, top wide receiver or (fill in about 10 other positions) will be, either.
Monday is going to be very interesting back in Indianapolis, as are so are many days over the next few weeks and months. A season of almost unprecedented losing will lead to an offseason sure to bring some change and possibly sweeping, large-scale, across-the-board change.
It took bad luck to get in position to get Luck. The 2011 season provided some pretty hard evidence that just about every aspect of the Colts' organization ran through Manning. It seems blasphemous that the Colts would cut ties with the guy who led them to so much success, but the NFL is a business and can be a downright cruel one.
The Colts were rescued by the drafting of Manning in 1998 and he pushed the organization to new heights and its only Super Bowl victory. Now he's 36, is coming off multiple neck surgeries, is due $28 million in March and is facing his football mortality. A healthy Manning is a dominant Manning, able to play at a championship level for at least three more years.
Can the Colts take the chance that he will be? They couldn't possibly pass on a guy who could be the next Peyton Manning, could they?
"That's something I haven't thought a whole lot about," Manning said after Sunday's game. "The Colts are going to do what they have to do. The draft is something the personnel department will address and will deal with it as they see fit. I think I can coexist with any player. I think I've always been a good teammate that way. To speculate on who we're going to draft is more for other people to do and not necessarily for any player to do.
"To speculate on what's going to change, I can't do that. There are decisions to be made on a number of people, including myself. I'm very aware of that."
Manning was reflective in his postgame comments and careful with his words. This day — and all these strange and difficult days that lie ahead — was coming, eventually, and its arrival was accelerated by Manning's injury. He rarely took a snap off in practice over the last 13 years, then suddenly he was missing and so was the Colts' identity.
Quarterbacks drive the NFL, now more than ever. The Colts have a chance to take Luck. They could auction the pick to the highest bidder, but that doesn't seem likely. Neither does the thought of having both Luck and Manning on the roster.
Going forward in Indianapolis, it's either going to be Manning and some familiar faces or Luck and almost a total restart. There's really not much middle ground.
"It's a speculative question," Manning said. "That's all going to shake out."
Getting a gauge on Manning's health will be both a priority and potentially a deciding factor for the Colts. Now, at least they know they can have Luck if they want him. Those two wins after an 0-13 start added intrigue to Sunday's game, the Colts facing the possibility of playing their way out of the Luck sweepstakes, and the Jaguars opening the door to having to play against Luck for the next decade.
Colts Owner Jim Irsay said on his way out of the stadium Sunday that he was disappointed the Colts didn't win, insisted they wanted to and everything else was best discussed on another day.
As for Manning's health, not even Manning seems to know.
"Obviously, there's still some unknown," Manning said. "I'll continue to rehab, sit down this week (with the Colts' training staff) and map out our offseason rehab plan. I'll continue to try to get healthier and see how that plays out each week."
It's going to be very interesting to see how the whole thing plays out. In the wake of 2-14, head coach Jim Caldwell could be fired. Longtime personnel chief Bill Polian could be out, too. Maybe some of those decisions have already been made.
Wide receiver Reggie Wayne and defensive end Robert Mathis are headed for free agency. Longtime center Jeff Saturday said he'll take his time and talk it over with his wife before deciding between retirement and playing another year — and he's a free agent, too. All three, and especially Wayne and Saturday, could probably be talked into staying by Manning — maybe even at a hometown discount — if the Colts try to load up for another run with their longtime cogs.
If they start again, all could be gone. They probably will all be gone. Tough, franchise-changing decisions lie ahead.
The Colts officially are on the clock.
