2005 Indianapolis Colts season
The Indianapolis Colts season was the franchise's 53rd season in the National Football League, the 22nd in Indianapolis and the fourth season under head coach Tony Dungy. The Colts improved on their 12–4 record from 2004 and finished the season 14–2. Indianapolis started the season with a 13-game winning streak and were heavily favored to go to and win Super Bowl XL. The Colts' rival, the New England Patriots, lost to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional round of the playoffs. The following day, the Colts were favored over the Pittsburgh Steelers because they had easily beaten them in their previous meeting. However, the Colts lost their first playoff game in heartbreaking fashion to the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers, when placekicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a crucial field goal.
The 2005 Colts set an NFL record by winning twelve games in which they never trailed at any point in the contest and still stands as of 2024.
The 2005 Colts were the first team to start the season with 13 straight wins and lose an opening playoff game, although this would be repeated by the 2011 Green Bay Packers. They were also the first team to start the season with 13 straight wins and not win the Super Bowl, although this would be repeated by the 2007 New England Patriots who went 16–0 in the regular season, the Colts again in 2009 when they started 14–0 and went 14–2, the 2011 Green Bay Packers who started 13–0 and went 15–1, and by the 2015 Carolina Panthers who began the season 14–0 and went 15–1.
The Colts would, however, win the Super Bowl the next year with a 12–4 record over the Chicago Bears with a score of 29–17.
This was also the last season the Colts started games at different local times with other teams in the Eastern Time Zone, as the State of Indiana began observing Daylight Savings Time in 2006.
Offseason
had a busy offseason with the main focus to sign star running back Edgerrin James to a new contract. However, that did not happen, and the Colts decided to take the initiative of sticking him with the franchise tag . The Colts also signed RT Ryan Diem to a seven-year contract that included a $12 million signing bonus, which made him one of the highest-paid tackles in the league.The Colts were not able to re-sign TE Marcus Pollard or DE Brad Scioli during the offseason.
2005 NFL draft
Roster
Schedule
Preseason
Regular season
Standings
Week-by-week results
Week 1: at Baltimore Ravens
In the first Sunday night football game of the 2005 NFL regular season, the Colts came into town to face the Baltimore Ravens. This game was a game of mistakes by Baltimore, and taking advantage of miscues for Indianapolis. Baltimore QB Kyle Boller threw an interception for a touchdown before being injured, and his replacement, Anthony Wright ended up throwing two more interceptions. Baltimore kicker Matt Stover missed three field goals, and gave the Colts more opportunities to score. The Colts also had three takeaways, and the Ravens had none, however, the Colts punted seven times while Baltimore only punted four times. Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning finished the game 21 for 36, with 254 yards passing, and two touchdown passes. Ravens QB Anthony Wright finished the game 19 for 31, with 214 yards passing, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Indianapolis RB Edgerrin James had 88 yards on 23 carries, and Ravens RB Jamal Lewis had 48 yards on 16 carries.With the impressive win, Indianapolis began the season at 1–0. This ended up as the Colts’ first win in Baltimore since moving to Indianapolis.
Scoring summary
Q2 – IND – 0:15 – Mike Vanderjagt 20-yard FGQ3 – IND – 8:43 – 28-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison
Q3 – IND – 5:08 – 26-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Ben Utecht
Q4 – IND – 2:39 – 30-yard interception return for TD by Cato June
Q4 – BAL – 0:13 – 17-yard TD pass from Anthony Wright to Daniel Wilcox
Week 2: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
During last week's game at Baltimore, the Colts' defense was the talk of the week, not their offense. This week was similar as the Colts surrendered only 3 points to the Jaguars. This game between AFC South division rivals was dominated by the running game for both teams, and the defensive lines. Colts QB Peyton Manning was 13 of 28 for 122 yards passing, with no touchdowns and an interception while Jacksonville QB Byron Leftwich finished the game 16 of 29 for 198 yards passing. Edgerrin James finished his day off with 27 carries for 128 yards rushing, and Jacksonville RB Fred Taylor finished with 16 carries for 81 yards. Jacksonville had seven fumbles in this game, but recovered every one of them. This game was scoreless until there was less than seven minutes to go in the third quarter.With the win, the Colts improved to 2–0.
Scoring summary
Q3 – JAC – 6:59 – Josh Scobee 28-yard FGQ4 – IND – 8:27 – Ran Carthon 6-yard TD run
Q4 – IND – 1:50 – Mike Vanderjagt 41-yard FG
Week 3: vs. Cleveland Browns
topped the 100-yard mark for the second straight game, and he also scored his first rushing touchdown of the year in this game. His 2-yard touchdown run was the only touchdown scored, and the kickers for both teams both kicked in two field goals each. The Browns defended the deep pass and the potent Colts offense all game, and the Colts just ran the ball. Both of the quarterbacks combined for only 11 incomplete passes. Colts QB Peyton Manning finished the game 19 for 23 with 228 yards passing and one interception as Browns QB Trent Dilfer finished 22 of 29 for 208 passing yards.In this game, QB Peyton Manning was the second-fastest quarterback to reach 30,000 career passing yards. He did it in 115 games, while Miami Dolphins QB Dan Marino did it in 114 games. This win against the Browns was the Colts' seventh-consecutive win in the RCA Dome.
With the win, the Colts improved to 3–0.
Scoring summary
Q1 – IND – 4:11 – Edgerrin James 2-yard TD runQ2 – CLE – 13:13 – Phil Dawson 40-yard FG
Q2 – IND – 3:14 – Mike Vanderjagt 20-yard FG
Q3 – IND – 7:07 – Mike Vanderjagt 23-yard FG
Q4 – CLE – 14:09 – Phil Dawson 22-yard FG
Week 4: at Tennessee Titans
The Indianapolis offense finally showed up this game, as QB Peyton Manning threw for 264 yards and four touchdown passes. Two of those touchdown passes were to WR Marvin Harrison and those two touchdowns tied the record for the most touchdowns between a quarterback and a receiver. RB Edgerrin James had 21 carries for 90 yards, and Marvin Harrison had 9 catches for 109 yards.The Colts have only allowed 26 points to be scored against them in four games so far, which is a franchise record. The Titans never really got anything going on offense, and Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair was their leading rusher for the team in this game.
With the win, the Colts improved to 4–0.
Scoring summary
Q1 – IND – 11:31 – 25-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie WayneQ1 – TEN – 4:58 – Rob Bironas 34-yard FG
Q2 – IND – 7:17 – Mike Vanderjagt 20-yard FG
Q2 – IND – 1:17 – 11-yard pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison
Q3 – IND – 7:55 – 8-yard pass from Peyton Manning to Edgerrin James
Q4 – IND – 13:09 – 24-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison
Q4 – TEN – 4:31 – 6-yard TD pass from Steve McNair to Bo Scaife
Week 5: at San Francisco 49ers
had his troubles all game as he finished 9 for 23 with 74 passing yards, five turnovers, and five sacks. Colts QB Peyton Manning completed 23 of his 31 passes, threw for one touchdown, and two interceptions. Colts MLB Cato June picked off Alex Smith twice, returning one of them for a touchdown. Colts RB Edgerrin James finished the day with 21 carries for 105 yards and a touchdown, and 49ers RB Kevan Barlow ran for 99 yards off of 18 carries.Also of note, after Cato June's interception return, kicker Mike Vanderjagt scored his 900th point in the NFL. Also, after Manning got his first career win over the 49ers in this game, that left only four teams that he has not beaten yet.
With the impressive win, the Colts improved to 5–0.
Scoring summary
Q1 – IND – 7:41 – Dominic Rhodes 6-yard TD runQ2 – IND – 6:29 – 24-yard interception return for TD by Cato June
Q3 – SF – 9:41 – Joe Nedney 30-yard FG
Q4 – IND – 14:55 – Edgerrin James 4-yard TD run
Q4 – IND – 5:58 – 18-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Troy Walters
Week 6: vs. St. Louis Rams
came into a Week 6 matchup with the Colts on Monday Night Football with QB Peyton Manning and WR Marvin Harrison tied with Steve Young and Jerry Rice on the list of the most touchdowns between a quarterback and receiver. That eventually changed in the fourth quarter, as Manning and Harrison made NFL history, again.The Rams jumped out to a 17–0 lead on the Colts in the RCA Dome in front of a Monday Night Football audience, and few could believe it. The 5–0 Colts were down 17 points at the end of the first quarter, and the 2–3 Rams had all the confidence in the world. That drastically changed in the second half, however. After two interceptions by MLB Cato June that set up two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble recovery by CB Nick Harper that also set up two touchdown scores, the Colts scored all 45 of their points in three quarters and held the Rams to just 11 points in those quarters.
Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison also made history that night by completing their 86th career touchdown pass to pass Steve Young and Jerry Rice on the list of most touchdowns between a quarterback and receiver. Cato June also left the game as the NFL leader in interceptions. He had three interceptions in the past two games. Also of note, Rams QB Marc Bulger went out of the game with a shoulder injury, and backup QB Jamie Martin replaced him for the rest of the game.
With the comeback win, the Colts improved to 6–0.