2006 Indianapolis Colts season - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...

Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

season
Indianapolis Colts seasons
The Indianapolis Colts, formerly the Baltimore Colts, are an American football team playing in the National Football League . The list documents the season-by-season records of the Colts franchise from to present, including postseason records and league awards for individual players or head coaches...

was the 54th season for the team in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

and 23rd in Indianapolis. The 2006 Colts season began with the team trying to maintain or improve on their regular season

Regular season (NFL)

The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...

record of 14–2 from the 2005 season

2005 NFL season

The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...

, and advance farther into the playoffs. They finished the season 12–4, a record that was obtained by the Colts in 2003

2003 Indianapolis Colts season

The 2003 Indianapolis Colts season was the 51st season for the team in the National Football League and 20th in Indianapolis.-Roster:-Schedule:- Division standings :...

and 2004

2004 Indianapolis Colts season

The 2004 Indianapolis Colts season was the 52nd season for the team in the National Football League and 21st in Indianapolis. The 2004 Colts season began with the team trying to maintain or improve on their 12–4 record from 2003, and advance farther into the playoffs...

. The Colts have now won at least 12 games in each of the past 4 seasons. They also won the AFC South Division Championship

AFC South

The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...

for the fourth time in a row, and won the American Football Conference Championship

AFC Championship Game

The American Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American...

title against the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

on January 21, 2007 by a score of 38–34 to advance to Super Bowl XLI

Super Bowl XLI

Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...

and play against the Chicago Bears

2006 Chicago Bears season

The 2006 Chicago Bears season was their 87th regular season and 25th post-season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 13-3 regular season record, the best in the NFC, improving on their previous year’s record of 11-5...

. Indianapolis defeated the Chicago Bears 29–17 on February 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium to win their first Super Bowl since Super Bowl V

Super Bowl V

Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...

in 1970.

Offseason

The offseason marked the dissolution of the trio of Edgerrin James

Edgerrin James

Edgerrin Tyree James is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts fourth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami....

, Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...

, and Marvin Harrison

Marvin Harrison

Marvin Daniel Harrison is a former American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse...

, affectionately nicknamed the "Triplets" by Colts fans. While the latter two are signed to long-term contracts, James' contract expired at the end of the 2005 season. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

in the off-season as a free-agent. Other key losses include Larry Tripplett

Larry Tripplett

Larry Tripplett is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washington.Tripplett has also played for the Buffalo Bills and the Seattle...

(Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, free-agent) and David Thornton (Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...

, free-agent). The Colts opted not to re-sign kicker Mike Vanderjagt

Mike Vanderjagt

Michael John "Mike" Vanderjagt , is a professional American and Canadian football placekicker and punter who has played in the Arena Football League, the Canadian Football League and National Football League...

, instead inking ex-New England Patriots

New England Patriots

kicker Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

Adam Matthew Vinatieri is an American football placekicker currently playing for the Indianapolis Colts. He has played in six Super Bowls, four with the New England Patriots and two with the Colts, winning four. Vinatieri won a Super Bowl in 2006 with Indianapolis and won Super Bowls in 2001,...

to a lucrative deal. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

quarterback Shaun King

Shaun King

Shaun Earl King is a former Tulane University and National Football League quarterback.-High School:King is a 1995 graduate of Gibbs High School .-College:...

was signed to compete with Jim Sorgi

Jim Sorgi

James Joseph "Jim" Sorgi, Jr. is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft...

for the backup quarterback position, but was later cut and replaced with Josh Betts

Josh Betts

Joshua David Betts is a professional Canadian football quarterback who is currently a Tennis player. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2006...

2006 NFL Draft

2006 Indianapolis Colts Draft Selections
Round	Pick	Player	Position	Height	Weight	College
1	30	Joseph Addai Joseph Addai Joseph Addai, Jr. is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University.-Early years:Addai's family hails from Ghana in West Africa...	RB Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...	5–11	215	LSU Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
2	62	Tim Jennings Tim Jennings Tim Jennings is an American football cornerback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Georgia....	CB Cornerback A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...	5–8	186	Georgia University of Georgia The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
3	94	Freddie Keiaho Freddie Keiaho Freddy Keiaho, born Naivote Taulawakeiaho, December 18, 1982 in Suva, Fiji) is Fijian-born professional American football player who is currently a Free Agent linebacker in the National Football League . He played college football for the San Diego State University Aztecs, and was drafted by the...	ILB Linebacker A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...	5–11	227	San Diego State San Diego State University San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
5	162	Michael Toudouze Michael Toudouze John Michael Toudouze is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft...	G Guard (American football) In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....	6–6	302	TCU Texas Christian University Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
6	199	Charlie Johnson	OT	6–4	304	Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University System The Oklahoma State University System is a university system comprising six educational institutes across Oklahoma: four general academic universities and two health institutions. Its flagship institute is the Oklahoma State University - Stillwater. The Oklahoma State University System has a total...
6	207	Antoine Bethea Antoine Bethea Antoine Bethea is a professional American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Colts...	FS	5–11	203	Howard Howard University Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
7	238	T. J. Rushing T. J. Rushing Terrall Brent "T. J." Rushing is a free agent American football cornerback and return specialist who last played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft...	CB Cornerback A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...	5–10	175	Stanford Stanford University The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

Roster

Indianapolis Colts 2006 final roster

Quarterbacks

18 Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
12 Jim Sorgi
Jim Sorgi
James Joseph "Jim" Sorgi, Jr. is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft...

Running Backs

29 Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai, Jr. is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University.-Early years:Addai's family hails from Ghana in West Africa...
30 DeDe Dorsey
DeDe Dorsey
DeDe Dorsey is an American football running back for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2006...
33 Dominic Rhodes
Dominic Rhodes
Dominic Dondrell Rhodes is an American football running back for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He attended Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2001...

Wide Receivers

88 Marvin Harrison
Marvin Harrison
Marvin Daniel Harrison is a former American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse...
85 Aaron Moorehead
Aaron Moorehead
Aaron Matthew Moorehead is a retired American football wide receiver. He was originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played his entire 5 year career with the Colts including their SB XLI win over the Chicago Bears...
11 Ricky Proehl
Ricky Proehl
Richard Scott Proehl is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. Proehl played 17 seasons with the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, and Indianapolis Colts...
84 John Standeford
John Standeford
John William Standeford is an American football wide receiver for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2004...
87 Reggie Wayne
Reggie Wayne
Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts...
10 Terrence Wilkins
Terrence Wilkins
Terrence Olondo Wilkins is a former wide receiver and punt returner for the Indianapolis Colts in the National Football League. He signed with the Colts on November 10, 2003. He also played with the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League. He has 1,466 career receiving yards in the...

KR/PR

Tight Ends

44 Dallas Clark
Dallas Clark
Dallas Dean Clark is an American football tight end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts 24th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa...
81 Bryan Fletcher
Bryan Fletcher (tight end)
Bryan Jamaile Fletcher is an American football player, he plays tight end and is currently a free agent. He attended UCLA. He is the younger brother of former San Diego Chargers running back Terrell Fletcher. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears...
86 Ben Utecht
Ben Utecht
Benjamin Jeffrey Utecht is a former American football tight end who played for the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Minnesota...

Offensive Linemen

71 Ryan Diem

Ryan Diem

Ryan Diem is a starting offensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Ryan Diem stands 6'6" tall and weighs 305 pounds...

76 Daniel Federkeil
Daniel Federkeil
Daniel Hubert Federkeil is a retired American football offensive tackle. He was originally signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2006.- Professional career :...

T

78 Tarik Glenn

Tarik Glenn

Tarik Glenn is a former American football offensive tackle who played for the Indianapolis Colts. Glenn performed as two-way lineman at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California....

57 Dylan Gandy

Dylan Gandy

Dylan Colter Gandy is an American football center for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Tech.Gandy earned a Super Bowl ring with the Colts in Super Bowl XLI...

G/C

74 Charlie Johnson
Charlie Johnson (offensive tackle)
Charlie Johnson is an American football offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft...

T

65 Ryan Lilja

Ryan Lilja

Ryan Matthew Lilja is an American football guard for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2004...

63 Jeff Saturday

Jeff Saturday

Jeffrey Bryant Saturday is an American football center for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played college football at North Carolina. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Football League Players' Association.-Early years:Saturday attended...

73 Jake Scott G

69 Matt Ulrich

Matt Ulrich

Matthew James Ulrich is an American football offensive guard free agent in the National Football League.Ulrich was named Northwesten University team captain in 2004 and earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention....

Defensive Linemen

79 Raheem Brock
Raheem Brock
Raheem Fukwan Brock is an American football defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL Draft...

DT
93 Dwight Freeney
Dwight Freeney
Dwight Jason Freeney is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University.-Early years:Freeney attended Bloomfield High School...

DE
61 Dan Klecko
Dan Klecko
Dan Klecko is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Temple....

DT/FB
99 Ryan LaCasse
Ryan LaCasse
Ryan LaCasse is a former American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts, primarily as a special teams player. He was originally drafted in the 7th round in 2006 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens but was traded to the Indianapolis Colts. He played 12 games for the Colts on their Super Bowl...

DE
98 Robert Mathis
Robert Mathis
Robert Nathan Mathis is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.-Early years:Mathis attended McNair High School in Atlanta, Georgia....

DE
92 Anthony McFarland
Anthony McFarland
Anthony Darelle "Booger" McFarland is an American football player who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 15th overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisiana State University.McFarland has also played for the Indianapolis Colts...

DT
95 Darrell Reid
Darrell Reid
Darrell Reid is an American football linebacker who is currenrly a free agent of the National Football League. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2005...

DT
64 Bo Schobel
Bo Schobel
Robert Edward "Bo" Schobel is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas Christian University ....

DE
91 Josh Thomas DE

Linebackers

50 Rocky Boiman

Rocky Boiman

Rocky Michael Boiman is an American football linebacker who currently is a free agent. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame....

OLB

58 Gary Brackett

Gary Brackett

Gary Lawrence Brackett is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Rutgers.-Early years:Brackett attended Glassboro High School in Glassboro, New Jersey....

ILB

51 Gilbert Gardner

Gilbert Gardner

Gilbert Ravelle Gardner, II is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....

OLB

56 Tyjuan Hagler

Tyjuan Hagler

Tyjuan Cedric Hagler is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

OLB

59 Cato June

Cato June

Cato Nnamdi June is a free agent American football linebacker who most recently played for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. He was selected by the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. A 2006 Pro Bowl choice, June was a...

OLB

54 Freddie Keiaho
Freddie Keiaho
Freddy Keiaho, born Naivote Taulawakeiaho, December 18, 1982 in Suva, Fiji) is Fijian-born professional American football player who is currently a Free Agent linebacker in the National Football League . He played college football for the San Diego State University Aztecs, and was drafted by the...

OLB

94 Rob Morris OLB

53 Keith O'Neil

Keith O'Neil

Keith Daniel O'Neil is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2003...

OLB

Defensive Backs

41 Antoine Bethea
Antoine Bethea
Antoine Bethea is a professional American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Colts...

FS
42 Jason David
Jason David
Jason Aeron Walter David is an American football cornerback and is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft...

CB
43 Matt Giordano
Matt Giordano
Matthew Victor Giordano is an American football safety for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at California.Giordano earned a Super Bowl ring with the Colts in Super...

SS
25 Nick Harper
Nick Harper (American football)
Nicholas Necosi Harper is a currently a free agent American football cornerback in the National Football League. He was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as an street free agent in 2000. He played college football at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia.Harper has played for the...

CB
26 Kelvin Hayden
Kelvin Hayden
Kelvin Darnell Hayden, Jr. is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Illinois. He returned a Rex Grossman interception 56 yards for a...

CB
28 Marlin Jackson
Marlin Jackson
-Indianapolis Colts:Jackson was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 29th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. As an NFL rookie he had 52 tackles and one interception. Marlin played mostly in passing situations with one start in 15 games. In his second season, he had 82 tackles and 1...

CB
27 Tim Jennings
Tim Jennings
Tim Jennings is an American football cornerback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Georgia....

CB
36 Dexter Reid
Dexter Reid
Dexter Devon Reid Jr. is an American football safety. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft after playing his college football at the University of North Carolina...

FS
34 T. J. Rushing
T. J. Rushing
Terrall Brent "T. J." Rushing is a free agent American football cornerback and return specialist who last played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft...

CB
21 Bob Sanders
Bob Sanders
Demond "Bob" Sanders is a professional American football safety who is currently on the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League. Sanders was drafted in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts...

SS

Special Teams

17 Hunter Smith
Hunter Smith
Hunter Dwight Smith is an American football punter, currently a free agent and most recently for the Washington Redskins. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

P
48 Justin Snow
Justin Snow
Justin Snow is an American football Long snapper for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played college football at Baylor.-High school career:...

LS
4 Adam Vinatieri
Adam Vinatieri
Adam Matthew Vinatieri is an American football placekicker currently playing for the Indianapolis Colts. He has played in six Super Bowls, four with the New England Patriots and two with the Colts, winning four. Vinatieri won a Super Bowl in 2006 with Indianapolis and won Super Bowls in 2001,...

K

Reserve Lists

47 Jerome Collins

Jerome Collins

-St. Louis Rams:Collins was the 144th pick of the 2005 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams from the University of Notre Dame. He was on the Rams practice squad and also the 53-man roster before beging released.-Dallas Cowboys:...

TE (IR)

20 Mike Doss

Mike Doss

Michael Allen Doss is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft...

S (IR)

96 Johnathan Goddard

Johnathan Goddard

Jonathan Bruce Goddard was an American defensive end in the National Football League and Arena Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions and also spent time with the Indianapolis Colts and Colorado Crush before his death in a June 2008 motorcycle accident.-Early years:Goddard was born...

DE (IR)

62 Johnson, Mike C (NFLE-Inj.)

47 Antwan Marsh S (Left Squad)

23 James Mungro

James Mungro

James Olevia Mungro, II is a former American football running back. He retired from the NFL due to a severe ACL injury he received in a pre-season game in 2006. His entire NFL career was with the Indianapolis Colts...

RB (IR)

55 Kendyll Pope

Kendyll Pope

Kendyll Pope is an American football linebacker who played for the Indianapolis Colts.-One year suspension:Pope missed the 2005 NFL season after being suspended for violating the NFL's Substance Abuse Policy....

OLB (Susp.)

90 Montae Reagor

Montae Reagor

William Montae Reagor is a former American football defensive tackle who played for nine seasons in the National Football League. After playing college football at Texas Tech, he was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft...

DT (NF-Inj.)

45 Corey Roberts TE (Left Squad)

97 Corey Simon

Corey Simon

Corey Jermaine Simon is a retired American football defensive tackle of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles sixth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...

DT (NF-Ill.)

83 Brandon Stokley

Brandon Stokley

Brandon Stokley is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft...

WR (IR)

99 Jonathan Welsh DE (IR)

Practice Squad

15 Devin Aromashodu
Devin Aromashodu
Gbolahan Devin Aromashodu is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn...

WR
9 Josh Betts
Josh Betts
Joshua David Betts is a professional Canadian football quarterback who is currently a Tennis player. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2006...

QB
62 Albert Bimper
Albert Bimper
Albert Bimper is a Ph.D. candidate at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a former American football center for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League and holds a B.S. from Colorado State University and a M.S. from Purdue University....

C/OG
72 Vincent Burns
Vincent Burns
Vincent "Sweet Pea" Burns was an American football defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. He currently is a free agent. Burns played college football at Northern Arizona University and the University of Kentucky, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 3rd round of the...

DT (Injured)
31 Kory Chapman
Kory Chapman
Robrielle Kory Chapman is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was originally signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Jacksonville State.Chapman has also been a member of the New England Patriots, Indianapolis...

RB
39 Tanard Davis
Tanard Davis
Tanard Davis is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at the University of Miami....

CB
49 Aaron Halterman
Aaron Halterman
Aaron Halterman is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Indiana....

TE
45 Luke Lawton
Luke Lawton
Richard Luke Lawton is an American football fullback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004...

FB
75 Michael Toudouze
Michael Toudouze
John Michael Toudouze is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft...

OT

Rookies in italics

Preseason schedule

Date	Opponent	Result	Game Site	NFL Recap
August 10, 2006	at St. Louis Rams 2006 St. Louis Rams season The 2006 St. Louis Rams season was the team's 69th year with the National Football League and the 12th season in St. Louis. The season began with the Rams trying to improve on their 6-10 record from 2005 under new head coach Scott Linehan.-Offseason:...	L 17–19	Edward Jones Dome Edward Jones Dome The Edward Jones Dome The Edward Jones Dome The Edward Jones Dome (more formally known as the Edward Jones Dome at America's Center, and previously known as The Trans World Dome (from 1995–2001) is a multi-purpose stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, and home of the St. Louis Rams of the NFL. It was...	Recap
August 20, 2006	Seattle Seahawks 2006 Seattle Seahawks season The 2006 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's 31st season in the National Football League. The season began with the team attempting to improve on their 13-3 record from 2005, repeat as National Football Conference champions, and return to the Super Bowl...	L 17–30	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
August 26, 2006	at New Orleans Saints 2006 New Orleans Saints season The 2006 New Orleans Saints season began with the team trying to improve on their 3-13 record in 2005. All of the team's 2006 regular season home games were played in the Louisiana Superdome, which had been damaged all of the previous season by Hurricane Katrina...	W 27–14	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. Veterans Memorial Stadium is the home field of the Jackson State University Tigers. In July 2011, Jackson State University will own and operate the stadium...	Recap
September 1, 2006	Cincinnati Bengals 2006 Cincinnati Bengals season The 2006 Cincinnati Bengals season began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record in 2005, defending their AFC North Division Championship title, and progress further through the playoffs than they made in the 2005 season having lost to Pittsburgh in the 1st round after losing star...	L 3–20	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	NFL Recap
1	September 10, 2006	at New York Giants 2006 New York Giants season The 2006 New York Giants season began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record in 2005, which saw them win the NFC East. They did not win the NFC East or improve on that record, falling to 8-8 on the season after starting 6-2...	W 26–21	1–0	Giants Stadium Giants Stadium Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...	Recap
2	September 17, 2006	Houston Texans 2006 Houston Texans season The 2006 Houston Texans season began with the team trying to improve on their 2–14 record in 2005.-Offseason:On January 2, 2006, the day after the last game of the 2005 season, head coach Dom Capers and most of the coaching staff was fired by owner Bob McNair. General Manager Charley Casserly was...	W 43–24	2–0	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
3	September 24, 2006	Jacksonville Jaguars 2006 Jacksonville Jaguars season The 2006 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 11th season for the team in the National Football League. The Jaguars failed to improve on their 12–4 record from 2005, and missed the playoffs.-2006 NFL Draft:-Staff:-Preseason:Source:...	W 21–14	3–0	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
4	October 1, 2006	at New York Jets 2006 New York Jets season The 2006 New York Jets season began with the team trying to improve on their 4–12 record in 2005. The season marked the first for rookie head coach Eric Mangini, who replaced Herman Edwards after the latter left the Jets to coach the Kansas City Chiefs...	W 31–28	4–0	Giants Stadium Giants Stadium Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...	Recap
5	October 8, 2006	Tennessee Titans 2006 Tennessee Titans season The 2006 Tennessee Titans season began with the team trying to improve on their 4–12 record in 2005.-Offseason:In 2006, exciting news for the future came when in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Titans, with the third overall pick, chose Vince Young, star quarterback out of the University of Texas, and with...	W 14–13	5–0	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
6	Bye
7	October 22, 2006	Washington Redskins 2006 Washington Redskins season The 2006 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 10-6 record from 2005.-Offseason:After the end of the 2005 season, the Redskins were reported to be $20 million over the salary cap...	W 36–22	6–0	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
8	October 29, 2006	at Denver Broncos 2006 Denver Broncos season The 2006 Denver Broncos season began with the team trying to improve on their 13–3 record and make a return to the AFC Championship Game as they did in 2005.-Offseason:...	W 34–31	7–0	Invesco Field	Recap
9	November 5, 2006	at New England Patriots 2006 New England Patriots season The 2006 New England Patriots season was the 37th season for the team in the National Football League and 47th season overall. They finished with a 12–4 record and a division title before losing to the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs....	W 27–20	8–0	Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 21 miles southwest of downtown Boston and from downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution...	Recap
10	November 12, 2006	Buffalo Bills 2006 Buffalo Bills season The 2006 Buffalo Bills season began with the team trying to improve on their 5–11 record in 2005.-Offseason:General Manager Tom Donahoe was fired shortly after the end of the 2005 season. Marv Levy, who had coached the Bills from 1986–1997, was named as his replacement, with hopes that he would...	W 17–16	9–0	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
11	November 19, 2006	at Dallas Cowboys 2006 Dallas Cowboys season The 2006 Dallas Cowboys season began with the team trying to improve on their 9–7 record in 2005. The base offense was changed to a 2-TE formation. Several high profile free agents were signed including controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens and kicker Mike Vanderjagt...	L 14–21	9–1	Texas Stadium Texas Stadium Texas Stadium was a football stadium in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The stadium opened on September 17, 1971.Built to replace the aging Cotton Bowl, it was the home field of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and had a seating capacity of 65,675...	Recap
12	November 26, 2006	Philadelphia Eagles 2006 Philadelphia Eagles season The 2006 Philadelphia Eagles season ended in the Eagles finishing 10–6, reclaiming the NFC East, and winning a playoff game at home. The season ended in a Divisional Round playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints, but was seen as a success in the face of the adversity of losing starting quarterback...	W 45–21	10–1	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
13	December 3, 2006	at Tennessee Titans 2006 Tennessee Titans season The 2006 Tennessee Titans season began with the team trying to improve on their 4–12 record in 2005.-Offseason:In 2006, exciting news for the future came when in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Titans, with the third overall pick, chose Vince Young, star quarterback out of the University of Texas, and with...	L 17–20	10–2	LP Field LP Field LP Field is a football stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....	Recap
14	December 10, 2006	at Jacksonville Jaguars 2006 Jacksonville Jaguars season The 2006 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 11th season for the team in the National Football League. The Jaguars failed to improve on their 12–4 record from 2005, and missed the playoffs.-2006 NFL Draft:-Staff:-Preseason:Source:...	L 17–44	10–3	Alltel Stadium Alltel Stadium EverBank Field is an American football stadium in downtown Jacksonville, Florida, and the home stadium facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . It also hosts the annual Florida vs...	Recap
15	December 18, 2006	Cincinnati Bengals 2006 Cincinnati Bengals season The 2006 Cincinnati Bengals season began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record in 2005, defending their AFC North Division Championship title, and progress further through the playoffs than they made in the 2005 season having lost to Pittsburgh in the 1st round after losing star...	W 34–16	11–3	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
16	December 24, 2006	at Houston Texans 2006 Houston Texans season The 2006 Houston Texans season began with the team trying to improve on their 2–14 record in 2005.-Offseason:On January 2, 2006, the day after the last game of the 2005 season, head coach Dom Capers and most of the coaching staff was fired by owner Bob McNair. General Manager Charley Casserly was...	L 24–27	11–4	Reliant Stadium Reliant Stadium Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of with of natural grass playing surface....	Recap
17	December 31, 2006	Miami Dolphins 2006 Miami Dolphins season The 2006 Miami Dolphins season began with the team trying to improve on their 9–7 record in 2005. Instead, they finished the season 6–10 after being hyped by some to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, and saw their coach Nick Saban abandon his contract to coach college football for the Alabama...	W 27–22	12–4	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap

Week 1: at New York Giants

Indianapolis opened the regular season on the road against the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

on September 10, 2006. In a much-hyped and highly anticipated matchup dubbed "The Manning Bowl
Manning Bowl
Manning Bowl is a former American football and soccer stadium located in Lynn, Massachusetts. It was the home stadium for Lynn English, Lynn Classical, Lynn Tech, St. Mary's High School...

", Colts QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

led the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

against the Giants and QB Eli Manning

Eli Manning

Eli Nelson Manning is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning...

, who is his younger brother. This contest marked the first time in NFL

National Football League

history that two brothers started at QB opposite one another. On an opening drive that lasted nearly nine minutes, the Colts went 58 yards on 17 plays, only to be held to a 26-yard Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

field goal in his first regular-season appearance as a Colt. Indianapolis scored again on another Vinatieri field goal, this one a 32-yarder, before finally finding the endzone on a 2-yard pass from Peyton Manning to TE

Tight end

The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...

Dallas Clark

Dallas Dean Clark is an American football tight end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts 24th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa...

. The Giants trimmed the Colts' lead on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to WR

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Antonio Burress is an American football wide receiver who currently plays for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers eighth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...

, though the Colts responded promptly with another field goal before the half expired. The Giants struck first in the third quarter with another touchdown pass from Eli Manning, this time 15 yards to TE Jeremy Shockey

Jeremy Shockey

Jeremy Charles Shockey is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Giants 14th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...

. It proved to be too little too late, however, as the Colts increased their lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by RB

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

Dominic Rhodes

Dominic Dondrell Rhodes is an American football running back for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He attended Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2001...

. A 1-yard touchdown run by Giants RB Brandon Jacobs

Brandon Jacobs

-New York Giants:Going into the 2006 season Jacobs stated that he studied film of famed power running back Eddie George in an effort to refine his running style. George, like Jacobs, was a large, power running back. In the 2006 season, Jacobs carried the ball 96 times for 423 yards and nine...

made the game interesting in the final minutes, but Indianapolis responded with one last field goal and timely defensive plays down the stretch, and were able to seal the victory.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 6:07 – Vinatieri 26-yard FG (3–0 IND)

Q2 – IND – 12:23 – Vinatieri 32-yard FG (6–0 IND)

Q2 – IND – 2:25 – 2-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Dallas Clark (Vinatieri kick) (13–0 IND)

Q2 – NYG – 0:32 – 34-yard TD pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress (Jay Feely

Jay Feely

Thomas James "Jay" Feely is an American football placekicker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. Jay played for the Temple Terrace Spirit Soccer team that won the National Championships when he was 16....

kick) (13–7 IND)

Q2 – IND – 0:00 – Vinatieri 48-yard FG (16–7 IND)

Q3 – NYG – 7:10 – 15-yard TD pass from Eli Manning to Jeremy Shockey (Feely kick) (16–14 IND)

Q4 – IND – 13:13 – Dominic Rhodes 1-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (23–14 IND)

Q4 – NYG – 8:01 – Brandon Jacobs 1-yard TD run (Feely kick) (23–21 IND)

Q4 – IND – 1:12 – Vinatieri 32-yard FG (26–21 IND)

Week 2: vs. Houston Texans

In their Week 2 home-opener against AFC South

AFC South

The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...

rival Houston

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Indianapolis

Indianapolis Colts

continued its offensive dominance by starting the game with a 10-yard touchdown pass from QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

to WR

Wide receiver

Brandon Stokley

Brandon Stokley is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft...

and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Manning to rookie running back

Running back

Joseph Addai

Joseph Addai, Jr. is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University.-Early years:Addai's family hails from Ghana in West Africa...

. In the second quarter, kicker Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

successfully converted a 39-yard field goal attempt to push the Colts' lead to 17–0. The Texans responded with a field goal of their own, but the Colts tacked on another field goal as time expired to end the half. The third quarter witnessed more scoring as Peyton Manning completed a touchdown drive on the first possession of the half, this one a 15-yard touchdown pass to TE

Tight end

Bryan Fletcher

Bryan Fletcher (tight end)

Bryan Jamaile Fletcher is an American football player, he plays tight end and is currently a free agent. He attended UCLA. He is the younger brother of former San Diego Chargers running back Terrell Fletcher. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2002 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears...

. Five minutes later, Adam Vinatieri converted another field goal for Indianapolis, this time from 38 yards out. Houston showed signs of life in the fourth quarter as QB David Carr

David Carr

David Duke Carr is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...

completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to TE Owen Daniels

Owen Daniels

Owen Daniels is an American football tight end and emergency backup quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League...

. Indianapolis would respond, however, with a 2-yard touchdown run by RB Dominic Rhodes

Dominic Rhodes

. The Texans answered on Carr's 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Mark Bruener

Mark Bruener

Mark Frederick Bruener is a former American football tight end of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 27th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washington.Bruener played nine seasons with the Steelers followed by five with the Houston...

, but the Colts scored yet again, this time on a 3-yard TD run by RB Ran Carthon

Ran Carthon

Arandric Kornell "Ran" Carthon is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for three seasons in the early 2000s...

. Houston scored one more time in the final moments as David Carr completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to WR Andre Johnson

Andre Johnson

Andre Lamont Johnson is an American football wide receiver currently playing for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Through the 2010–11 NFL season, Johnson currently ranks first all-time in NFL history in receiving yards per game for a career...

, but the game was never as close as the final score indicated. This victory improved the Colts' record against the Texans to 9–0. Also noteworthy, QB Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

surpassed Johnny Unitas

Johnny Unitas

John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...

for the most pass completions in franchise history. Manning accomplished this feat on his third completion of the game. http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/IND/9666334

Peyton Manning finished the game 26 of 38 with 400 yards passing and three touchdowns. David Carr finished with 219 passing yards on 22 of 26 passes completed and also had three touchdown passes as well. Neither quarterback threw an interception, but Carr did fumble the football three times. Colts RB Joseph Addai finished the game with a career-high 82 rushing yards, and also had a touchdown reception. Peyton Manning was sacked twice in this game, and David Carr was sacked four times.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 12:48 – 10-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Brandon Stokley (Vinatieri kick) (7–0 IND)

Q1 – IND – 8:17 – 21-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Joseph Addai (Vinatieri kick) (14–0 IND)

Q2 – IND – 6:02 – Adam Vinatieri 39-yard FG (17–0 IND)

Q2 – HOU – 1:54 – Kris Brown

Kris Brown

Kristopher "Kris" Clayton Brown is an American football placekicker who is currently a free agent.He was originally drafted in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the first six years of his NFL career, he has converted 132 of 173 field goals and scored 573 points...

43-yard FG (17–3 IND)

Q2 – IND – 0:00 – Adam Vinatieri 43-yard FG (20–3 IND)

Q3 – IND – 8:07 – 15-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Bryan Fletcher (Vinatieri kick) (27–3 IND)

Q3 – IND – 3:17 – Adam Vinatieri 38-yard FG (30–3 IND)

Q4 – HOU – 11:36 – 33-yard TD pass from David Carr to Owen Daniels (Brown kick) (30–10 IND)

Q4 – IND – 7:56 – Dominic Rhodes 2-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (37–10 IND)

Q4 – HOU – 5:12 – 1-yard TD pass from David Carr to Mark Bruener (Brown kick) (37–17 IND)

Q4 – IND – 2:28 – Ran Carthon 3-yard TD run (Hunter Smith

Hunter Smith

Hunter Dwight Smith is an American football punter, currently a free agent and most recently for the Washington Redskins. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

kick failed) (43–17 IND)

Q4 – HOU – 0:45 – 10-yard TD pass from David Carr to Andre Johnson (Brown kick) (43–24 IND)

Week 3: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Playing again in front of the home crowd, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

faced a big test in their AFC South

AFC South

The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...

rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Jacksonville scored first on a 4-yard touchdown run by QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Byron Leftwich

Byron Antron Leftwich is an American football quarterback in the National Football League who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars seventh overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall University.Leftwich has also played...

. The Colts were not able to respond until early in the second quarter when WR

Wide receiver

/PR

Punt returner

Punt returner is a position on special teams in American football.-Description:The role of a punt returner is to catch the ball after it is punted and to give his team good field position by returning it. Before catching the punted ball, the returner must assess the situation on the field while...

Terrence Wilkins

Terrence Olondo Wilkins is a former wide receiver and punt returner for the Indianapolis Colts in the National Football League. He signed with the Colts on November 10, 2003. He also played with the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League. He has 1,466 career receiving yards in the...

returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown. Indianapolis grabbed the lead for the first time in the game during the third quarter on QB Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

's 30-yard touchdown pass to TE

Tight end

Dallas Clark

. In the fourth quarter, Manning increased Indianapolis' lead on an uncharacteristic two-yard touchdown run. That score put the Colts up 21–7. The Jaguars, though, would get to within a touchdown late in the game on Byron Leftwich's 7-yard TD pass to RB

Running back

Maurice Jones-Drew

Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew is a professional American football player who currently plays running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . He was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...

. That score, however, proved to be the last of the game as Indianapolis hung on for the victory, and improved their record to 3–0.

Quarterback Peyton Manning finished the game 14 of 31 with 219 passing yards for one touchdown pass, while Byron Leftwich finished 16 of 28 with 107 passing yards for one touchdown pass. Leftwich also threw two interceptions. RB Maurice Jones-Drew had 103 rushing yards for Jacksonville, and Marvin Harrison

Marvin Harrison

had 6 catches for 94 yards receiving. Jacksonville Kicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Josh Scobee

Joshua Taylor Scobee is an American football placekicker, who currently plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League . He began his college football career as kicker for the Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs, setting several school records...

missed both of his field goals, and they proved crucial in the game in the late stages.

Scoring summary

Q1 – JAC – 7:31 – Byron Leftwich 4-yard TD run (Scobee kick) (7–0 JAC)

Q2 – IND – 11:42 – Terrence Wilkins 82-yard punt return (Martin Gramatica

Martin Gramatica

Martín Gramática is an Argentine-American former football placekicker.Gramática was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft after playing college football at Kansas State, and has also been a member of the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Dallas...

kick) (7–7)

Q3 – IND – 11:55 – 30-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Dallas Clark (Gramatica kick) (14–7 IND)

Q4 – IND – 8:30 – Peyton Manning 2-yard TD run (Gramatica kick) (21–7 IND)

Q4 – JAC – 3:32 – 7-yard TD pass from Byron Leftwich to Maurice Jones-Drew (Scobee kick (21–14 IND)

Week 4: at New York Jets

The Colts traveled to The Meadowlands

Giants Stadium

Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...

for a showdown with the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. This would be the second time this season that the Colts played at Giants Stadium, as they played the New York Giants

New York Giants

in the regular season

Regular season (NFL)

opener. Indianapolis scored first on a 6-yard touchdown run by running back

Running back

Dominic Rhodes

. The second quarter, though, was taken over by the Jets

New York Jets

as they tied the game on QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Chad Pennington

James Chadwick "Chad" Pennington is an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for ten years. He is currently a football analyst with FOX Sports though he plans to return to playing after recovering from an injury...

's 33-yard touchdown pass to WR

Wide receiver

Jerricho Cotchery

Cotchery was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft.-New York Jets:In 2004, Cotchery caught 6 passes for 60 yards in 12 games as the team's 5th receiver...

, and took the lead on RB Kevan Barlow

Kevan Barlow

Kevan C. Barlow is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft...

's 1-yard touchdown run. The Colts tied the game just before halftime on a 2-yard touchdown run by rookie

Rookie

Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

RB Joseph Addai

Joseph Addai

. After a scoreless third quarter, kicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Martin Gramatica

, filling in for the injured Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

, made a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth to give Indianapolis the lead, 17–14. But New York regained the lead, scoring on a Kevan Barlow 5-yard touchdown score. Colts QB Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

rallied the Colts on their next possession, leading them on a scoring drive that led to a 2-yard touchdown pass to TE

Tight end

Bryan Fletcher. Illustrating perfectly the back-and-forth nature of the contest, the lead changed hands once again as DB

Defensive back

In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

Justin Miller returned the ensuing kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown to quickly move all the momentum to New York's side. But Indianapolis took the setback in stride as Manning methodically marched the Colts up the field and scored the game's final points on a 1-yard quarterback sneak

Quarterback sneak

A quarterback sneak is a play in Canadian and American football in which the quarterback, upon taking the center snap, dives ahead while the offensive line surges forward...

. Facing a long field and with only eight seconds on the clock, on the game's last play Chad Pennington completed a pass up the middle to RB Leon Washington

Leon Washington

Leon Washington is an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State. He is married to Charity Washington with whom he has a son...

, who lateraled

Lateral pass

In American football, a lateral pass or lateral, officially backward pass , occurs when the ball carrier throws the football to any teammate behind him or directly next to him...

the ball to wide receiver Brad Smith

Brad Smith (American football)

Bradley "Brad" Alexander Smith is an American football quarterback, running back, wide receiver and return specialist for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He played college football at Missouri.-High...

in a desperate attempt to score a touchdown reminiscent of "The Play

The Play

The Play refers to a last-second kickoff return during a college football game between the and the Stanford University Cardinal on Saturday, November 20, 1982...

" between Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

and the University of California

University of California

The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...

. Five laterals and three fumbles later, the Colts ended any hope of a Jets miracle comeback by recovering the final fumble of the play as time expired.

Quarterback Peyton Manning finished the game 21 of 30 for 217 passing yards and one touchdown, Chad Pennington was 17 of 23 for 207 yards passing and had one touchdown pass and one interception. Manning was sacked twice while Pennington was sacked three times. Colts rookie running back Joseph Addai had a career-high 84 yards rushing as the Colts improved their record to 4–0.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 12:28 – Dominic Rhodes 6-yard TD run (Gramatica kick) (7–0 IND)

Q2 – NYJ – 10:10 – 33-yard TD pass from Chad Pennington to Jerricho Cotchery (Mike Nugent

Mike Nugent

Mike Nugent is an American football placekicker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

kick) (7–7)

Q2 – NYJ – 4:44 – Kevan Barlow 1-yard TD run (Nugent kick) (14–7 NYJ)

Q2 – IND – 0:16 – Joseph Addai 2-yard TD run (Gramatica kick) (14–14)

Q4 – IND – 12:58 – Martin Gramatica 20-yard FG (17–14 IND)

Q4 – NYJ – 7:55 – Kevan Barlow 5-yard TD run (Nugent kick) (21–17 NYJ)

Q4 – IND – 2:34 – 2-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Bryan Fletcher (Gramatica kick) (24–21 IND)

Q4 – NYJ – 2:20 – Justin Miller 103-yard kickoff return (Nugent kick) (28–24 NYJ)

Q4 – IND – 0:50 – Peyton Manning 1-yard TD run (Gramatica kick) (31–28 IND)

Week 5: vs. Tennessee Titans

Following their close win against the Jets

New York Jets

, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

returned home for a Week 5 matchup with AFC South

AFC South

The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...

rival Tennessee

Tennessee Titans

. Surprisingly, the Titans took the lead early as rookie

Rookie

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Vince Young

Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...

ran 19 yards for a touchdown

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

in what would be the first quarter's only score. In the second quarter, Tennessee expanded its lead to 10–0 on a 22-yard Rob Bironas

Rob Bironas

James Robert Douglas "Rob" Bironas is an American football placekicker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Auburn University and Georgia Southern.Bironas was an All-Pro...

field goal. Indianapolis cut the deficit with six minutes left in the third quarter on QB Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

's 13-yard touchdown strike to WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

. However, Tennessee countered on Rob Bironas' 47-yard field goal, which gave the Titans a 13–7 lead going into the fourth quarter. Showing the resolve that allowed them to come from behind in their two previous games, the Indianapolis offense delivered what turned out to be the game-clinching score with only five minutes left in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Manning to WR Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts...

to give the Colts a 14–13 lead. That ended up being the final score after Vince Young could not convert on a hail mary

Hail Mary pass

A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary route in American football refers to any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half....

pass in the end zone

End zone

In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...

. With the win, the Colts stayed undefeated and expanded their lead in the AFC South to two games over second place Jacksonville

Jacksonville Jaguars

.

Peyton Manning finished the game 20 of 31 for 166 passing yards with 2 touchdown passes and one interception, and Vince Young finished with 63 passing yards on 10 of 21 pass attempts and threw one interception also. Tennessee running back Travis Henry

Travis Henry

Travis Deion Henry is a former American football running back for the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos. He was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...

had 123 rushing yards in the loss.

Scoring summary

Q1 – TEN – 6:41 – Vince Young 19-yard TD run (Bironas kick) (7–0 TEN)

Q2 – TEN – 5:38 – Rob Bironas 22-yard FG (10–0 TEN)

Q3 – IND – 6:09 – 13-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Martin Gramatica

Martin Gramatica

kick) (10–7 TEN)

Q3 – TEN – 1:33 – Rob Bironas 47-yard FG (13–7 TEN)

Q4 – IND – 5:10 – 2-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Gramatica kick) (14–13 IND)

Week 7: vs. Washington Redskins

Coming off their bye week, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

gave a solid offensive performance at home against the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

. Indianapolis won the contest 36–22 despite being down 14–13 at halftime. QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

, who was hit hard by defenders twice in the first half, rebounded resoundingly in the second half with 3 touchdown

Touchdown

passes in the third quarter. On a day when Manning was almost perfect, he and WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

connected for two touchdowns. The performance also saw the pair move up in their respective career yardage lists; Manning passed Jim Hart

Jim Hart (football player)

James Warren Hart is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1966 through 1983 and the Washington Redskins in 1984. From 1974-1976, he guided the Cardinals to three straight 10+ win seasons along with back to back division crowns in...

to move into 14th place in all-time passing yards and Harrison passed Irving Fryar

Irving Fryar

Irving Dale Fryar is a former American football wide receiver of the National Football League.Fryar grew up in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey and played high school football at Rancocas Valley Regional High School...

to move into eighth on the career receiving yardage chart. Washington QB Mark Brunell

Mark Brunell

Mark Allen Brunell is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the New York Jets. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Washington....

threw for two touchdowns and no interceptions, but his performance could not prevent the Redskins' third consecutive loss going into their bye week.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning finished the game 25 of 35 for 342 yards passing and four touchdowns, while Washington quarterback Mark Brunell completed 27 of his 37 pass attempts for 226 yards passing and two touchdowns. Colts rookie

Rookie

Running back

Joseph Addai

had a career-high 85 yards rushing on 11 carries, and Redskins RB Ladell Betts

Ladell Betts

Matthew Ladell Betts is an American football running back who is currently a free agent He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa....

carried the football 10 times for 52 yards. Colts WR Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

had his first big game of the season, as he had 7 catches for 122 yards receiving and one touchdown.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 6:59 – 1-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Dallas Clark

Dallas Clark

(Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

kick) (7–0 IND)

Q2 – WAS – 13:19 – 13-yard TD pass from Mark Brunell to Chris Cooley (Nick Novak

Nick Novak

Nicholas Ryan "Nick" Novak is an American football placekicker for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005...

kick) (7–7)

Q2 – IND – 8:41 – Adam Vinatieri 30-yard FG (10–7 IND)

Q2 – WAS – 2:24 – Antwaan Randle El

Antwaan Randle El

Antwaan Randle El is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He attended Indiana University, after turning down a Major League Baseball draft selection by the Chicago Cubs in 1997...

87-yard punt return (Novak kick) (14–10 WAS)

Q2 – IND – 0:08 – Adam Vinatieri 19-yard FG (14–13 WAS)

Q3 – IND – 12:59 – 4-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (20–14 IND)

Q3 – IND – 8:11 – 51-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (27–14 IND)

Q3 – IND – 2:46 – 1-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (2-point conversion failed) (33–14 IND)

Q4 – IND – 4:41 – Adam Vinatieri 47-yard FG (36–14 IND)

Q4 – WAS – 0:18 – 5-yard TD pass from Mark Brunell to James Thrash

James Thrash

James Thrash is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 1997. He played college football at Missouri Southern State....

(Chris Cooley 2-point conversion) (36–22 IND)

Week 8: at Denver Broncos

After a convincing win over a struggling Redskins

Washington Redskins

team in Week 7, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

faced one of their toughest opponents of the year in the Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. The Broncos sat atop the AFC West

AFC West

The AFC West is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference, currently comprising the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Oakland Raiders.-History:...

standings with a 5–1 record thanks in large part to a strong running game and a dominating defense that had only allowed two touchdowns on the season. Both defenses played well in the first quarter, which ended with the Colts leading 3–0. Denver took the lead early in the second quarter on a Jake Plummer

Jake Plummer

Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State....

one-yard touchdown

Touchdown

run. Indianapolis cut the lead to one on their next drive, which ended in a 30-yard Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

field goal, but the Broncos answered with a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Jake Plummer to WR

Wide receiver

Javon Walker

Javon Lataff Walker is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers 20th overall of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State....

just before halftime to expand their lead to 14–6. On their first drive of the half Indianapolis came within one point of the lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from QB Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

to WR Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

. On the Colts' next possession, Wayne and Manning hooked up again for another touchdown, this one a 5-yard TD pass to take the lead 20–14. But the Broncos came back with a one-yard touchdown run by Mike Bell

Mike Bell (football player)

-Denver Broncos:Bell entered the 2006 NFL Draft, but went undrafted. He was signed as an undrafted free agent on May 8, 2006 by the Denver Broncos.Bell had a very strong training camp, and before the Broncos first preseason game, Bell was promoted to the starting tailback position...

, giving them a one-point lead at the end of the third quarter. After a Vinatieri field goal and another Denver touchdown, the Colts were down by 5 points with a little over half of the fourth quarter remaining. After the Colts received the kickoff, they marched down the field. The drive ended with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Wayne, the third time they hooked up for a touchdown in the game. The Colts were now up by one point and decided to go for the two-point conversion to go up by a field goal. The conversion was a success as Manning found Reggie Wayne in the end zone

End zone

again. Jason Elam

Jason Elam

Jason Elam is a retired American football placekicker. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii....

came through for Denver and made a 49-yard field goal to tie the game at 31. The final drive of the game resulted in an Adam Vinatieri field goal with two seconds left to put Indianapolis up by three.

Manning ended the game with three touchdown passes, all of them to Reggie Wayne. Rookie

Rookie

Running back

Joseph Addai

had a career-high 93 yards rushing on only 17 carries. DE

Defensive end

Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...

Dwight Freeney

Dwight Jason Freeney is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University.-Early years:Freeney attended Bloomfield High School...

was credited with half a sack, his first of the season.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 1:45 – Adam Vinatieri 42-yard FG (3–0 IND)

Q2 – DEN – 11:16 – Jake Plummer 1-yard TD run (Elam kick) (7–3 DEN)

Q2 – IND – 5:10 – Adam Vinatieri 30-yard FG (7–6 DEN)

Q2 – DEN – 0:22 – 15-yard TD pass from Jake Plummer to Javon Walker (Elam kick) (14–6 DEN)

Q3 – IND – 12:04 – 12-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (14–13 DEN)

Q3 – IND – 8:54 – 5-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (20–14 IND)

Q3 – DEN – 0:00 – Mike Bell 1-yard TD run (Elam kick) (21–20 DEN)

Q4 – IND – 11:37 – Adam Vinatieri 48-yard FG (23–21 IND)

Q4 – DEN – 6:54 – Mike Bell 1-yard TD run (Elam kick) (28–23 DEN)

Q4 – IND – 3:35 – 19-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Reggie Wayne 2-point conversion) (31–28 IND)

Q4 – DEN – 1:49 – Jason Elam 49-yard FG (31–31)

Q4 – IND – 0:02 – Adam Vinatieri 37-yard FG (34–31 IND)

Week 9: at New England Patriots

The Colts

Indianapolis Colts

headed to Gillette Stadium

Gillette Stadium

Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 21 miles southwest of downtown Boston and from downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution...

for a highly-anticipated Sunday Night Football

NBC Sunday Night Football

NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...

matchup with the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

in Week 9. In the first quarter, an interception in the end zone

End zone

by Colts rookie

Rookie

Defensive back

Antoine Bethea

Antoine Bethea is a professional American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Colts...

set up the Colts' first scoring drive, a 68-yard march that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

to WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

for the only score of the quarter. Already banged up on defense, the Patriots lost SS

Defensive back

Rodney Harrison

Rodney Scott Harrison is a retired professional football player of the National Football League. Harrison played safety for the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots...

to a shoulder injury in the first quarter, and he never returned to the game. The second quarter was a lot more eventful after two scores by Patriots RB

Running back

Corey Dillon

Corey James Dillon is a former American football running back. He played his ten-season career for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots, wearing jersey number 28 for both teams. Dillon played college football the University of Washington where he wore the number 4.-High school...

, a TD run by Colts rookie RB Joseph Addai

Joseph Addai

, and a field goal by Colts kicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Adam Vinatieri

.

The Patriots played from behind for the rest of the game and could not catch up to the Colts. Patriots QB Tom Brady

Tom Brady

Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...

was intercepted four times in the defeat, and Colts LB

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

Cato June

intercepted two of those passes. Also of note, Colts WR Marvin Harrison had 8 catches in the game for 145 yards and two touchdowns. The victory marked the Colts' second straight versus the Patriots after having lost the previous six. With the win, the Colts became just the second team in NFL history to begin consecutive seasons 8–0 (the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

began three consecutive seasons 8–0 from 1929–31). Also, with 326 yards passing QB Peyton Manning has thrown for over 300 yards in three consecutive games for the first time in his career.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 4:30 – 5-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (7–0 IND)

Q2 – NE – 14:25 – Corey Dillon 1-yard TD run (Stephen Gostkowski

Stephen Gostkowski

Stephen Carroll Gostkowski is a placekicker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League...

kick) (7–7)

Q2 – IND – 9:56 – Joseph Addai 2-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (14–7 IND)

Q2 – NE – 4:14 – Corey Dillon 4-yard TD run (Gostkowski kick) (14–14)

Q2 – IND – 1:46 – Adam Vinatieri 23-yard FG (17–14 IND)

Q3 – IND – 6:56 – 4-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (24–14 IND)

Q3 – NE – 5:18 – Stephen Gostkowski 49-yard FG (24–17 IND)

Q4 – IND – 10:17 – Adam Vinatieri 31-yard FG (27–17 IND)

Q4 – NE – 6:01 – Stephen Gostkowski 26-yard FG (27–20 IND)

Week 10: vs. Buffalo Bills

The Colts

Indianapolis Colts

defeated the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

in Week 10, 17–16, becoming the first team in NFL history to start consecutive seasons 9–0. The game's scoring consisted of four touchdowns and three field goals. Buffalo struck first, as they converted a field goal attempt by K

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Rian Lindell

Rian Lindell is an American football placekicker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2000...

. The Colts then followed with a score of their own, a 1-yard TD pass from QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

to WR

Wide receiver

Reggie Wayne

to take the lead with 11:14 left in the half. The Colts had a 7-point lead near the end of the half, but Buffalo swung the momentum their way as Terrence McGee

Terrence McGee

Terrence Dewayne McGee is an American football cornerback and kick returner who currently plays for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by Bills in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...

returned a fumble 68-yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 10.

On the opening possession of the third quarter, the drive ended in a 5-yard touchdown run by Colts rookie

Rookie

Running back

Joseph Addai

. Terrance McGee then took Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

's kickoff 88-yards to the Colts 12 yard line. Buffalo could not come up with anything on the rest of the drive and had to settle for another field goal. On the opening drive of the fourth quarter, Lindell made another field goal for the Bills to reduce the Colts' lead to 1 point. When the Bills drove down the field on their next possession, they had a chance to take the lead, but Rian Lindell missed his field goal, and the Colts ran out the clock to move to 9–0. With the Colts' win and a loss by the Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars

, 13–10 to the Houston Texans

Houston Texans

, the Colts are now four games ahead in the AFC South

AFC South

The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...

Scoring summary

Q1 – BUF – 6:52 – Rian Lindell 22-yard FG (3–0 BUF)

Q2 – IND – 11:09 – 1-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (7–3 IND)

Q2 – IND – 2:44 – Adam Vinatieri 31-yard FG (10–3 IND)

Q2 – BUF – 0:31 – 68-yard fumble return for TD by Terrence McGee (Lindell kick) (10–10)

Q3 – IND – 10:30 – Joseph Addai 5-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (17–10 IND)

Q3 – BUF – 8:47 – Rian Lindell 30-yard FG (17–13 IND)

Q4 – BUF – 10:35 – Rian Lindell 43-yard FG (17–16 IND)

Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys

The Colts

Indianapolis Colts

suffered their first defeat of the season, 21–14, at the hand of the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

and became the last team to lose during the 2006 NFL season

2006 NFL season

The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...

. The game was full of turnovers, and neither team could take care of the scoring opportunities. Colts QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

threw two interceptions and one of those was returned for a touchdown by Cowboys OLB

Linebacker

Kevin Burnett

Kevin Bradley Burnett is an American football linebacker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee....

early in the second half. The first quarter was back-and-forth as each possession ended with turnover after turnover. After Cowboys QB Tony Romo

Tony Romo

Antonio Ramiro "Tony" Romo is a professional American football quarterback in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys. Romo's career passer rating - at 95.8 - ranks third-best all time. Tony Romo didn't play in the regular season in 2003, 2004, or 2005...

was sacked by DE

Defensive end

Dwight Freeney

, Colts WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

fumbled, and after the Cowboys punted, Manning was sacked by Jay Ratliff

Jay Ratliff

Jeremiah "Jay" Ratliff is an American football nose tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He played college football at Auburn.-Early years:...

and Bradie James

Bradie James

Bradie Gene James is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.-High school career :...

recovered the fumble. After a couple punts by both teams, Peyton Manning & Co. pushed the Cowboys deep in their own territory thanks to the great rushing by rookie

Rookie

Running back

Joseph Addai

. The Colts reached the 4 yard line, and on third down, Manning attempted a pass to the endzone, but in a controversial situation, SS

Defensive back

Roy Williams

Roy Williams (safety)

Roy Lee Williams is a retired American football safety. He played college football at Oklahoma before he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys eighth overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He spent seven seasons with the Cowboys and earned five straight Pro Bowl selections from 2003–2007...

nudged TE

Tight end

Dallas Clark

near the end zone, and while Clark fell down, Williams intercepted a Peyton Manning pass for the second time in his career, and gave the Cowboys the ball at their own 7 yard line. The Cowboys scored all of their points in the second half after a first half that was full of turnovers.

Colts QB Peyton Manning went 20 of 39 for 254 passing yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions, Cowboys QB Tony Romo was 19 of 23 with 226 passing yards and had one interception. Colts WR Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

had 7 catches for 111 yards, and Cowboys RB Julius Jones rushed the football 22 times for 79 yards. Also of note, former Colts kicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Mike Vanderjagt

missed two of his three field goals during the game.

Scoring summary

Q2 – IND – 0:10 – 23-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

kick) (7–0 IND)

Q3 – DAL – 14:09 – Kevin Burnett 39-yard interception return TD (Vanderjagt kick) (7–7)

Q3 – IND – 5:09 – 4-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Dallas Clark (Vinatieri kick) (14–7 IND)

Q4 – DAL – 11:36 – Marion Barber

Marion Barber III

Marion Sylvester Barber III is an American football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minnesota....

5-yard TD run (Vanderjagt kick) (14–14)

Q4 – DAL – 6:00 – Marion Barber 1-yard TD run (Vanderjagt kick) (21–14 DAL)

Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

This Week 12 showdown between the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

and Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

was originally scheduled for 1:00 ET, but due to the NFL's "flexible-scheduling" system this year, the NFL moved the game to Sunday night

NBC Sunday Night Football

at 8:15 ET. This was the Colts' third primetime game this year on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, and the Eagles' first. There were 10 scores in this game, 5 each half. The first three scores of the game were by Colts rookie

Rookie

Running back

Joseph Addai

. He had a 15-yard TD run, a 10-yard TD run, and another 15-yard TD run after that. His fourth rushing touchdown of the game came in the second half. The Eagles' first score came with about a minute to go in the half. Quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Jeff Garcia

Jeffrey Jason "Jeff" Garcia is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He played college football at San Jose State University....

threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to L.J. Smith

L.J. Smith

John Smith III , commonly known as L.J., which stands for "Little John", is an American football tight end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft...

on that drive. On the Colts' next drive, combined with a couple passes and a 13-yard run by Dominic Rhodes

Dominic Rhodes

, the Colts put K

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Adam Vinatieri

in field goal range to get some more points before the end of the half. At the half, the Colts had a 17-point lead, 24–7. After a Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

touchdown catch, the Colts were up big on the Eagles, 31–7.

On the ensuing possession for the Eagles, Garcia found Reggie Brown in the end zone

End zone

for a 3-yard score. But with less than 11 minutes left in the game, the Eagles scored once more and reduced the Colts' lead to 10 points. On the following possession, the Colts ran the ball 13 times with no passes and Joseph Addai had the last 8 carries on that drive including another 4-yard scamper, his fourth touchdown of the game. That touchdown also tied the Colts franchise record for the most rushing touchdowns in a single game.

With less than four minutes to go in the game, the Eagles were desperate to score some points, but while Jeff Garcia was deep in his own territory, he dropped back to pass and was hit by both DE

Defensive end

Robert Mathis

Robert Nathan Mathis is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.-Early years:Mathis attended McNair High School in Atlanta, Georgia....

and DE Dwight Freeney

Dwight Freeney

. Mathis knocked the ball out of Garcia's hand right before his arm started going forwards and CB

Cornerback

A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

Kelvin Hayden

Kelvin Darnell Hayden, Jr. is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Illinois. He returned a Rex Grossman interception 56 yards for a...

picked up the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. The Colts were up by 24 points after that last score. On the next possession, the Eagles put in backup QB A.J. Feeley

A.J. Feeley

Adam Joshua Feeley is an American football quarterback for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2001 NFL Draft...

in place of Garcia, and Feeley ended up getting the football knocked out of his hand by Robert Mathis (his second forced fumble of the game) and the Colts recovered and ended up running out the clock to conclude the game.

Joseph Addai tied the NFL record for most touchdowns in a game by a rookie, with 4 touchdowns in this game. During this game, the Colts lost SS

Defensive back

Antoine Bethea

Antoine Bethea is a professional American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Colts...

, TE

Tight end

Dallas Clark

and OT Ryan Diem

Ryan Diem

Ryan Diem is a starting offensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Ryan Diem stands 6'6" tall and weighs 305 pounds...

all to injuries in the first half, and they did not return.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 10:06 – Joseph Addai 15-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (7–0 IND)

Q2 – IND – 14:55 – Joseph Addai 10-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (14–0 IND)

Q2 – IND – 8:58 – Joseph Addai 15-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (21–0 IND)

Q2 – PHI – 1:19 – 1-yard TD pass from Jeff Garcia to L.J. Smith (David Akers

David Akers

David Roy Akers is a left footed American football placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons in 1997. He played college football at Louisville....

kick) (21–7 IND)

Q2 – IND – 0:00 – Adam Vinatieri 44-yard FG (24–7 IND)

Q3 – IND – 6:39 – 11-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (31–7 IND)

Q3 – PHI – 0:43 – 3-yard TD pass from Jeff Garcia to Reggie Brown (Akers kick) (31–14 IND)

Q4 – PHI – 10:13 – Brian Westbrook

Brian Westbrook

Brian Collins Westbrook is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft after playing college football at Villanova...

6-yard TD run (Akers kick) (31–21 IND)

Q4 – IND – 3:38 – Joseph Addai 4-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (38–21 IND)

Q4 – IND – 3:25 – Kelvin Hayden 26-yard fumble return TD (Vinatieri kick) (45–21 IND)

Week 13: at Tennessee Titans

This game at the Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans

saw the return of two crucial players for the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

: WR

Wide receiver

Brandon Stokley

Brandon Stokley is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL Draft...

and FS

Defensive back

Bob Sanders

Demond "Bob" Sanders is a professional American football safety who is currently on the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League. Sanders was drafted in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts...

. The Colts started hot in this game, and the only score of the first quarter came off a 68-yard touchdown pass from QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

to WR Marvin Harrison

Marvin Harrison

. The next score for the Colts came in the second quarter, as RB

Running back

Dominic Rhodes

had a 2-yard run for a touchdown. With less than seven minutes to go in the half, the Colts were up 14–0 on Tennessee. But, within a couple minutes Titans K

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Rob Bironas

made a 25-yard field goal to cut the lead to 11 points. The Colts' next possession uncharacteristically ended abruptly when Peyton Manning's pass intended for TE

Tight end

Bryan Fletcher

Bryan Fletcher (tight end)

was intercepted by OLB

Linebacker

Keith Bulluck

Keith J. Bulluck is an American Football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was drafted 30th overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse....

with 31 seconds left in the half. 20 seconds later, Titans QB Vince Young

Vince Young

connected with WR Drew Bennett

Drew Bennett

Andrew Russell "Drew" Bennett is a former American football wide receiver of the National Football League. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played college football at UCLA....

for a 20-yard touchdown pass to shrink the Colts' lead to 4 points. With 11 seconds left, the Titans' kickoff went out of bounds and the Colts had the ball at their own 40 yard line. On the following play, Manning hooked up with Bryan Fletcher for a 25-yard pass to the 35 yard line. The Colts brought out K Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

to attempt a 53-yard field goal, but the kick stayed right and just missed the upright. At the half, the Colts were in the lead, 14–10.

The third quarter did not yield a score, but Vince Young ran wild. The Colts' rushing defense was at its worse towards the end of the regular season. Three minutes into the last quarter, Vince Young hooked up with WR Brandon Jones

Brandon Jones (football player)

Brandon Jones is an American football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

for a touchdown to give Tennessee its first lead of the game. Ten minutes later, the Colts tied the game with an Adam Vinatieri field goal from 20-yards out. On what ended up being the last possession of the game, the Titans were trying to defeat the Colts for the first time since the 2002 NFL season

2002 NFL season

The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...

. After two first downs, the Titans had the ball at the Colts' 41 yard line with 31 seconds to go. After a short pass for 4 yards and an incomplete pass, the Titans had one last shot at a 60-yard field goal to win the game. Kicker Rob Bironas had very high winds at his back and he made the 60-yard field goal with a lot of help from wind. He cleared the crossbar by almost 3 yards, and made the game-winning field goal for the Titans for the second straight week. The Titans moved to 5–7 while the Colts went to 10–2 on the season.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 3:51 – 68-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (7–0 IND)

Q2 – IND – 7:18 – Dominic Rhodes 2-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (14–0 IND)

Q2 – TEN – 1:49 – Rob Bironas 25-yard FG (14–3 IND)

Q2 – TEN – 0:11 – 20-yard TD pass from Vince Young to Drew Bennett (Bironas kick) (14–10 IND)

Q4 – TEN – 12:24 – 9-yard TD pass from Vince Young to Brandon Jones (Bironas kick) (17–14 TEN)

Q4 – IND – 2:38 – Adam Vinatieri 20-yard FG (17–17)

Q4 – TEN – 0:07 – Rob Bironas 60-yard FG (20–17 TEN)

Week 14: at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Colts

Indianapolis Colts

came into this game three games ahead of the Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars

in the AFC South

AFC South

The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...

standings, and with a win in this game, the Colts can clinch a playoff spot and the AFC South Championship for the fourth straight year.

On the Jaguars' first play from scrimmage, RB

Running back

Fred Taylor

Fred Taylor (football player)

Frederick Antwon Taylor is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for thirteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and was recognized as a first-team All-American...

ran up the middle for 76 yards down to the Colts' 18 yard line. On the following play rookie

Rookie

RB Maurice Jones-Drew

Maurice Jones-Drew

rushed 18 yards for the first score of the game. The Colts led the Jaguars at one point in the game, 10–7, but after Jacksonville scored six times before the Colts scored again, there was no way to catch up.

The Colts allowed 375 rushing yards in this game, the second-highest total since the NFL

National Football League

-AFL

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

merger in 1970. Jacksonville RB Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 166 yards and RB Fred Taylor ran for 131 yards. Third-string RB Alvin Pearman

Alvin Pearman

Francis Alvin Pearman, II is an American football running back who is currently a free agent, having last played for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

also ran for 71 yards. To further emphasize how effective the Jacksonville running game was, Jaguars QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

David Garrard

David Douglas Garrard is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent.Garrard played college football at East Carolina. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft, and served as the team's starting quarterback from 2007 to 2010...

was only 8 for 14 with 79 yards passing. While he only threw the ball 14 times, Colts QB Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

threw the ball 50 times, completing 25 of those passes for 313 passing yards. Neither quarterback threw a touchdown pass, but both of them threw one interception each. The Colts WR tandem of Marvin Harrison

Marvin Harrison

and Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

did well in this game. Harrison had 8 catches for 110 yards receiving, and Wayne had 6 catches for 101 yards. Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew did not just succeed on offense—he ran back an Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown also.

The Colts lost SS

Defensive back

Antoine Bethea

Antoine Bethea is a professional American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Colts...

to a shoulder injury, and he would not return. The Colts moved to 10–3, losing first place in the AFC

American Football Conference

The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....

, while the Jaguars improved to 8–5.

Scoring summary

Q1 – JAC – 12:19 – Maurice Jones-Drew 18-yard TD run (Josh Scobee

Josh Scobee

kick) (7–0 JAC)

Q1 – IND – 6:05 – Adam Vinatieri 41-yard FG (7–3 JAC)

Q2 – IND – 8:18 – Dominic Rhodes

Dominic Rhodes

1-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (10–7 IND)

Q2 – JAC – 5:45 – Fred Taylor 21-yard TD run (Scobee kick) (14–10 JAC)

Q2 – JAC – 1:17 – Maurice Jones-Drew 48-yard TD run (Scobee kick) (21–10 JAC)

Q2 – JAC – 0:00 – Josh Scobee 48-yard FG (24–10 JAC)

Q3 – JAC – 14:48 – Maurice Jones-Drew 93-yard kick return TD (Scobee kick) (31–10 JAC)

Q3 – JAC – 11:07 – Josh Scobee 34-yard FG (34–10 JAC)

Q3 – JAC – 0:22 – Josh Scobee 46-yard FG (37–10 JAC)

Q4 – IND – 11:13 – Peyton Manning 1-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (37–17 JAC)

Q4 – JAC – 3:59 – Alvin Pearman 6-yard TD run (Scobee kick) (44–17 JAC)

Week 15: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Hoping to rebound from their blowout road loss to the Jaguars, the Colts went home for a Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

. In the first quarter, Indianapolis struck first with K

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Adam Vinatieri

nailing a 30-yard field goal. The Bengals would respond with K Shayne Graham

Shayne Graham

Michael Shayne Graham is an American football placekicker. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2000, and most recently played with the New England Patriots...

converting a 27-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Colts began their breakout with QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

completing a 4-yard touchdown pass to WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

. Harrison would end up catching three touchdown passes in this game. Even though Cincinnati responded with 12-yard touchdown run by RB

Running back

Rudi Johnson

Burudi Ali "Rudi" Johnson is a former American football running back who played professionally from 2001 - 2008. Rudi was born in Petersburg, Virginia approximately 30 miles south of Richmond. His first name "Burudi" is Swahili and means "cool'" and his middle name "Ali" represented his family's...

, Indianapolis responded with Manning completing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Harrison. In the third quarter, the Bengals converted another field goal, and the Colts continued their power with Manning completing another touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison. Afterwards, Manning would complete another touchdown pass, this one a 18-yarder to WR Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

. In the fourth quarter, the Bengals' only response was another field goal. After that last field goal by Shayne Graham, Adam Vinatieri responded with a 44-yard field goal to close out the game. With the win, the Colts improved to 11–3.

Colts QB Peyton Manning finished the game 29 of 36 for 282 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, while Bengals QB Carson Palmer

Carson Palmer

Carson Palmer is an American professional football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals first overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played collegiately at the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy in 2002...

was 14 of 28 for 176 passing yards. Palmer also fumbled the football four times in this game. Colts DE

Defensive end

Dwight Freeney

forced three fumbles in the game and also had three sacks on Carson Palmer.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 8:00 – Adam Vinatieri 30-yard FG (3–0 IND)

Q1 – CIN – 1:05 – Shayne Graham 27-yard FG (3–3)

Q2 – IND – 10:25 – 4-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (10–3 IND)

Q2 – CIN – 6:49 – Rudi Johnson 12-yard TD run (Graham kick) (10–10)

Q2 – IND – 0:13 – 3-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (17–10 IND)

Q3 – CIN – 9:14 – Shayne Graham 30-yard FG (17–13 IND)

Q3 – IND – 6:36 – 1-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (24–13 IND)

Q3 – IND – 2:16 – 18-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (31–13 IND)

Q4 – CIN – 13:07 – Shayne Graham 28-yard FG (31–16 IND)

Q4 – IND – 5:25 – Adam Vinatieri 44-yard FG (34–16 IND)

Week 16: at Houston Texans

Coming off a primetime victory over Cincinnati

Cincinnati Bengals

, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

flew to Reliant Stadium

Reliant Stadium

Reliant Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Houston, Texas, USA. Reliant Stadium has a seating capacity of 71,500, a total square footage of with of natural grass playing surface....

for an AFC South

AFC South

The AFC South is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams...

rematch with the Houston Texans

Houston Texans

. Heading into this game, Indianapolis had never lost a game to the Texans, winning their first 9 games against them.

In the first quarter, the Colts got an early shock as RB

Running back

Ron Dayne

Ron Dayne is a former American football running back who is currently a free agent. He holds the NCAA record for career rushing yards, and he won the 1999 Heisman Trophy.-Early life:...

ran for a 3-yard touchdown and a 6-yard touchdown run. Indianapolis would respond with 37-yard touchdown pass from QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

to WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

. In the second quarter, the Colts tied the game with Manning completing a 9-yard touchdown pass to WR Aaron Moorehead

Aaron Moorehead

Aaron Matthew Moorehead is a retired American football wide receiver. He was originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played his entire 5 year career with the Colts including their SB XLI win over the Chicago Bears...

. However, Houston reclaimed its lead with QB David Carr

David Carr

David Duke Carr is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...

's 3-yard touchdown pass to RB Vonta Leach

Vonta Leach

Terzell Vonta Leach is an American football fullback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2004...

. In the third quarter, Indianapolis crept closer with K

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Adam Vinatieri

making a 33-yard field goal for the only score of the period.

In the fourth quarter, the Texans responded with kicker Kris Brown

Kris Brown

's 42-yard field goal. Afterwards, the Colts tied the game with Manning hooking up with Harrison again on a 7-yard touchdown pass, Harrison's second of the game. However, Houston managed to pull off a huge upset with Kris Brown's game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving Indianapolis their first ever loss against them. With the loss, the Colts fell to 11–4. Colts QB Peyton Manning finished the game 21 of 27 for 205 yards passing with three touchdowns and Texans QB David Carr finished with 163 passing yards on completing 16 of 23 passes with one touchdown. Rookie

Rookie

RB Joseph Addai ran the ball 15 times for 100 yards and former Heisman Trophy winner

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...

Ron Dayne finished the game with 153 rushing yards on 32 carries.

After this game, the Colts were now 11–4, having lost 4 of 6 after a 9–0 start and dropped to 4–4 on the road.

Scoring summary

Q1 – HOU – 10:23 – Ron Dayne 3-yard TD run (Brown kick) (7–0 HOU)

Q1 – HOU – 5:46 – Ron Dayne 6-yard TD run (Brown kick) (14–0 HOU)

Q1 – IND – 0:58 – 47-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (14–7 HOU)

Q2 – IND – 8:16 – 9-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Aaron Moorehead (Vinatieri kick) (14–14)

Q2 – HOU – 0:16 – 3-yard TD pass from David Carr to Vonta Leach (Brown kick) (21–14 HOU)

Q3 – IND – 1:23 – Adam Vinatieri 33-yard FG (21–17 HOU)

Q4 – HOU – 6:54 – Kris Brown 42-yard FG (24–17 HOU)

Q4 – IND – 2:41 – 7-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (24–24)

Q4 – HOU – 0:00 – Kris Brown 48-yard FG (27–24 HOU)

Week 17: vs. Miami Dolphins

Following their first-ever loss to the Texans

Houston Texans

, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

wrapped up the regular season

Season (sports)

In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...

at home against the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. So far, the Colts were 7–0 at the RCA Dome during the regular season. In the first quarter, the Dolphins scored first with K

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Olindo Mare

Olindo Franco Mare is an American football placekicker for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1996...

's 28-yard field goal for the only score of the quarter. In the second quarter, Indianapolis took the lead with QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

completing a 2-yard touchdown pass to DT Dan Klecko

Dan Klecko

Dan Klecko is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Temple....

. The Dolphins would follow Indianapolis' touchdown with a 38-yard Olindo Mare field goal. The Colts struck right back with Peyton Manning's 11-yard scamper into the end zone

End zone

. After Dolphins QB Cleo Lemon

Cleo Lemon

Cleo "Cleonardo" Lemon, Jr. is a Canadian football quarterback in the Canadian Football League who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2002...

was intercepted on his first pass of the possession by LB

Linebacker

Cato June

, Indianapolis had the ball on the Dolphins' 37 yard line. Kicker Adam Vinatieri

Adam Vinatieri

would come out and convert a 46-yard field goal to close out the half.

In the third quarter, the Dolphins managed to get another field goal from Mare, and Indianapolis answered back with Adam Vinatieri making a 34-yard field goal. Mare would kick yet another field goal for Miami to reduce the Indianapolis lead to 8 points, but to keep up with the Colts, they needed to score a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, the Dolphins sent out Mare to kick another field goal, his fifth of the game, yet the Colts managed to score another touchdown with Peyton Manning completing a 27-yard touchdown pass to WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

.

With less than ten minutes remaining in the last game of the season for Miami, they finally found the end zone when Cleo Lemon completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to TE

Tight end

Randy McMichael

-Miami Dolphins:McMichael was selected in the fourth round in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. The pick used by Dolphins to select him was originally acquired from the New Orleans Saints in the deal that sent running back Ricky Williams to the Miami Dolphins.McMichael made his NFL debut...

. The Colts ran out the clock and closed the season with a win at home, to improve their record to 8–0 in the RCA Dome. With the win, Indianapolis wrapped up the regular season at 12–4 and the AFC

American Football Conference

's No. 3 seed.

Scoring summary

Q1 – MIA – 7:49 – Olindo Mare 28-yard FG (3–0 MIA)

Q2 – IND – 12:40 – 2-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Dan Klecko (Vinatieri kick) (7–3 IND)

Q2 – MIA – 1:31 – Olindo Mare 38-yard FG (7–6 IND)

Q2 – IND – 0:19 – Peyton Manning 11-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (14–6 IND)

Q2 – IND – 0:00 – Adam Vinatieri 46-yard FG (17–6 IND)

Q3 – MIA – 13:17 – Olindo Mare 42-yard FG (17–9 IND)

Q3 – IND – 7:37 – Adam Vinatieri 34-yard FG (20–9 IND)

Q3 – MIA – 2:11 – Olindo Mare 27-yard FG (20–12 IND)

Q4 – MIA – 12:38 – Olindo Mare 34-yard FG (20–15 IND)

Q4 – IND – 10:07 – 27-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison (Vinatieri kick) (27–15 IND)

Q4 – MIA – 3:11 – 6-yard TD pass from Cleo Lemon to Randy McMichael (Mare kick) (27–22 IND)

Postseason schedule

Playoff Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Game Site	NFL Recap
Wild Card	January 6, 2007	Kansas City Chiefs 2006 Kansas City Chiefs season The 2006 Kansas City Chiefs season began with the team looking to improve on their 10–6 record in 2005 under new head coach Herman Edwards.The team battled many obstacles during the 2006 season, including the loss of starting quarterback Trent Green in the first game, the readjustment of a... (6)	W 23–8	1–0	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
Divisional	January 13, 2007	@ Baltimore Ravens 2006 Baltimore Ravens season The 2006 Baltimore Ravens season began with the team trying to improve on their 6–10 record in 2005. The Ravens, for the first time in franchise history, started 4–0. The Ravens' ended the regular season with a team-best 13–3 record. The Ravens clinched the AFC North title, 1st-round bye... (2)	W 15–6	2–0	M&T Bank Stadium M&T Bank Stadium M&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. The stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. Served by the Hamburg Street station of...	Recap
Conference Championship	January 21, 2007	New England Patriots 2006 New England Patriots season The 2006 New England Patriots season was the 37th season for the team in the National Football League and 47th season overall. They finished with a 12–4 record and a division title before losing to the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs.... (4)	W 38–34	3–0	RCA Dome RCA Dome RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....	Recap
Super Bowl Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...	February 4, 2007	@ Chicago Bears 2006 Chicago Bears season The 2006 Chicago Bears season was their 87th regular season and 25th post-season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 13-3 regular season record, the best in the NFC, improving on their previous year’s record of 11-5... (1)	W 29–17	4–0	Dolphin Stadium Dolphin Stadium Sun Life Stadium is an American football stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami. It is the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins National Football League team, and the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. It also hosts the Orange Bowl, an annual college football bowl game. It...	Recap

AFC Wild-Card playoff game: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Entering the NFL Playoffs as the AFC

American Football Conference

's third seed, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

began their playoff run against the sixth-seeded Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

at home, where they finished 8–0 during the regular season

Season (sports)

. In the first half, the Colts defense started off playing exceptionally well, holding the Chiefs offense without a first down the entire half. On offense, K

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Adam Vinatieri

had all 9 of the Colts' first half points converting field goals of 48-yards, 19-yards, and 50-yards out. In the third quarter, Indianapolis continued where they left off in the first half with rookie

Rookie

running back

Running back

Joseph Addai

running into the end zone

End zone

for a touchdown from 6 yards out. Kansas City's only scoring drive of the game came with less than 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The drive concluded with QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Trent Green

Trent Jason Green is a retired professional American football quarterback. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana University....

completing a 6-yard touchdown pass to TE

Tight end

Tony Gonzalez, along with a successful two-point conversion pass to FB

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

Kris Wilson

Kris Wilson (American football)

Kristopher "Kris" Wilson is an American football tight end for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh...

. In the fourth quarter, with 10:16 remaining, the Colts scored another touchdown, this one a 5-yard pass from QB Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

to WR

Wide receiver

Reggie Wayne

.

The Colts' rush defense held Chiefs RB Larry Johnson to just 32 yards on 13 carries and 29 receiving yards on 5 receptions. The Colts also outgained the Chiefs in total yards 435 to 126 and in first downs 28 to 7. Both teams committed three turnovers, Peyton Manning threw a season-high three interceptions, two of them picked up by former Patriot

New England Patriots

Ty Law

Tajuan "Ty" Law is a retired football cornerback of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots 23rd overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan....

. Manning finished the game 30 of 38 for 268 passing yards with 1 touchdown. Trent Green completed 14 of his 24 passes for 107 total passing yards with one touchdown also. RB Joseph Addai had 25 carries for 122 rushing yards with 1 touchdown. The Colts defense also forced two fumbles by Trent Green and also sacked him four times.

With the win, the Colts advanced to the AFC Divisional Round to face the second-seeded Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...

at M&T Bank Stadium

M&T Bank Stadium

M&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. The stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. Served by the Hamburg Street station of...

in Baltimore.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 8:41 – Adam Vinatieri 48-yard FG (3–0 IND)

Q1 – IND – 2:09 – Adam Vinatieri 19-yard FG (6–0 IND)

Q2 – IND – 0:00 – Adam Vinatieri 50-yard FG (9–0 IND)

Q3 – IND – 4:14 – Joseph Addai 6-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (16–0 IND)

Q3 – KC – 0:08 – 6-yard TD pass from Trent Green to Tony Gonzalez (Kris Wilson 2-point conversion) (16–8 IND)

Q4 – IND – 10:16 – 5-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (Vinatieri kick) (23–8 IND)

AFC Divisional Playoff Game: at Baltimore Ravens

Making their first playoff appearance in Baltimore since relocating to Indianapolis

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

23 years earlier and coming off their win over the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs

, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

traveled to M&T Bank Stadium

M&T Bank Stadium

for the Divisional Round playoff game against the second-seeded Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

and their top ranked defense. In the first quarter, Indianapolis scored first with K

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Adam Vinatieri

making a 23-yard field goal. While the next drive failed to produce a touchdown, it produced another field goal, this second one from 42 yards out. In the second quarter, the Ravens responded with K Matt Stover

Matt Stover

John Matthew "Matt" Stover is a former American Football placekicker. As of the start of the 2009 NFL season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the National Football League. He is of Greek origin. He has played for the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore...

converting a 40-yard field goal to reduce the Colts' lead to 3 points. Afterwards, Vinatieri would boot a career-long 51-yard field goal with 6:00 left in the half to give the Colts a 9–3 lead. In the third quarter, the Colts struggled to find the end zone, yet it provided Adam Vinatieri to cement his immense value to the team as a free agent pickup. He made his fourth field goal from 48 yards out; in the process making NFL history with that kick: Vinatieri surpassed Gary Anderson's mark of 32 career field goals made in the postseason

NFL playoffs

The National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the...

. http://www.superbowl.com/news/story/9928474 After Vinatieri's last of his five field goals that he made this game, he had made 34 field goals in his postseason career. With the win, the Colts improved their overall record to 14–4 this season and would advance to the AFC Championship Game

AFC Championship Game

to play against the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

at the RCA Dome

RCA Dome

RCA Dome was a domed stadium, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons ....

in Indianapolis.

Colts QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

finished the game 15 of 30 with 170 passing yards and two interceptions, while Ravens QB Steve McNair

Steve McNair

Stephen LaTreal McNair was an American football quarterback who spent the majority of his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans....

completed 18 of his 29 passes for 173 total passing yards and also had two interceptions. The Colts' 32nd-ranked rushing defense allowed only 83 total rushing yards this game, and proved that their defense had dramatically improved from the regular season.

Scoring summary

Q1 – IND – 8:04 – Adam Vinatieri 23-yard FG (3–0 IND)

Q1 – IND – 5:36 – Adam Vinatieri 42-yard FG (6–0 IND)

Q2 – BAL – 14:56 – Matt Stover 40-yard FG (6–3 IND)

Q2 – IND – 3:15 – Adam Vinatieri 51-yard FG (9–3 IND)

Q3 – IND – 10:57 – Adam Vinatieri 48-yard FG (12–3 IND)

Q4 – BAL – 13:03 – Matt Stover 51-yard FG (12–6 IND)

Q4 – IND – 0:23 – Adam Vinatieri 35-yard FG (15–6 IND)

AFC Championship Game: vs. New England Patriots

Coming off their Divisional road win over the Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens

, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

came back to the dome for the AFC Championship Game

AFC Championship Game

against the fourth-seeded New England Patriots

New England Patriots

, who were fresh off of their upset of the top-seeded San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

.

After a pair of punts, the Patriots scored on their second drive of the game. However, the play did not happen the way they planned it. Patriots QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Tom Brady

fumbled the handoff to RB

Running back

Laurence Maroney

Laurence Maroney is an American football running back who is currently a free agent in the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots 21st overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Minnesota.-Early years:Maroney attended Normandy Senior High School in St...

, the ball started rolling towards the goal line, went through a few pairs of Colts defenders' hands, and G

Guard (American football)

In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....

Logan Mankins

-2005–06 seasons:Mankins was drafted with the final pick of the first round, 32nd overall, in the 2005 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Despite playing his entire collegiate career as a tackle, Mankins was moved to left guard by the Patriots, where he immediately stepped into the starting...

fell on it for a touchdown. The touchdown was one of two touchdowns in this game by offensive linemen. Indianapolis spent over six minutes on their next possession that resulted in a 42-yard field goal by kicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Adam Vinatieri

. On the Patriots' first possession of the second quarter, they had no trouble moving the ball downfield and eventually scored on a 7-yard touchdown run by RB Corey Dillon

Corey Dillon

, and the Colts were looking to score quickly to get momentum on their side. However, on the second play of the drive, Colts QB Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning

threw a pass that was intercepted by CB

Cornerback

Asante Samuel

Asante T. Samuel is an American football cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...

and he ran that back for a touchdown to put the Colts down 21–3 with a little over nine minutes left in the half. The Colts closed out the half with another field goal by Vinatieri to reduce the Patriots' lead to 15 points.

The first possession of the third quarter belonged to the Colts, and they spent almost seven minutes on that drive, which ended with a 1-yard quarterback sneak

Quarterback sneak

A quarterback sneak is a play in Canadian and American football in which the quarterback, upon taking the center snap, dives ahead while the offensive line surges forward...

by Peyton Manning. The Colts were now only down by one score, 21–13. After the Patriots went three-and-out on their next possession, the Colts did not waste time before scoring. Within three minutes, Peyton Manning threw a screen pass to DT Dan Klecko

Dan Klecko

for a 1-yard touchdown to bring the Colts within two points of New England. Klecko was signed this offseason by the Colts after he was released by, ironically, the Patriots. After that touchdown catch, the Colts elected to go for the two-point conversion, and Manning completed a pass in the end zone

End zone

to WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

to tie the game at 21. The Patriots responded on the ensuing possession with a 6-yard touchdown pass to WR Jabar Gaffney

Jabar Gaffney

Derrick Jabar Gaffney is an American football wide receiver for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft...

in the back of the end zone. The Colts countered that touchdown with a score of their own, this one by C

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

Jeff Saturday

. He ended up with the football in the end zone when RB Dominic Rhodes

Dominic Rhodes

fumbled at the 1 yard line. The game was now tied 28–28 with 13:24 left in the game. After punts were exchanged, the Patriots broke the tie when K Stephen Gostkowski

Stephen Gostkowski

Stephen Carroll Gostkowski is a placekicker for the New England Patriots of the National Football League...

made a 28-yard field goal to give the Patriots the lead by 3 points. Adam Vinatieri made another field goal for the Colts right after Gostkowski's previous field goal to tie the game at 31, but Gostkowski then converted another field goal with 3:49 left in the game to put the Patriots back on top, 34–31. After the teams exchanged punts again, the Colts had one final opportunity to take the lead with 2:17 left in the game, and the ball on their own 20 yard line. After two passes completed to WR Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

totaling 25 yards, and a 32-yard completion to TE

Tight end

Bryan Fletcher

Bryan Fletcher (tight end)

, the Colts had the ball on the Patriots 11-yard line. Three plays later, rookie

Rookie

RB Joseph Addai

Joseph Addai

ran right up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Colts up by 4 points, and give them their first lead of the game, 38–34. The Patriots had exactly 1:00 to put together a winning drive, but on the drive's fourth play, Colts CB Marlin Jackson

Marlin Jackson

-Indianapolis Colts:Jackson was selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 29th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. As an NFL rookie he had 52 tackles and one interception. Marlin played mostly in passing situations with one start in 15 games. In his second season, he had 82 tackles and 1...

intercepted Tom Brady with less than 20 seconds to play and he quickly dropped to the ground so that there would be no risk of a fumble. Jackson sealed the win for the Colts, and their 18-point comeback was the biggest in Conference title-game history.

With the win, Indianapolis improved their overall record to 15–4 that season and would move on to face the National Football Conference

National Football Conference

The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

Champion Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

in Super Bowl XLI

Super Bowl XLI

at Dolphin Stadium.

Scoring summary

Q1 – NE – 7:24 – Logan Mankins 0-yard fumble return TD (Gostkowski kick) (7–0 NE)

Q1 – IND – 0:48 – Adam Vinatieri 42-yard FG (7–3 NE)

Q2 – NE – 10:18 – Corey Dillon 7-yard TD run (Gostkowski kick) (14–3 NE)

Q2 – NE – 9:25 – Asante Samuel 39-yard interception return TD (Gostkowski kick) (21–3 NE)

Q2 – IND – 0:07 – Adam Vinatieri 26-yard FG (21–6 NE)

Q3 – IND – 8:13 – Peyton Manning 1-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (21–13 NE)

Q3 – IND – 4:00 – 1-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Dan Klecko (Marvin Harrison 2-point conversion) (21–21)

Q3 – NE – 1:25 – 6-yard TD pass from Tom Brady to Jabar Gaffney (Gostkowski kick) (28–21 NE)

Q4 – IND – 13:24 – Jeff Saturday 0-yard fumble return TD (Vinatieri kick) (28–28)

Q4 – NE – 7:42 – Stephen Gostkowski 28-yard FG (31–28 NE)

Q4 – IND – 5:31 – Adam Vinatieri 36-yard FG (31–31)

Q4 – NE – 3:49 – Stephen Gostkowski 43-yard FG (34–31 NE)

Q4 – IND – 1:00 – Joseph Addai 3-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (38–34 IND)

Super Bowl XLI: vs. Chicago Bears

Game summary

Two weeks after their record-breaking comeback in the AFC Championship Game

AFC Championship Game

against the Patriots

New England Patriots

, the Colts

Indianapolis Colts

flew to Dolphin Stadium

Dolphin Stadium

Sun Life Stadium is an American football stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami. It is the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins National Football League team, and the University of Miami Hurricanes football team. It also hosts the Orange Bowl, an annual college football bowl game. It...

for Super Bowl XLI

Super Bowl XLI

against the NFC

National Football Conference

Champion Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Bears CB

Defensive back

/KR

Kick returner

In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...

/PR

Punt returner

Devin Hester

Devin Hester is an American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Miami, where he became the first person in the university’s recent history to play in all three phases of American football...

returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, the first time that has ever happened in Super Bowl

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

history. After the extra point by Robbie Gould

Robbie Gould

Robert Paul "Robbie" Gould III is an American football placekicker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Penn State...

, Chicago had an early 7–0 lead. On the following possession for the Colts, QB

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Peyton Manning

threw an interception on seventh play from scrimmage. His pass intended for WR

Wide receiver

Marvin Harrison

was intercepted by FS

Defensive back

Chris Harris

Chris Harris (football player)

For the Denver Broncos player of the same name, see Chris Harris Chris Harris is an American football safety for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League...

and the Bears had the ball on their own 35 yard line. After Chicago went three-and-out on that possession, the Colts were ready to even the score. The drive ended with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Manning to WR Reggie Wayne

Reggie Wayne

, but punter

Punter (football position)

A punter in American or Canadian football is a special teams player who receives the snapped ball directly from the line of scrimmage and then punts the football to the opposing team so as to limit any field position advantage. This generally happens on a fourth down in American football and a...

Hunter Smith

mishandled the snap on the extra point and kicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

Adam Vinatieri

could not convert the PAT. However, Chicago would answer right back with a score of their own. QB Rex Grossman

Rex Grossman

Rex Daniel Grossman, III is an American football quarterback for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League . Grossman played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he has played professionally for the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and Washington Redskins of...

completed a 4-yard pass in the end zone

End zone

to WR Muhsin Muhammad

Muhsin Muhammad

Muhsin Muhammad II is a retired American football wide receiver who played for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Panthers in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft...

to increase Chicago's lead over Indianapolis, 14–6. After a Colts punt, the Bears had the ball on their own 48 yard line. On the second play of the drive, FS

Defensive back

Bob Sanders

caused RB

Running back

Cedric Benson

Cedric Myron Benson is an American football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears fourth overall in the 2005 NFL Draft...

to fumble the football, and the Colts recovered. But, the Colts went three-and-out and could not take advantage of the turnover. After a Bears punt, the Colts spent four minutes on their next drive that ended with an Adam Vinatieri field goal. There were five turnovers in the first quarter, a first in Super Bowl history. This was most likely due to the rain and poor conditions that both teams were playing in.

In the second quarter, the Colts' next possession resulted in a touchdown by RB Dominic Rhodes

Dominic Rhodes

and gave the Colts the lead for the first time in the game, 16–14. In the second half, the Colts got right back to work as Adam Vinatieri made another field goal, this one from 24-yards out, to make the score 19–14 in their favor. On the following Colts possession, Vinatieri came through yet again and converted a 20-yard field goal to put the Colts up by 8 points. The Bears immediately responded with a field goal of their own, but they would not score any more points in the half. QB Rex Grossman threw two crucial interceptions in the second half, and one that was returned 56-yards for a touchdown by DB Kelvin Hayden

Kelvin Hayden

. Four plays after Grossman's first interception, he was intercepted again, this time by FS Bob Sanders. Both interceptions thrown by Grossman were deep passes that were not thrown accurately.

The Colts defeated the Bears 29–17, and finished the season with an overall record of 16–4 and Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy

Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy [DUN-jee] is a former professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. Dungy was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001, and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008...

became the very first African-American coach to win a Super Bowl. The game's MVP

Super Bowl MVP

The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...

was Colts QB Peyton Manning, who finished the game 25 of 38 for 247 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception. Rookie

Rookie

RB Joseph Addai

Joseph Addai

finished the game with 19 carries for 77 yards rushing and had 10 catches which was one shy of the Super record. RB Dominic Rhodes had 113 rushing yards and one touchdown on 21 carries also.

Scoring summary

Q1 – CHI – 14:46 – Devin Hester 92-yard kickoff return TD (Gould kick) (7–0 CHI)

Q1 – IND – 6:50 – 53-yard TD pass from Peyton Manning to Reggie Wayne (failed PAT) (7–6 CHI)

Q1 – CHI – 4:34 – 4-yard TD pass from Rex Grossman to Muhsin Muhammad (Gould kick) (14–6 CHI)

Q2 – IND – 11:17 – Adam Vinatieri 29-yard FG (14–9 CHI)

Q2 – IND – 6:09 – Dominic Rhodes 1-yard TD run (Vinatieri kick) (16–14 IND)

Q3 – IND – 7:26 – Adam Vinatieri 24-yard FG (19–14 IND)

Q3 – IND – 3:16 – Adam Vinatieri 20-yard FG (22–14 IND)

Q3 – CHI – 1:14 – Robbie Gould 44-yard FG (22–17 IND)

Q4 – IND – 11:44 – Kelvin Hayden 56-yard interception return TD (Vinatieri kick) (29–17 IND)

Offseason

2006 NFL Draft

Roster

Preseason schedule

Schedule

Week 1: at New York Giants

Scoring summary

Week 2: vs. Houston Texans

Scoring summary

Week 3: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Scoring summary

Week 4: at New York Jets

Scoring summary

Week 5: vs. Tennessee Titans

Scoring summary

Week 7: vs. Washington Redskins

Scoring summary

Week 8: at Denver Broncos

Scoring summary

Week 9: at New England Patriots

Scoring summary

Week 10: vs. Buffalo Bills

Scoring summary

Week 11: at Dallas Cowboys

Scoring summary

Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Scoring summary

Week 13: at Tennessee Titans

Scoring summary

Week 14: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Scoring summary

Week 15: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Scoring summary

Week 16: at Houston Texans

Scoring summary

Week 17: vs. Miami Dolphins

Scoring summary

Postseason schedule

AFC Wild-Card playoff game: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Scoring summary

AFC Divisional Playoff Game: at Baltimore Ravens

Scoring summary

AFC Championship Game: vs. New England Patriots

Scoring summary

Super Bowl XLI: vs. Chicago Bears

Game summary

Scoring summary

See also