The Indianapolis Colts season was the franchise's 54th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 23rd in Indianapolis and the 5th season under head coach Tony Dungy. The team failed to improve on their regular season record of 14–2 from the 2005 season, finishing at 12–4. However, they did improve upon their postseason performance and advanced further into the playoffs, winning Super Bowl XLI.
For the fourth consecutive season, the Colts had won 12 or more games. They also won the AFC South for the fourth time in a row, and they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round and the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round, before winning the AFC Championship, beating the New England Patriots 38–34 to advance to Super Bowl XLI, in which they dominated the Chicago Bears, winning 29–17 on February 4, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium. This was the franchise's first Super Bowl since Super Bowl V in 1970, and first since relocating to Indianapolis, as well as their fourth title in their history (1958, 1959, 1970, and 2006). They were just the second football team in a domed stadium to win the Super Bowl after the 1999 St. Louis Rams.
The 2006 Colts surrendered 5.33 rushing yards per attempt, by far the worst since the merger, and seventh-worst in NFL history. Still, the Colts won the championship with the help of the most statistically efficient offense in the league. During this season, the Colts, who were very successful in the 2000s despite being impacted by the Patriots dynasty, made history by becoming the first team that played in an indoor stadium to win a Super Bowl in an outdoor stadium and for helping Tony Dungy to become the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl. In 2019, the NFL ranked the 2006 Colts as the 37th-best NFL team of all time.
This was also the first season the Colts started games at the same local time with other teams in the Eastern Time Zone, as the State of Indiana began observing Daylight Saving Time earlier in the year.
Offseason
The offseason marked the dissolution of the trio of Edgerrin James, Peyton Manning, and Marvin Harrison, affectionately nicknamed the "Triplets" by Colts fans. While the latter two signed long-term contracts, James' contract expired at the end of the 2005 season. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals in the off-season as a free-agent. Other key losses included Larry Tripplett (Buffalo Bills, free-agent) and David Thornton (Tennessee Titans, free-agent). The Colts opted not to re-sign kicker Mike Vanderjagt, instead inking ex-New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri to a lucrative deal. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King was signed to compete with Jim Sorgi for the backup quarterback position, but was later cut and replaced with Josh Betts.
2006 NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 2006 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJosh BettsQuarterbackMiamiDaniel FederkeilTackleCalgary
Staff Indianapolis Colts 2006 coaching staff Front office Owner/CEO – James Irsay President – Bill Polian Senior executive vice president – Pete Ward Executive vice president – Bob Terpening Vice president of football operations – Chris Polian Director of player personnel – Tom Telesco Director of pro player personnel – Clyde Powers
Head coaches Head coach – Tony Dungy Assistant head coach/quarterbacks – Jim Caldwell
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Tom Moore Running backs – Gene Huey Wide receivers – Clyde Christensen Tight ends – Ricky Thomas Offensive line – Howard Mudd Offensive quality control – Pete Metzelaars Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Ron Meeks Defensive line – John Teerlinck Linebackers – Mike Murphy Defensive backs – Alan Williams Special assistant to the defense – Rod Perry Defensive assistant – Bill Teerlinck Defensive quality control – Carlos Woods
Special teams coaches Special teams – Russ Purnell
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jon Torine Assistant strength and conditioning – Richard Howell
Roster Indianapolis Colts 2006 final roster Quarterbacks Peyton Manning Jim Sorgi
Running backs Joseph Addai DeDe Dorsey Dominic Rhodes
Wide receivers Marvin Harrison Aaron Moorehead Ricky Proehl John Standeford Reggie Wayne Terrence Wilkins KR/PR
Tight ends Dallas Clark Bryan Fletcher Ben Utecht Offensive linemen Ryan Diem T Daniel Federkeil T Dylan Gandy G Tarik Glenn T Charlie Johnson T Ryan Lilja G Jeff Saturday C Jake Scott G Matt Ulrich G
Defensive linemen Raheem Brock DT Dwight Freeney DE Dan Klecko DT Robert Mathis DE Anthony McFarland DT Darrell Reid DE/DT Bo Schobel DE Josh Thomas DE Linebackers Rocky Boiman OLB Gary Brackett MLB Gilbert Gardner OLB Tyjuan Hagler OLB Cato June OLB Freddy Keiaho OLB Ryan LaCasse OLB Rob Morris MLB/OLB Keith O'Neil OLB
Defensive backs Antoine Bethea FS/SS Jason David CB Matt Giordano FS Nick Harper CB Kelvin Hayden CB Marlin Jackson FS Tim Jennings CB Dexter Reid SS T. J. Rushing CB/KR/PR Bob Sanders SS
Special teams Hunter Smith P Justin Snow LS Adam Vinatieri K Reserve lists Jerome Collins TE (IR) Mike Doss S (IR) Johnathan Goddard DE (IR) James Mungro RB (IR) Kendyll Pope LB (Susp.) Montae Reagor DT (NF-Inj.) Corey Simon DT (NF-Inj.) Brandon Stokley WR (IR) Jonathan Welsh DE (IR)
Practice squad Devin Aromashodu WR Josh Betts QB Albert Bimper C Vincent Burns DT (IR) Kory Chapman RB Tanard Davis CB Aaron Halterman TE Luke Lawton FB Michael Toudouze T
rookies in italics 53 active, 10 inactive, 8 practice squad
Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at St. Louis Rams L 17–19 0–1 Edward Jones Dome Recap 2 Seattle Seahawks L 17–30 0–2 RCA Dome Recap 3 at New Orleans Saints W 27–14 1–2 Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Recap 4 Cincinnati Bengals L 3–20 1–3 RCA Dome Recap
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 10 at New York Giants W 26–21 1–0 Giants Stadium Recap 2 September 17 Houston Texans W 43–24 2–0 RCA Dome Recap 3 September 24 Jacksonville Jaguars W 21–14 3–0 RCA Dome Recap 4 October 1 at New York Jets W 31–28 4–0 Giants Stadium Recap 5 October 8 Tennessee Titans W 14–13 5–0 RCA Dome Recap 6 Bye 7 October 22 Washington Redskins W 36–22 6–0 RCA Dome Recap 8 October 29 at Denver Broncos W 34–31 7–0 Invesco Field at Mile High Recap 9 November 5 at New England Patriots W 27–20 8–0 Gillette Stadium Recap 10 November 12 Buffalo Bills W 17–16 9–0 RCA Dome Recap 11 November 19 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–21 9–1 Texas Stadium Recap 12 November 26 Philadelphia Eagles W 45–21 10–1 RCA Dome Recap 13 December 3 at Tennessee Titans L 17–20 10–2 LP Field Recap 14 December 10 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 17–44 10–3 Alltel Stadium Recap 15 Cincinnati Bengals W 34–16 11–3 RCA Dome Recap 16 December 24 at Houston Texans L 24–27 11–4 Reliant Stadium Recap 17 December 31 Miami Dolphins W 27–22 12–4 RCA Dome Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at New York Giants
Indianapolis opened the regular season on the road against the New York Giants on September 10, 2006. In a much-hyped and highly anticipated matchup dubbed "The Manning Bowl", Colts QB Peyton Manning led the Colts against the Giants and QB Eli Manning, who is his younger brother. This contest marked the first time in NFL 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 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 Dallas Clark. The Giants trimmed the Colts' lead on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to WR Plaxico Burress, 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. It proved to be too little too late, however, as the Colts increased their lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by RB Dominic Rhodes. A 1-yard touchdown run by Giants RB Brandon Jacobs 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.
Week 2: vs. Houston Texans
In their Week 2 home-opener against AFC South rival Houston, Indianapolis continued its offensive dominance by starting the game with a 10-yard touchdown pass from QB Peyton Manning to WR Brandon Stokley and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Manning to rookie running back Joseph Addai. In the second quarter, kicker 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 Bryan Fletcher. 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 completed a 33-yard touchdown pass to TE Owen Daniels. Indianapolis would respond, however, with a 2-yard touchdown run by RB Dominic Rhodes. The Texans answered on Carr's 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Mark Bruener, but the Colts scored yet again, this time on a 3-yard TD run by RB Ran Carthon. Houston scored one more time in the final moments as David Carr completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to WR Andre Johnson, 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 surpassed Johnny Unitas for the most pass completions in franchise history. Manning accomplished this feat on his third completion of the game.
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.
Week 3: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Playing again in front of the home crowd, the Colts faced a big test in their AFC South rivals, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville scored first on a 4-yard touchdown run by QB Byron Leftwich. The Colts were not able to respond until early in the second quarter when WR/PR Terrence Wilkins 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's 30-yard touchdown pass to TE 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 Maurice Jones-Drew. 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.