Colts–Patriots Rivalry - Notable Games

Notable Games

• August 13, 1967 (preseason):

The 1967 football season for both the NFL and the American Football League opened with the agreement for the pending merger of the two leagues already in place. On August 13, 1967 the Boston Patriots hosted the Baltimore Colts at Harvard Stadium.

• October 4, 1970:

The Patriots and Colts met for the first time in NFL regular-season play at Harvard Stadium in week three of the 1970 season. The Colts jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Patriots closed to a 7-6 fourth-quarter score on two Gino Cappelletti field goals. On following series, Johnny Unitas finished off the Patriots with a 55-yard touchdown pass and a 14-6 Colts win.

• November 14, 1976:

Battling the Colts for the AFC East title, the Patriots traveled to Baltimore with a 6-3 record (including a 27-13 Colts victory in Foxborough in week one of the season). The Patriots picked off Bert Jones twice, leading to a 21-14 win. The win accelerated a six-game winning streak for the Patriots and their first playoff berth since 1963.

• October 9, 1983:

The Patriots lost to the Baltimore Colts 12-7 in Baltimore; it turned out to be the final meeting between the Patriots and the Baltimore Colts, as the team moved to Indianapolis for 1984. It was also New England's last game in Baltimore until the Baltimore Ravens debuted in 1996.

• November 18, 1984:

In their first meeting at Indianapolis, the Patriots made their first trip to the Hoosier Dome and defeated the Colts 50-17. The win was the second for new coach Raymond Berry, a former Colts receiver.

• November 15, 1992:

The 4-5 Colts hosted the 0-9 Patriots and the two teams lit up the Hoosier Dome scoreboard in an overtime thriller. The game lead tied or changed 10 times and the Patriots scored twice off Jeff George interceptions. Patriots kicker Charlie Baumann accounted for the Patriots' final nine points of a 37-34 overtime triumph that came amid illness to coach Dick McPherson.

• September 19, 1999 :

Peyton Manning made his second career trip to Foxborough and led the Colts to a 28-7 halftime lead. The Patriots, behind Drew Bledsoe, scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth off Colt turnovers and the game-winning Adam Vinatieri field goal came in the final thirty seconds.

• December 12, 1999:

The Colts hosted the Patriots, holding a 10-2 record to New England's 7-5. The Colts earned a 20-15 win despite 344 passing yards from Drew Bledsoe. It was the first for Manning over New England after three straight losses and the first win over the Patriots for the Manning family (Peyton's dad Archie was 0-3 lifetime against the Patriots with the New Orleans Saints and Houston Oilers.)

• September 30, 2001 :

Week three of the 2001 season, Tom Brady made his first NFL start when the 2-0 Colts came to Foxborough. The Colts were defeated 44-13 as Peyton Manning threw three interceptions, two returned for touchdowns. On October 21, the Patriots traveled to the RCA Dome and won 38-17, where David Patten became the first player since Walter Payton in 1979 to score touchdowns three separate ways: throwing a 60-yard pass to Troy Brown, a 91-yard reception from Brady, and a rushing score.

• November 30, 2003:

The first meeting since divisional realignment put the Colts into the now-second year AFC South, the two clubs sported 9-2 records, the latest into a season two teams with such records had met. The Patriots erupted to a 31-10 lead in the third quarter, but Peyton Manning jumped the Colts back, throwing three touchdowns to tie the game. The Patriots clawed back to a 38-34 lead but the Colts drove to the Patriots 2-yard line in the final minute, only to be stopped on four downs.

• November 7, 2005:

Heading into the Monday Night duel between the Colts (7-0) and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots (4-3), QB Peyton Manning was win less against New England in Foxborough (0-7). The Colts beat the Patriots, 40-21. In the game's closing minutes, veteran QB Doug Flutie replaced Brady, and Colts president Bill Polian was heard in the press box yelling "break his leg!"

2006 AFC Championship Game

• November 4, 2007:

The 8-0 Patriots faced the 7-0 Colts in the RCA Dome, the latest in a season that two undefeated teams had ever faced off. The Patriots had scored over 34 points in every game but the Colts defense stifled the Patriots attack and Indianapolis clawed to a 20-10 lead in the fourth. But a 58-yard Tom Brady bomb to Randy Moss was caught at the Colts 3-yard line, leading to a Wes Welker touchdown catch. After stopping Manning and forcing a punt, a strong kick return by Welker set up a three-play touchdown drive highlighted by a 32-yard catch by Donte Stallworth and a Kevin Faulk touchdown catch. Manning was hit and threw the ball into the hands of Rosevelt Colvin on the next Colts drive and the Patriots killed the remaining clock for the 24-20 win.

• November 2, 2008:

The Colts won 18-15 in a game which ultimately helped cost the Patriots a playoff spot as a result of a lesser conference record than that of the third-seeded Miami Dolphins and the sixth-seeded Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots would end up with the record for the most wins in a regular season by a team not qualifying for the postseason.

• November 15, 2009 (4th and 2 Game):

The undefeated Indianapolis Colts again played the 6-2 New England Patriots in what was Tom Brady's first start at Lucas Oil Stadium. With 4:12 left in the fourth quarter, the Patriots had pulled away 34-21. However, thanks to a leap in field position due to a pass interference call, Colts RB Joseph Addai scored a touchdown on a four-yard run with 2:23 left to make the score 34-28. Backed up to their 28 and needing to reach the 30 for a first down, Bill Belichick elected to go for it on 4th and 2 instead of punting. Brady completed a pass to halfback Kevin Faulk, but Faulk appeared not to make a clean catch and was immediately driven backwards. Officials determined that Faulk had not secured possession of the ball until he was short of the first down marker, resulting in a turnover on downs, and giving Manning and the Colts the ball on the Patriots' own 29-yard line with two minutes remaining. After three plays, Manning completed a one-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne, making the score even at 34-34 with 13 seconds left. Kicker Matt Stover, filling in for Adam Vinatieri, made the extra point to make the score 35-34 and secured the victory for Indianapolis.

Belichick obliquely criticized the ball-spot on the play in his Monday morning press conference. Nevertheless, his decision was highly criticized by the media. Jarrett Bell of USA Today claimed the coach had "outsmarted himself," while Bill Simmons, ESPN.com writer and Patriots fan, asked "What the fuck was Belichick thinking" and compared the entire ordeal to "riding in the passenger seat of a friend's car and watching helplessly as he plows over a pedestrian".

• November 21, 2010:

The 6-3 Colts traveled to New England for the first time since 2006 and New England won its first home game against Indianapolis since a playoff game in 2005. Manning and his Colts were down by 17 in the 4th quarter and came back again to make it 31-28 with a few minutes left. Manning led the drive down field and it looked like the previous year's matchup all over again. However, already in great field goal range (24-yard line of New England), Manning was intercepted by James Sanders with 32 seconds left; it was Manning's third pick of the game and the 31-28 win put the Patriots to 8-2 while the Colts fell to second in the AFC South with a 6-4 record. The game turned out to be the last game ever between the Patriots and Manning as a member of the Colts; he would miss the 2011 season due to neck surgery and was released; he then signed with the Denver Broncos and faced the Patriots in his first season there.

• November 18, 2012:

The 6-3 Colts with rookie sensation Andrew Luck traveled to New England. The Patriots were also 6-3 and had acquired cornerback Aqib Talib from the Buccaneers following a 37-31 win over Buffalo the previous week. Because of the Colts' winning record with Luck, the game, initially scheduled for a 1 PM start, was flexed to 4:25 at the behest of CBS. The Colts raced to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter, but following a missed Stephen Gostkowski field goal attempt the game collapsed for Indianapolis. Julian Edelman ran back a Colts punt for a touchdown and ultimately finished with 222 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Talib intercepted Luck and ran back a 59-yard touchdown in the second quarter; at the start of the fourth Luck was intercepted by Alfonzo Dennard and Dennard ran back an 87-yard touchdown. The Patriots won 59-24 but the win proved costly; following a late Stevan Ridley score Rob Gronkowski (who'd had seven catches and two scores) suffered a broken forearm on the point after try; Gronkowski was sidelined until Week 17 against Miami.

Because the Texans, one of the Colts' division rivals, won their division just like the Patriots did, and due to the fact that all four AFC East teams won't be matched up against all AFC South teams until 2015, there will be no regular season meeting between both teams for the first time since 2002, the first year of the NFL's current division alignment.