1988 Indianapolis Colts season
OwnerRobert Irsay
General managerJim Irsay
Head coachRon Meyer
Home fieldHoosier Dome
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersC Ray Donaldson
T Chris Hinton
RB Eric Dickerson
AP All-ProsRB Eric Dickerson (1st team)
C Ray Donaldson (2nd team)
T Chris Hinton (2nd team)
K Dean Biasucci (2nd team)
The Colts playing against the New England Patriots, circa 1988.
A ticket for a September 1988 game between the Colts and the Cleveland Browns.

The 1988 Indianapolis Colts season was the 36th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and fifth in Indianapolis. The team finished the year with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, and tied for second in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots. However, the Colts finished ahead of New England based on better record against common opponents (7–5 to Patriots' 6–6). At the start of the season, Ron Meyer demoted quarterback Gary Hogeboom to back up, and promoted Jack Trudeau to starter, which prompted Hogeboom to demand that he be either traded or released.[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1988 NFL Draft
1988 Indianapolis Colts draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
3 76 Chris Chandler *  Quarterback Washington
4 104 Michael Ball  Cornerback Southern
5 129 John Baylor  Defensive back Southern Mississippi
9 243 Jeff Herrod  Linebacker Mississippi
10 270 O'Brien Alston  Linebacker Maryland
11 297 Donnie Dee  Tight end Tulsa
12 308 Aatron Kenney  Wide receiver Wisconsin–Stevens
12 327 Tim Vesling  Placekicker Syracuse
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1988 Indianapolis Colts staff

Front office

  • President and treasurer – Robert Irsay
  • Vice president and general manager – Jim Irsay
  • Assistant general manager – Bob Terpening
  • Director of player personnel – Jack Bushofsky

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Keith Rowen

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Tom Zupancic

Roster

1988 Indianapolis Colts final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad NONE


47 active, 5 inactive
Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 4 Houston Oilers L 14–17 (OT) 0–1 Hoosier Dome 57,251
2 September 11 Chicago Bears L 13–17 0–2 Hoosier Dome 60,503
3 September 19 at Cleveland Browns L 17–23 0–3 Cleveland Stadium 75,148
4 September 25 Miami Dolphins W 15–13 1–3 Hoosier Dome 59,638
5 October 2 at New England Patriots L 17–21 1–4 Sullivan Stadium 58,050
6 October 9 at Buffalo Bills L 23–24 1–5 Rich Stadium 76,018
7 October 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 35–31 2–5 Hoosier Dome 53,135
8 October 23 at San Diego Chargers W 16–0 3–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 37,722
9 October 31 Denver Broncos W 55–23 4–5 Hoosier Dome 60,544
10 November 6 New York Jets W 38–14 5–5 Hoosier Dome 59,233
11 November 13 at Green Bay Packers W 20–13 6–5 Lambeau Field 53,492
12 November 20 at Minnesota Vikings L 3–12 6–6 Metrodome 58,342
13 November 27 New England Patriots W 24–21 7–6 Hoosier Dome 58,157
14 December 4 at Miami Dolphins W 31–28 8–6 Joe Robbie Stadium 45,236
15 December 10 at New York Jets L 16–34 8–7 The Meadowlands 46,284
16 December 18 Buffalo Bills W 17–14 9–7 Hoosier Dome 59,908
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 4

1 234Total
Dolphins 7 006 13
• Colts 3 903 15
Scoring summary
Q1MIAHampton 39 yard pass from Marino (Reveiz kick)MIA 7–0
Q1INDBiasucci 50 yard field goalMIA 7–3
Q2INDBiasucci 34 yard field goalMIA 7–6
Q2INDBiasucci 41 yard field goalIND 9–7
Q2INDBiasucci 51 yard field goalIND 12–7
Q4INDBiasucci 25 yard field goalIND 15–7
Q4MIAStradford 8 yard pass from Marino (two-point failed)IND 15–13

[2]

Week 9 vs Broncos

Week Nine: Denver Broncos (4–4) at Indianapolis Colts (3–5)
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 10 01323
Colts 21 24 3755

at Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

Game information

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Buffalo Bills(2) 12 4 0 .750 7–1 10–2 329 237 L1
Indianapolis Colts 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 354 315 W1
New England Patriots 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 250 284 L1
New York Jets 8 7 1 .531 3–5 6–7–1 372 354 W2
Miami Dolphins 6 10 0 .375 0–8 3–9 319 380 L1

Awards and records

External links

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jack Trudeau replaced Gary Hogeboom as the starting quarterback... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-15.
  3. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 447
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