1997 Indianapolis Colts season
Head coachLindy Infante
Home fieldRCA Dome
Results
Record3–13
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1997 Indianapolis Colts season was the 45th season for the team in the National Football League and 14th in Indianapolis. The Colts finished the National Football League’s 1997 season with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, and finished fifth in the AFC East division. The Colts would start horribly, losing their first ten games for their worst start since 1986. They became only the second team to start 0–10 since 1987 after the 1993 Bengals,[1] before an upset home win over eventual NFC Champion Green Bay. That would turn out to be the only good highlight all season for the Colts, as the team fell to a league-worst 3–13 record, and earned the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, where they selected quarterback Peyton Manning.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1997 NFL Draft
1997 Indianapolis Colts draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 19 Tarik Glenn *  Offensive tackle California
2 48 Adam Meadows  Offensive tackle Georgia
3 86 Bertrand Berry *  Defensive end Notre Dame
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1997 Indianapolis Colts staff

Front office

  • President emeritus – Robert Irsay
  • Senior executive vice president/general manager/coo – Jim Irsay
  • Vice president/director of football operations – Bill Tobin
  • Assistant general manager – Bob Terpening
  • Director of pro player personnel – Clyde Powers
  • Director of college player personnel – George Boone

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Running backs – Gene Huey
  • Receivers – Jimmy Robinson
  • Tight ends/quality control – Tom Batta
  • Offensive line – Ron Blackledge
  • Assistant to the offensive line – Charlie Davis
  • Offensive assistant/assistant quarterbacks – Buddy Geis
 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Tom Zupancic

Roster

1997 Indianapolis Colts final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 8 inactive, 3 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance
1 August 31 at Miami Dolphins L 10–16 0–1 Pro Player Stadium 70,813
2 September 7 New England Patriots L 6–31 0–2 RCA Dome 53,632
3 September 14 Seattle Seahawks L 3–31 0–3 RCA Dome 49,194
4 September 21 at Buffalo Bills L 35–37 0–4 Rich Stadium 55,340
5 Bye
6 October 5 New York Jets L 12–16 0–5 RCA Dome 48,295
7 October 12 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 22–24 0–6 Three Rivers Stadium 57,925
8 October 20 Buffalo Bills L 6–9 0–7 RCA Dome 61,139
9 October 26 at San Diego Chargers L 19–35 0–8 Jack Murphy Stadium 63,177
10 November 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 28–31 0–9 RCA Dome 58,512
11 November 9 Cincinnati Bengals L 13–28 0–10 RCA Dome 58,473
12 November 16 Green Bay Packers W 41–38 1–10 RCA Dome 60,928
13 November 23 at Detroit Lions L 10–32 1–11 Pontiac Silverdome 62,803
14 November 30 at New England Patriots L 17–20 1–12 Foxboro Stadium 58,507
15 December 7 at New York Jets W 22–14 2–12 The Meadowlands 61,168
16 December 14 Miami Dolphins W 41–0 3–12 RCA Dome 61,282
17 December 21 at Minnesota Vikings L 28–39 3–13 Metrodome 54,107
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday, August 31, 1997): at Miami Dolphins

Week 2 (Sunday, September 7, 1997): vs. New England Patriots

Week 3 (Sunday, September 14, 1997): vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 4 (Sunday, September 21, 1997): at Buffalo Bills

Week 5: Bye Week

Week 6 (Sunday, October 5, 1997): vs. New York Jets

Week 7 (Sunday, October 12, 1997): at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 8 (Monday, October 20, 1997): vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 9 (Sunday, October 26, 1997): at San Diego Chargers

Week 10 (Sunday, November 2, 1997): vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 11 (Sunday, November 9, 1997): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 12 (Sunday, November 16, 1997): vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 13 (Sunday, November 23, 1997): at Detroit Lions

Week 14 (Sunday, November 30, 1997): at New England Patriots

Week 15 (Sunday, December 7, 1997): at New York Jets

Week 16 (Sunday, December 14, 1997): vs. Miami Dolphins

Week 17 (Sunday, December 21, 1997): at Minnesota Vikings

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) New England Patriots 10 6 0 .625 369 289 W1
(6) Miami Dolphins 9 7 0 .563 339 327 L2
New York Jets 9 7 0 .563 348 287 L1
Buffalo Bills 6 10 0 .375 255 367 L3
Indianapolis Colts 3 13 0 .188 313 401 L1

References

  1. ^ "Last Winless NFL Team". Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2018.

See also


Categories