2004 Indianapolis Colts season
Indianapolis Colts wordmark.png
OwnerJim Irsay
General managerBill Polian
Head coachTony Dungy
Home fieldRCA Dome
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st AFC South
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Broncos) 49–24
Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Patriots) 3–20
Pro BowlersQB Peyton Manning
RB Edgerrin James
WR Marvin Harrison
OT Tarik Glenn
DE Dwight Freeney
Uniform
AFCS-2002-2011-Uniform-IND.png

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 further into the playoffs. The Colts finished the season 12–4, and defeated the Denver Broncos for the second straight time in the playoffs, but they were halted in the Divisional round by the defending and eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

Peyton Manning had one of the best seasons ever by an NFL quarterback, throwing 49 touchdown passes and breaking the previous record of 48 held by Dan Marino. At season's end, Peyton Manning was named the NFL MVP. For the season the Colts set an NFL record with 51 total touchdown passes. The Colts led the NFL with 522 points scored. The Colts tallied more points in the first half of each of their games of the 2004 season (277 points) than seven other NFL teams managed in the entire season.[1]

Despite throwing 49 touchdown passes, Peyton Manning attempted fewer than 500 passes for the first time in his NFL career.[2] Sports statistics site Football Outsiders calculates that Manning had the best-ever season by a quarterback, play-for-play, in 2004.[3][4]

The 2004 Colts are the only team in NFL history to convert five or more passing touchdowns in a game four different times during the regular season.[5]

Offseason

Free Agency

During Free Agency, the Colts failed to re-sign linebacker Marcus Washington and cornerback Walt Harris. Both signed with the Washington Redskins in free agency.

NFL Draft

Main article: 2004 NFL draft
2004 Indianapolis Colts draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 44 Bob Sanders *  Safety Iowa from Pittsburgh
3 68 Ben Hartsock  Tight end Ohio State from Cleveland
3 69 Gilbert Gardner  Linebacker Purdue from Atlanta
4 107 Kendyll Pope  Linebacker Florida State from Pittsburgh
4 125 Jason David  Cornerback Washington State from Philadelphia via Atlanta
5 141 Jake Scott  Guard Idaho from Cleveland
6 173 Von Hutchins  Cornerback Mississippi from Cleveland
6 193 Jim Sorgi  Quarterback Wisconsin
7 229 David Kimball  Kicker Penn State from St Louis
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

2004 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Josh Thomas Defensive end Syracuse
Ben Utecht Tight end Minnesota

Roster

Indianapolis Colts 2004 final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
data possibly incomplete


Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Preseason

Date Opponent Result Game Site NFL Recap
August 14, 2004 at San Diego Chargers W 21–17 Qualcomm Stadium Recap
August 21, 2004 New York Jets L 7–31 RCA Dome Recap
August 28, 2004 Buffalo Bills W 30–17 RCA Dome Recap
September 3, 2004 at Cincinnati Bengals L 13–16 Paul Brown Stadium Recap

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site NFL Recap
1 September 9 at New England Patriots L 24–27 0–1 Gillette Stadium Recap
2 September 19 at Tennessee Titans W 31–17 1–1 The Coliseum Recap
3 September 26 Green Bay Packers W 45–31 2–1 RCA Dome Recap
4 October 3 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 24–17 3–1 Alltel Stadium Recap
5 October 10 Oakland Raiders W 35–14 4–1 RCA Dome Recap
6 Bye
7 October 24 Jacksonville Jaguars L 24–27 4–2 RCA Dome Recap
8 October 31 at Kansas City Chiefs L 35–45 4–3 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
9 November 8 Minnesota Vikings W 31–28 5–3 RCA Dome Recap
10 November 14 Houston Texans W 49–14 6–3 RCA Dome Recap
11 November 21 at Chicago Bears W 41–10 7–3 Soldier Field Recap
12 November 25 at Detroit Lions W 41–9 8–3 Ford Field Recap
13 December 5 Tennessee Titans W 51–24 9–3 RCA Dome Recap
14 December 12 at Houston Texans W 23–14 10–3 Reliant Stadium Recap
15 December 19 Baltimore Ravens W 20–10 11–3 RCA Dome Recap
16 December 26 San Diego Chargers W 34–31 (OT) 12–3 RCA Dome Recap
17 January 2 at Denver Broncos L 14–33 12–4 Invesco Field Recap

Standings

AFC South
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(3) Indianapolis Colts 12 4 0 .750 5–1 8–4 522 351 L1
Jacksonville Jaguars 9 7 0 .563 2–4 6–6 261 280 W1
Houston Texans 7 9 0 .438 4–2 6–6 309 339 L1
Tennessee Titans 5 11 0 .313 1–5 3–9 344 439 W1

Game summaries

Week 1: at New England Patriots

1 2 34Total
Colts 0 17 0724
Patriots 3 10 14027

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

  • Game time: 9:00 pm EST/8:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), Cloudy, warm, and humid
  • Game attendance: 68,756
  • TV announcers: (ABC) Al Michaels, John Madden

Week 2: at Tennessee Titans

1 2 34Total
Colts 3 0 72131
Titans 7 3 7017

at The Coliseum, Nashville, Tennessee

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), Sunny
  • Game attendance: 68,932

Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

1 2 34Total
Packers 14 3 7731
Colts 21 14 01045

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 4:15 pm EST/3:15 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 57,280
  • TV announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver (Sideline Reporter)

Week 4: at Jacksonville Jaguars

1 2 34Total
Colts 7 3 7724
Jaguars 0 3 31117

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: 85 °F (29 °C), Sunny and Clear
  • Game attendance: 73,114

Week 5: vs. Oakland Raiders

1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 7 0714
Colts 7 14 01435

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 57,230

Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

1 2 34Total
Jaguars 0 10 31427
Colts 0 14 01024

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 12:00 pm EST/11:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 56,615

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

1 2 34Total
Colts 7 7 14735
Chiefs 7 24 01445

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), Clear
  • Game attendance: 78,312

Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings

1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 6 81428
Colts 7 7 71031

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 9:00 pm EST/8:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 57,307
  • TV announcers: Al Michaels, John Madden

Week 10: vs. Houston Texans

1 2 34Total
Texans 0 0 7714
Colts 7 14 21749

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 56,511

Week 11: at Chicago Bears

1 2 34Total
Colts 7 20 14041
Bears 3 0 0710

at Soldier Field, Chicago

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: 43 °F (6 °C), Partly Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 61,908

Week 12: at Detroit Lions

1 2 34Total
Colts 13 14 14041
Lions 6 3 009

at Ford Field, Detroit

  • Game time: 12:30 pm EST/11:30 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 63,107

Week 13: vs. Tennessee Titans

1 2 34Total
Titans 24 0 0024
Colts 17 14 101051

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 57,278

Week 14: at Houston Texans

1 2 34Total
Colts 14 0 3623
Texans 0 7 7014

at Reliant Stadium, Houston

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C), Clear
  • Game attendance: 70,762

Week 15: vs. Baltimore Ravens

1 2 34Total
Colts 3 3 14020
Ravens 3 0 7010

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 8:30 pm EST/7:30 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 57,240
  • TV: ESPN

Week 16: vs. San Diego Chargers

1 2 34OTTotal
Chargers 7 10 77031
Colts 0 9 715334

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 57,330
  • TV: CBS

Week 17: at Denver Broncos

1 2 34Total
Colts 7 7 0014
Broncos 7 13 10333

at Invesco Field, Denver

  • Game time: 4:15 pm EST/3:15 pm CST
  • Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C), Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 75,149
  • TV announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms

Postseason schedule

Further information: 2004–05 NFL playoffs
Playoff round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Host stadium NFL recap
Wild Card January 9 Denver Broncos (6) W 49–24 1–0 RCA Dome Recap
Divisional January 16 at New England Patriots (2) L 3–20 1–1 Gillette Stadium Recap

Postseason results

AFC Wild-Card Playoff Game: vs. Denver Broncos

1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 3 14724
Colts 14 21 01449

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis

  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
  • Game weather: Game played indoors
  • Game attendance: 56,609
  • TV: CBS

AFC Divisional Playoff game: at New England Patriots

1 2 34Total
Colts 0 3 003
Patriots 0 6 7720

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

  • Game time: 4:45 pm EST/4:45 pm CST
  • Game weather: 25 °F (−4 °C), Cloudy, Cold, Snow
  • Game attendance: 68,756
  • TV: CBS

Awards and records

See also

References

  1. ^ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
  2. ^ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
  3. ^ Football Outsiders: QUARTERBACKS 2004
  4. ^ Football Outsiders: Final 2011 DVOA Ratings Stats calculated from 1992–2011
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the NFL, in the regular season, requiring Passing TD >= 5, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
  6. ^ Maxwell Football Club – Bert Bell Award Past Recipients Archived June 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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