2003 Indianapolis Colts season

2003 Indianapolis Colts season
Head coach	Tony Dungy
General manager	Bill Polian
Owner	Jim Irsay
Home field	RCA Dome
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st AFC South
Playoff finish	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Broncos) 41–10 Won Divisional Playoffs (Chiefs) 38–31 Lost Conference Championship (Patriots) 24–14
Pro Bowlers	QB Peyton Manning WR Marvin Harrison DE Dwight Freeney K Mike Vanderjagt

The 2003 Indianapolis Colts season was the 51st season for the team in the National Football League and 20th in Indianapolis.

After defeating the Broncos and the Chiefs in the first two rounds, the Colts lost to the New England Patriots in the title game, which saw the first playoff meeting between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. New England would go on to defeat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 38. It was the final season seeing the Colts wear their blue facemasks and white shoes.

Roster

Indianapolis Colts 2003 final roster

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

32 Edgerrin James
45 Tom Lopienski FB
33 Dominic Rhodes
35 Ricky A. Williams

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

71 Ryan Diem T
64 Rick DeMulling G
76 Makoa Freitas T
78 Tarik Glenn T
56 Tupe Peko G/C
63 Jeff Saturday C
74 Steve Sciullo G/C

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

58 Gary Brackett ILB
59 Cato June OLB
94 Rob Morris ILB
57 Jim Nelson OLB
50 David Thornton OLB
53 Marcus Washington OLB
52 Keyon Whiteside OLB

Defensive Backs

28 Idrees Bashir FS
41 Cory Bird SS
31 Clifton Crosby CB
34 Jason Doering FS
20 Mike Doss SS
39 Anthony Floyd FS
25 Nick Harper CB
21 Walt Harris CB
27 David Macklin CB
30 Donald Strickland FS

Special Teams

Reserve Lists

data possibly incomplete

6 Tom Arth QB (NF-Inj.)
29 Joseph Jefferson CB (IR)
73 Adam Meadows OT (IR)
23 James Mungro FB (IR)
95 David Pugh DT (NF-Inj.)
42 Detron Smith FB (IR)
47 Donnel Thompson OLB (IR)

Practice Squad

data incomplete

Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Kickoff Time
1	September 7, 2003	at Cleveland Browns	W 9–6	CBS 1:00 pm
2	September 14, 2003	Tennessee Titans	W 33–7	CBS 1:00 pm
3	September 21, 2003	Jacksonville Jaguars	W 23–13	CBS 1:00 pm
4	September 28, 2003	at New Orleans Saints	W 55–21	ESPN 8:30 pm
5	October 6, 2003	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 38–35	ABC 9:00 pm
6	October 12, 2003	Carolina Panthers	L 23–20	FOX 1:00 pm
7	Bye
8	October 26, 2003	Houston Texans	W 30–21	CBS 1:00 pm
9	November 2, 2003	at Miami Dolphins	W 23–17	CBS 1:00 pm
10	November 9, 2003	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 28–23	CBS 1:00 pm
11	November 16, 2003	New York Jets	W 38–31	CBS 4:00 pm
12	November 23, 2003	at Buffalo Bills	W 17–14	CBS 1:00 pm
13	November 30, 2003	New England Patriots	L 38–34	CBS 1:00 pm
14	December 7, 2003	at Tennessee Titans	W 29–27	CBS 1:00 pm
15	December 14, 2003	Atlanta Falcons	W 38–7	FOX 1:00 pm
16	December 21, 2003	Denver Broncos	L 31–17	ESPN 8:30 pm
17	December 28, 2003	at Houston Texans	W 20–17	CBS 1:00 pm

Standings

AFC South
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ Indianapolis Colts	12	4	0	.750	5–1	9–3	447	336	W1
⁽⁵⁾ Tennessee Titans	12	4	0	.750	4–2	8–4	435	324	W3
Jacksonville Jaguars	5	11	0	.313	2–4	3–9	276	331	L1
Houston Texans	5	11	0	.313	1–5	3–9	255	380	L4

Week-by-week results

Week 1: at Cleveland Browns

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	0	3	3	3	9
Browns	3	0	0	3	6

at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), Sunny
Game attendance: 73,358
Referee: Walt Anderson

The Colts had high expectations leading into the 2003 season, and hoped to start the season on the right track after a humiliating loss the New York Jets in the 2002 AFC Divisional Playoffs. Peyton Manning struggled for most of the game, throwing two interceptions in the first half. Kelly Holcomb and the Cleveland Browns suffered from similar problems, however, as Holcomb twice drove the Browns inside of the Indianapolis ten yard line, but failed to score a touchdown on either drive. With the game tied 6–6 in the fourth quarter, Manning flawlessly drove the Colts from their own 8 yard line to the Cleveland 25, the highlight of the drive being a 15-yard connection to wide receiver Reggie Wayne on a 3rd and 10 situation. With six seconds left, coach Tony Dungy called timeout and sent in kicker Mike Vanderjagt to attempt the game winning field goal, which he connected on. This kick was Vanderjagt's first game winner since being labeled as an idiot kicker by Manning in the offseason after charging that Manning needed to show more emotion in games.

Week 2: vs. Tennessee Titans

	1	2	3	4	Total
Titans	0	7	0	0	7
Colts	3	14	3	13	33

at RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
Game weather: Game played indoors (Domed stadium)
Game attendance: 56,999
Referee: Jeff Triplette

Week 4: at New Orleans Saints

The Colts offense was nearly flawless as Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison hooked up six times for 158 yards and three touchdowns. Harrison accounted for half of Manning's 308 passing yards while Ricky Williams, Marcus Pollard, and Dallas Clark threw in good receiving days as well. The Colts rushing attack was not as strong without Edgerrin James but Indianapolis still picked up 101 yards on the ground.

Week 5: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Game time: 9:00 pm
TV announcers: Al Michaels and John Madden
TV Channel: ABC (Monday Night Football)
Final Score: Colts 38, Bucs 35

In Tampa on Monday Night, the Bucs scored 21 unanswered points and held a 35–14 lead with 5:09 remaining. The game began to change hands when Brad Pyatt returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards. James Mungro scored a short touchdown, the Colts recovered an onside kick, and Peyton Manning threw a touchdown to Marvin Harrison to cut the lead to a touchdown. With 35 seconds left, Ricky Williams scored a touchdown from 3 yards out to tie the game. With four minutes to go in overtime, Mike Vanderjagt missed a potential game-winning 40 yard field goal wide right, but it was called back by a rare leaping penalty when Bucs DE Simeon Rice landed on his own player. Vanderjagt's ensuing 29 yard attempt was blocked, but kept going and bounced off the right upright and through the posts.^[1]

Week 13: New England Patriots

Game time: 1:00 pm EST/12:00 pm CST
Game weather: (Domed stadium)
TV announcers:
Game attendance: 56,999
Referee: Bill Leavy

The Colts hosted the Patriots in the first meeting between the two clubs since October 2001 and the first meeting since divisional realignment took the Colts out of the AFC East into the AFC South. With both teams at 9–2 it was the latest in a season in which two teams with no more than two losses had ever met. The Patriots opened up with a flurry; an Adam Vinatieri field goal was followed by the sacking of Peyton Manning and a fumble recovery, followed by a Mike Cloud rushing score. Dedric Ward then caught a 31-yard Tom Brady touchdown throw for a 17–0 Patriots lead. Peyton Manning led two scoring drives that left the score 17–10 New England with 12 seconds in the first half, but on the ensuing kick to end the half Bethel Johnson ran the ball back for a 92-yard touchdown.

The Patriots increased their lead to 31–10 on another Cloud rushing score, but the tide turned decisively as Brady threw two picks late in the third quarter; Manning completed a 13-yard touchdown to Reggie Wayne on fourth down, then found Marvin Harrison for a 23-yard score. A six-yard Troy Walters touchdown catch in the fourth tied the game at 31, then Bethel Johnson had another huge kickoff return, setting up a 13-yard Brady to Deion Branch touchdown. Kevin Faulk was then steamrolled in the Pats' redzone and fumbled the ball, leading to a 29-yard Mike Vanderjagt kick and a 38–34 Patriots lead. The Patriots were forced to punt in the final minutes and Ken Walter laid a huge egg as his punt landed at the 50. The Colts drove to the Patriots 2-yard line entering the final minute and Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest suffered a momentary leg injury that necessitated stopping the clock. On first down Edgerrin James was stopped at the 1; on second he was stopped and Manning called the Colts' final timeout; on third he threw to the left side of the endzone but the ball sailed over everyone's heads; finally on fourth with 15 seconds remaining James was stopped at the 1 by McGinest, Ted Washington, and Rodney Harrison. The 38–34 thriller left the Patriots shaken ("I've never seen anything like it," Rodney Harrison said afterward) and left them 10–2 and the Colts 9–3.

Postseason schedule

For more details on this topic, see NFL playoffs, 2003-04.

Playoff Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Game Site	NFL Recap	TV Time
Wild Card	January 4, 2004	Denver Broncos (6)	W 41–10	1–0	RCA Dome	Recap	CBS 4:30 pm
Divisional	January 11, 2004	at Kansas City Chiefs (2)	W 38–31	2–0	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap	CBS 1:00 pm
AFC Championship	January 18, 2004	at New England Patriots (1)	L 14–24	2–1	Gillette Stadium	Recap	CBS 3:00 pm

Game summaries

Wild Card: vs. Denver Broncos

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	3	0	0	7	10
• Colts	14	17	10	0	41

Date: January 4
Location: RCA Dome, Indianapolis, IN
Game start: 4:30 p.m. EST
Game weather: Indoors (dome)
Television network: CBS

Source: ESPN

Scoring summary

1	11:55	Colts	Brandon Stokley 31 yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick)	Colts 7–0

1	3:41	Broncos	Jason Elam 49 yard field goal	Colts 7–3

1	:24	Colts	Marvin Harrison 46 yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick)	Colts 14–3

2	7:28	Colts	Marvin Harrison 23 yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick)	Colts 21–3

2	1:51	Colts	Brandon Stokley 87 yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick)	Colts 28–3

2	:00	Colts	Mike Vanderjagt 27 yard field goal	Colts 31–3

3	5:19	Colts	Reggie Wayne 7 yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick)	Colts 38–3

3	:55	Colts	Mike Vanderjagt 20 yard field goal	Colts 41–3

4	7:04	Broncos	Rod Smith 7 yard pass from Jake Plummer (Jason Elam kick)	Colts 41–10

Awards and records

Peyton Manning, Bert Bell Award^[2]

References

Indianapolis Colts

Founded in 1953 Played in Baltimore (1953–1983) Based and Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana

Franchise	History in Baltimore relocation to Indianapolis in Indianapolis Players Quarterbacks Coaches Seasons Draft First-round draft picks Ring of Honor

Stadiums	Memorial Stadium RCA Dome Lucas Oil Stadium

Culture	Carroll Rosenbloom Robert Irsay Jim Irsay 12th Man AAFC Colts Baltimore Colts Marching Band The Band That Wouldn't Die Blue Cheerleaders

Lore	The Greatest Game Ever Played Ghost to the Post 1995 AFC Championship Game Deflategate

Rivalries	New England Patriots (Manning vs. Brady)

Division championships (20)	1958 1959 1964 1965✝ 1968 1970 1975 1976 1977 1987 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2013 2014 ^{✝Tied for 1st place in their division, but since there was no tie-breaking system in 1965, a game was played to determine who went to the conference championship. The Colts lost the divisional playoff game.}

Super Bowl appearances (4)	III (1968) V (1970) XLI (2006) XLIV (2009)

League championships (5)	1958 1959 1968 1970 2006

Retired numbers	18 19 22 24 70 77 82 89

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: South Division

Seasons (63)	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts seasons

Baltimore 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Indianapolis 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

2003 NFL season

East	North	South	West	East	North	South	West
Buffalo	Baltimore	Houston	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta	Arizona
Miami	Cincinnati	Indianapolis	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Carolina	St. Louis
New England	Cleveland	Jacksonville	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans	San Francisco
NY Jets	Pittsburgh	Tennessee	San Diego	Washington	Minnesota	Tampa Bay	Seattle

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