2006 Indianapolis Colts season

2006 Indianapolis Colts season
OwnerJim Irsay
General managerBill Polian
Head coachTony Dungy
Home fieldRCA Dome
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st AFC South
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Chiefs) 23–8
Won Divisional Playoffs
(at Ravens) 15–6
Won AFC Championship
(vs. Patriots) 38–34
Won Super Bowl XLI
(vs. Bears) 29–17
Pro Bowlers
5
AP All-Pros
3
Uniform
President George W. Bush congratulates the Colts

The 2006 Indianapolis Colts season was the franchise's 54th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 23rd in Indianapolis and the 5th season under head coach Tony Dungy. The team failed to improve on their regular season record of 14–2 from the 2005 season, finishing at 12–4. However, they did improve upon their postseason performance and advanced further into the playoffs, winning Super Bowl XLI.[1][2]

For the fourth consecutive season, the Colts had won 12 or more games. They also won the AFC South Division Championship for the fourth time in a row, and they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round and the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round, before winning the AFC Championship, beating the New England Patriots 38–34 to advance to Super Bowl XLI, in which they dominated the Chicago Bears, winning 29–17 on February 4, 2007, at Dolphin Stadium.[3] This was the franchise's first Super Bowl since Super Bowl V in 1970, and first since relocating to Indianapolis, as well as their fourth title in their history (1958, 1959, 1970, and 2006). They were just the second football team in a domed stadium to win the Super Bowl after the 1999 St. Louis Rams.

The 2006 Colts surrendered 5.33 rushing yards per attempt, by far the worst since the merger, and seventh-worst in NFL history.[4] Still, the Colts won the championship with the help of the most statistically efficient offense in the league.[5][6][7][8][9] During this season, the Colts, who were very successful in the 2000s despite being impacted by the Patriots dynasty,[10][11][12][13] made history by becoming the first team that played in an indoor stadium to win a Super Bowl in an outdoor stadium and for helping Tony Dungy to become the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl.[14][15][16][17] In 2019, the NFL ranked the 2006 Colts as the 37th-best NFL team of all time.[18]

  1. ^ Wilson, Josh (November 15, 2016). "Colts 2006 season in review: Regular season". Stampede Blue. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Nocco, Joseph (June 11, 2020). "The Best Indianapolis Colts Team In Franchise History". ClutchPoints. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "Colts: Revisiting Peyton Manning's 2006 AFC Championship comeback vs Patriots". Horseshoe Heroes. July 12, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  4. ^ "Cold Hard Football Facts: The 5.0 Club: run defense in '11 lit up like hippies in '69". Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  5. ^ Outsiders, Football. "FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis - Final 2006 DVOA Ratings". www.footballoutsiders.com.
  6. ^ Flaherty, Dan (January 17, 2014). "The 2006 Indianapolis Colts & How They Survived A Stacked AFC Playoffs". thesportsnotebook.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  7. ^ "51. 2006 Indianapolis Colts". Touchdown Wire. August 14, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  8. ^ Schatz, Aaron (September 4, 2007). "Why You'll Never See Another Team Like the 2006 Colts". Slate Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "2006 Colts Team Ranked Among Best Of All-Time". www.colts.com. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  10. ^ Parente, Michael. "Colts, Patriots a victim of past success". GoLocalProv. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  11. ^ "Indianapolis Colts | NFL Football Operations". operations.nfl.com. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  12. ^ "The Game That Changed the Brady-Manning Rivalry Forever". www.boston.com. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Wells, Brad (December 21, 2009). "Great Colts of the Decade: 2000-2009". Stampede Blue. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  14. ^ Byrne, Kerry. "Kerry J. Byrne: Why dome teams struggle in playoffs". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "Tony Dungy reflects on making history as first Black NFL coach to win Super Bowl". WFLA. January 23, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  16. ^ "Dungy becomes first black coach to win Super Bowl". ESPN.com. February 5, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  17. ^ Lamers, Ben (July 9, 2015). "Throwback Thursday: Colts Coaches in the 2000s". Stampede Blue. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  18. ^ "NFL 100". NFL.com. Retrieved December 31, 2023.