| 2020 Indianapolis Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Jim Irsay |
| General manager | Chris Ballard |
| Head coach | Frank Reich |
| Home field | Lucas Oil Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC South |
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Bills) 24–27 |
| Pro Bowlers | G Quenton Nelson C Ryan Kelly OLB Shaquille Leonard |
| AP All-Pros | LG Quenton Nelson (1st team) DT DeForest Buckner (1st team) LB Shaquille Leonard (1st team) ST George Odum (1st team) C Ryan Kelly (2nd team) LS Luke Rhodes (2nd team) |
| Uniform | |
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The 2020 season was the Indianapolis Colts' 68th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 37th in Indianapolis. It was also their third season under head coach Frank Reich and fourth under the leadership of general manager Chris Ballard. Long-time San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers signed a one-year contract worth $25 million on March 17, 2020, to take over as the team's starting quarterback, reuniting him with Frank Reich, who served as quarterbacks coach for the Chargers during the 2013 season.
Despite giving the Jacksonville Jaguars their only win of the season in their season opener, the Colts improved upon their 7–9 season from the previous year with a Week 13 win over the Houston Texans and returned to the playoffs as a Wild Card as the 7th seed. The Colts finished tied with the Tennessee Titans for the AFC South division title, with an 11–5 record, but lost the tiebreaker based on record vs. division opponents (5–1 to 4–2). Before the season, the NFL decided to add a 7th team from each conference in the postseason. This proved to be a crucial decision, because had the NFL stuck with 6 teams per conference in the playoffs, the Colts would've joined the 1985 Broncos and 2008 Patriots as the only teams in NFL history to go 11-5 but fail to qualify for the playoffs. In the Wild Card, the Colts were defeated by the Buffalo Bills 27–24, marking the only time in his career Rivers lost in the Wild Card Round.
Following the season, Rivers announced his retirement on January 20, 2021, after 17 years in the league. After starting a total of 252 straight games and never missing a single start in his career, Rivers also retired as 2nd in the all-time consecutive starts list, only behind former long-time Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Rivers' retirement left Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks as the new longest active leader for consecutive starts by a quarterback.