1986 Indianapolis Colts season

The 1986 Indianapolis Colts season was the 34th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and third in Indianapolis. The team finished the year with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, placing last in AFC East division.

The Colts did not win a game until week 14, when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons. Prior to that, at least one sportswriter had theorized that the Colts wanted to finish with an 0–16 record, believing that they needed a franchise quarterback; as it turned out, Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde was the consensus overall top pick in the forthcoming draft (although there were fears that he, like John Elway in 1983, would refuse to play for the team if they drafted him). The Colts’ record, which included wins in their final two games, ended up not being the worst in the league; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished with a 2–14 record and got the first pick (which they would eventually use on Testaverde).

Rod Dowhower entered the season in his second year as head coach, after having replaced Frank Kush in 1985. After the 0–13 start for the team, he was fired and replaced by Ron Meyer, who had himself been fired by the New England Patriots in 1984 and had not coached since. Meyer would lead the Colts to all three of their victories in 1986.

Schedule

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance
1	September 7	at New England Patriots	L 3–33	0–1	Sullivan Stadium	55,208
2	September 14	at Miami Dolphins	L 10–30	0–2	Miami Orange Bowl	51,848
3	September 21	Los Angeles Rams	L 7–24	0–3	Hoosier Dome	59,012
4	September 28	New York Jets	L 7–26	0–4	Hoosier Dome	56,075
5	October 5	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–35	0–5	Candlestick Park	57,252
6	October 12	New Orleans Saints	L 14–17	0–6	Hoosier Dome	53,512
7	October 19	at Buffalo Bills	L 13–24	0–7	Rich Stadium	50,050
8	October 26	Miami Dolphins	L 13–17	0–8	Hoosier Dome	58,350
9	November 2	Cleveland Browns	L 9–24	0–9	Hoosier Dome	57,962
10	November 9	New England Patriots	L 21–30	0–10	Hoosier Dome	56,890
11	November 16	at New York Jets	L 16–31	0–11	Giants Stadium	65,149
12	November 23	at Houston Oilers	L 17–31	0–12	Astrodome	31,792
13	November 30	San Diego Chargers	L 3–17	0–13	Hoosier Dome	47,950
14	December 7	at Atlanta Falcons	W 28–23	1–13	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	30,397
15	December 14	Buffalo Bills	W 24–14	2–13	Hoosier Dome	52,783
16	December 21	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 30–24	3–13	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	41,349
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

See also

• History of the Indianapolis Colts
• List of Indianapolis Colts seasons
• Colts–Patriots rivalry