1997 Indianapolis Colts season

The 1997 Indianapolis Colts season was the 45th season for the team in the National Football League and 14th in Indianapolis. The Colts finished the National Football League’s 1997 season with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, and finished fifth in the AFC East division. The Colts would start horribly, losing their first ten games for their worst start since 1986. They became only the second team to start 0–10 since 1987 after the 1993 Bengals, before an upset home win over eventual NFC Champion Green Bay. That would turn out to be the only good highlight all season for the Colts, as the team fell to a league-worst 3–13 record, and earned the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft, where they selected quarterback Peyton Manning.

Regular season

Schedule

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Game Site	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance
1	August 31	at Miami Dolphins	L 10–16	0–1	Pro Player Stadium	70,813
2	September 7	New England Patriots	L 6–31	0–2	RCA Dome	53,632
3	September 14	Seattle Seahawks	L 3–31	0–3	RCA Dome	49,194
4	September 21	at Buffalo Bills	L 35–37	0–4	Rich Stadium	55,340
5	Bye
6	October 5	New York Jets	L 12–16	0–5	RCA Dome	48,295
7	October 12	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 22–24	0–6	Three Rivers Stadium	57,925
8	Template:Dow tooltip	Buffalo Bills	L 6–9	0–7	RCA Dome	61,139
9	October 26	at San Diego Chargers	L 19–35	0–8	Jack Murphy Stadium	63,177
10	November 2	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 28–31	0–9	RCA Dome	58,512
11	November 9	Cincinnati Bengals	L 13–28	0–10	RCA Dome	58,473
12	November 16	Green Bay Packers	W 41–38	1–10	RCA Dome	60,928
13	November 23	at Detroit Lions	L 10–32	1–11	Pontiac Silverdome	62,803
14	November 30	at New England Patriots	L 17–20	1–12	Foxboro Stadium	58,507
15	December 7	at New York Jets	W 22–14	2–12	The Meadowlands	61,168
16	December 14	Miami Dolphins	W 41–0	3–12	RCA Dome	61,282
17	December 21	at Minnesota Vikings	L 28–39	3–13	Metrodome	54,107
colspan="7" style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle" |Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 9 (Sunday, October 26, 1997): at San Diego Chargers

Although unknown at the time, this game was of significant consequence in NFL history. The loser of this game would have the first pick in the 1998 NFL draft, which for the Colts was Payton Manning.

See also

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