1997 Indianapolis Colts season

45th season in franchise history August 2023 March 2026 Indianapolis Colts 1997 3–13 5th AFC East Jim Irsay N/A Lindy Infante Lindy Infante Jim Johnson RCA Dome Did not qualify Colts seasons 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,http://www.footballgeography.com/?p=3261 Last Winless NFL Team 2018-08-17 https://archive.today/20130111025323/http://www.footballgeography.com/?p=3261 2013-01-11 dead 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. Offseason NFL draft 1997 NFL draft 1997 Indianapolis Colts 1 19 Tarik Glenn Offensive tackle California yes yes 2 48 Adam Meadows Offensive tackle Georgia yes no 3 86 Bertrand Berry Defensive end Notre Dame yes yes no Personnel Staff 1997 Indianapolis Colts President emeritus – Robert Irsay Senior executive vice president/general manager/coo – Jim Irsay Vice president/director of football operations – Bill Tobin Assistant general manager – Bob Terpening Director of pro player personnel – Clyde Powers Director of college player personnel – George Boone Head coach – Lindy Infante Running backs – Gene Huey Receivers – Jimmy Robinson Tight ends/quality control – Tom Batta Offensive line – Ron Blackledge Assistant to the offensive line – Charlie Davis Offensive assistant/assistant quarterbacks – Buddy Geis Defensive coordinator – Jim Johnson Defensive line – Greg Blache Linebackers – Chuck Bresnahan Secondary – Pat Thomas Defensive assistant – Fred Bruney Special teams – Hank Kuhlmann Strength and conditioning – Tom Zupancic Roster 1997 Indianapolis Colts 53 8 3 12 Kerwin Bell  4 Jim Harbaugh 13 Kelly Holcomb 32 Zack Crockett FB 28 Marshall Faulk 33 Clif Groce FB 44 Chris Hetherington FB 20 Leon Neal 21 Lamont Warren 80 Aaron Bailey American football KR 87 Sean Dawkins 15 Chris Doering 88 Marvin Harrison 18 Nate Jacquet y PR 86 Brian Stablein PR 85 Ken Dilger 81 Marcus Pollard 66 Eugene Chung G 78 Tarik Glenn y G 58 Jay Leeuwenburg C 79 Tony Mandarich T 67 Jason Mathews G 73 Adam Meadows y T 71 Kipp Vickers T 72 Derek West American football T 64 Doug Widell G 99 Albert Fontenot DE 98 Dan Footman DE 62 Ellis Johnson defensive lineman DT 90 Steve Martin defensive tackle DT 61 Tony McCoy American football DT 92 Carl Powell y DE 97 Kendel Shello DT 95 Bernard Whittington DT 50 Elijah Alexander OLB 57 Bertrand Berry y OLB 53 Sammie Burroughs OLB 55 Quentin Coryatt OLB 59 Steve Grant MLB 52 Steve Morrison American football OLB 51 Scott Von der Ahe y MLB 29 Jason Belser FS 25 Robert Blackmon SS 27 Rico Clark American football y CB 26 Carlton Gray CB 30 Derwin Gray defensive back FS 39 Emmanuel McDaniel CB 40 Ray McElroy CB 34 Monty Montgomery American football y CB 49 David Tate American football SS 83 Bradford Banta LS 14 Cary Blanchard K 17 Chris Gardocki P 56 Tony Bennett American football DE IR 11 Paul Justin QB IR 65 Eric Mahlum G PUP 23 Dedric Mathis CB IR 84 Scott Slutzker TE IR 36 Damon Watts CB IR 69 Clay Williams offensive lineman T IR 37 Abu Wilson y RB IR 60 Jason Johnson offensive lineman y C -- Anthone Lott y CB 10 Kaipo McGuire y WR 53 8 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site 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 October 20, 1997 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 54,107Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 (Sunday, August 31, 1997): at Miami Dolphins Week 2 (Sunday, September 7, 1997): vs. New England Patriots Week 3 (Sunday, September 14, 1997): vs. Seattle Seahawks Week 4 (Sunday, September 21, 1997): at Buffalo Bills Week 5: Bye Week Week 6 (Sunday, October 5, 1997): vs. New York Jets Week 7 (Sunday, October 12, 1997): at Pittsburgh Steelers Week 8 (Monday, October 20, 1997): vs. Buffalo Bills 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 Peyton Manning. Week 10 (Sunday, November 2, 1997): vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 11 (Sunday, November 9, 1997): vs. Cincinnati Bengals Week 12 (Sunday, November 16, 1997): vs. Green Bay Packers Week 13 (Sunday, November 23, 1997): at Detroit Lions Week 14 (Sunday, November 30, 1997): at New England Patriots Week 15 (Sunday, December 7, 1997): at New York Jets Week 16 (Sunday, December 14, 1997): vs. Miami Dolphins Week 17 (Sunday, December 21, 1997): at Minnesota Vikings Standings References See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry Indianapolis Colts Category:Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts Category:Long stubs with short prose