- Super Bowl Championships: 2 (one as the Baltimore Colts)
- Last Super Bowl Championship: Super Bowl 41
- Claim to Fame: Won an NFL-record 23 consecutive games in 2008-09
- Claim to Shame: Traded John Elway for QB Mark Hermann, OT Chris Hinton, and G Ron Solt
On March 28, 1984, football fans in Indianapolis went to sleep without a team. When they woke up the morning of March 29, they suddenly had the Indianapolis Colts. That’s because when Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay failed to get a new or improved stadium, he packed his bags, brought the moving vans in and moved out of Baltimore overnight.
The move didn’t come with immediate success, though. But 1998 saw the start of the most successful era in Colts football, and that coincided with the drafting of QB Peyton Manning with the first-overall pick.
Manning would go on to play 17 seasons in the NFL, while setting numerous individual records. His Super Bowl 41 win over the Bears gave the Colts their first championship in Indianapolis, and solidified his status as one of the all-time greats.
The game also featured two African-American coaches, with Colts coach Tony Dungy becoming the first African American coach to win a Super Bowl.
While many teams suffer after seeing their franchise pivot leave, Indianapolis was just fine, thanks to landing Andrew Luck in the draft after Manning missed an entire season with a neck injury.
The Colts were dealt the blow of all blows to start their 2019 season, though, when Luck shocked the world by retiring at the tender age of 29. Long hampered by injuries, Luck lost his love for the game, and now Indy’s future rests on the shoulders of backup Jacoby Brissett, who led the team to a woeful 4-12 (8-8 ATS) record as a starter in 2017 when Luck was out with injury.
Under Brissett two years ago, the offense never got in motion ranking 31st in yards/game, while the defense was equally soft ranking 30th in yards allowed/game. All told, they were also 30th in both total points scored and allowed.
But the 2019 edition is much stronger in almost every facet, and Brissett is no longer a first-year starter. The Colts’ prospects for 2019 are certainly much brighter than their 2017 forecast, even though they were/are missing their biggest piece in both seasons.
