The

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

was the 52nd season for the team in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) and 21st in Indianapolis. The 2004 Colts season began with the team trying to maintain or improve on their 12–4 record from

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, and advance further into the playoffs. The Colts finished the season 12–4, and defeated the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

for the second straight time in the playoffs, but they were halted in the Divisional round by the defending and eventual Super Bowl champion

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, their second straight loss in the playoffs to them.

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

had one of the best seasons ever by an NFL

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

(and the best season of his Indianapolis career), throwing 49 touchdown passes and breaking the previous record of 48 held by

Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...

. At season's end, Peyton Manning was named the

NFL MVP In American football, most valuable player (MVP) awards are given by various entities to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the most valuable during the regular season. Organizations which issue an NFL MVP award include t ...

. For the season the Colts set an NFL record with 51 total touchdown passes. The Colts led the NFL with 522 points scored. The Colts tallied more points in the first half of each of their games of the 2004 season (277 points) than seven other NFL teams managed in the entire season. Despite throwing 49 touchdown passes, Peyton Manning attempted fewer than 500 passes for the first time in his NFL career. Sports statistics site ''

Football Outsiders Football Outsiders (FO) was a website started in July 2003 which focused on advanced statistical analysis of the National Football League (NFL). The site was run by a staff of regular writers, who produced a series of weekly columns using both t ...

'' calculates that Manning had the best-ever season by a quarterback, play-for-play, in 2004. The 2004 Colts are the only team in NFL history to convert five or more passing touchdowns in a game four different times during the regular season.

Offseason

Free Agency

During Free Agency, the Colts failed to re-sign linebacker Marcus Washington and cornerback Walt Harris. Both signed with the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in free agency.

NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Game summaries

Week 1: at New England Patriots

Week 2: at Tennessee Titans

Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 4: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 5: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

A fumble by Colts' TE

Dallas Clark Dallas Dean Clark (born June 12, 1979) is an American former professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unq ...

allowed the Jaguars to capitalize with a field goal, giving them a 16–14 lead as the fourth quarter began. In response, Manning led the Colts down the field to score a field goal, reclaiming the lead. On the subsequent drive, Leftwich connected with Smith for a 25–yard touchdown and then successfully targeted WR Ernest Wilford for a two–point conversion. The Colts quickly answered back, with Manning finding Harrison for a 39–yard touchdown that leveled the score. During the Jaguars' next possession, Leftwich completed two passes of over 10 yards, advancing into Indianapolis territory. On a 3rd–and–7, Leftwich located Wilford, which positioned the Jaguars within field goal range. K Josh Scobee then successfully converted a 53–yard field goal, allowing the Jaguars to take the lead with under a minute left in the game. With no timeouts left, the Colts were unable to mount a comeback, resulting in a 27–24 victory for the Jaguars, marking their first win in Indianapolis. This win propelled them to the top of the AFC South standings. This would ultimately be the Colts' sole defeat in their RCA Dome that season.

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 10: vs. Houston Texans

Week 11: at Chicago Bears

Week 12: at Detroit Lions

Week 13: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 14: at Houston Texans

Week 15: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Week 16: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 17: at Denver Broncos

Postseason schedule

Postseason results

AFC Wild-Card Playoff Game: vs. Denver Broncos

AFC Divisional Playoff game: at New England Patriots

Awards and records

Bert Bell Award The Bert Bell Award is presented by the Maxwell Football Club to the player of the year in the National Football League (NFL). The award is named in honor of Bert Bell De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was an ...

Maxwell Football Club – Bert Bell Award Past Recipients

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2004 Indianapolis Colts Season Indianapolis Colts seasons

AFC South championship seasons Colts