The 2017 season was the

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 ...

' 65th 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), the 34th in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

and the tenth playing their home game at

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...

. It was also the sixth and final season under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Chuck Pagano Charles David Pagano (born October 2, 1960) is an American football coach who is currently a senior secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 ...

, who was fired at the end of the season. It was also the first under new general manager

Chris Ballard Chris Ballard may refer to: * Chris Ballard (American football) (born 1969), American football general manager for the Indianapolis Colts * Chris Ballard (journalist) (born 1973), American sports writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' * Chris Ballard (p ...

, the former

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

' Director of Football Operations, following the dismissal of

Ryan Grigson Ryan Richard Grigson (born February 23, 1972) is an American football executive who is the assistant general manager of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). From 2012 to 2016, he served as the general manager of the Indian ...

. The Colts were looking to improve on their 8–8 record from last year and make the playoffs for the first time since 2014. However, star quarterback

Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is an American football executive and former professional quarterback who is the general manager of the Stanford Cardinal. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons ...

suffered a shoulder injury before the regular season began, was placed on the injured reserve list, and missed the remainder of the season that paralleled the 2011 season, when then-starting quarterback

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 ...

sat out the entire season to undergo neck surgeries and coincidentally, the Colts lost at least 12 games. After an ineffective performance by backup

Scott Tolzien Scott Jeffery Tolzien (born September 4, 1987) is an American former professional football quarterback and coach who currently serves the quarterbacks coach for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college foot ...

in Week 1 against the Rams, the Colts put

Jacoby Brissett Jacoby JaJuan Brissett (born December 11, 1992) is an American professional football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with the Florida Gators, he played college football for the NC Sta ...

as their starting quarterback for the rest of the season. However, Brissett could not save the team as they finished 4–12 for their first losing season since

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

Roster changes

Free agents

Draft

Notes * The Colts received one

compensatory selection The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

— No. 144 overall. * The Colts traded their seventh-round selection (No. 233 overall) to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

in exchange for

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Billy Winn. * The Colts traded

Dwayne Allen Dwayne Lamont Allen (born February 24, 1990) is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, where he won the John Mac ...

and their sixth-round selection (No. 200 overall) to the

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 ...

for their fourth-round selection (No. 137 overall).

Undrafted free agents

Sources

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Los Angeles Rams

The first regular season game of the Colts ended in disaster. The offense allowed two pick-sixes and a safety, the defense were unable to stop

Sean McVay Sean Patrick McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired ...

's high-powered Rams offense, and the special teams missed one field goal.

Week 2: vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Colts allowed 2 Phil Dawson field goals late in the game, with the 2nd one turning out to be the game winner. The 2nd one came after a Jacoby Brissett interception on the first play of overtime. The Colts fell to 0–2, their third straight such start.

Week 3: vs. Cleveland Browns

In a battle of 0–2 teams, the Colts took a 28–14 lead at halftime, then halted a Browns comeback in the second half. The Colts improved to 1–2.

Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks

Despite being tied at 18 in the 3rd quarter, the Colts allowed 28 straight Seattle points to fall to 1–3.

Week 5: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Despite allowing the 49ers to rally from a 23–9 deficit in the 2nd half, the Colts won in overtime on an Adam Vinatieri field goal to improve to 2–3 while going 1-3 against the NFC West.

Week 6: at Tennessee Titans

Despite leading 19–9 in the third quarter, the Colts were outscored 27–3 the rest of the way, resulting in their first loss to the Titans since 2011, snapping their 11-game winning streak in the series. The Colts fell to 2–4.

Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville dominated the entire game, and beat the Colts in Indianapolis for the first time since 2012. The Colts fell to 2–5. The Colts were also shut out at home for the first time since 1993.

Week 8: at Cincinnati Bengals

Despite leading for a good portion of the game, a late pick 6 by Jacoby Brissett did the Colts in, as they fell to 2–6.

Week 9: at Houston Texans

Against the equally disappointing Texans, the Colts improved to 3–6 and snapped their 3-game losing streak to the Texans.

Week 10: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Despite leading 17–3 in the 2nd quarter, the Colts lost to the Steelers 20–17 to fall to 3–7, their 5th straight loss to Pittsburgh.

Week 12: vs. Tennessee Titans

Despite a 16–6 lead in the 3rd quarter, the Titans managed to pull off the comeback to win 20–16 and send the Colts to 3–8. It was the first time since 2002 that the Colts had been swept by the Titans.

Week 13: at Jacksonville Jaguars

For the second time this season, the Jaguars managed to dominate Indianapolis, winning this game 30–10 and sending the Colts to 3–9, their 3rd straight road loss to the Jaguars.

Week 14: at Buffalo Bills

The game in Buffalo, called the " Snow Bowl" by the media, was notable for being held in the midst of a

lake-effect snow Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises through colde ...

storm that left over a foot of snow on the stadium's turf in similar weather conditions to games such as the

Snowplow Game The Snowplow Game was a regular-season National Football League (NFL) game played between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots on December 12, 1982, at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Due in part to icy conditions, the gam ...

. The Colts and Bills played a low-scoring affair, tied at 7 by the end of regulation thanks to a fourth quarter touchdown pass from Jacoby Brissett to Jack Doyle. However, LeSean McCoy managed to win the game for the Bills with a 21-yard touchdown run in overtime. The Colts fell to 3–10 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Week 15: vs. Denver Broncos

The Colts lost at home to the Broncos, who were also on a downspiral season, to fall to 3–11. It was their first loss at home to the Broncos since 2003, ending their 6-game home winning streak against them.

Week 16: at Baltimore Ravens

The Colts played a close matchup with the playoff-bound Ravens, but it was not enough as the Colts lost and fell to 3–12.

Week 17: vs. Houston Texans

In a battle for the basement, the Colts defeated the Texans 22–13 and swept the Texans for the first time since 2014. The win also secured the Colts third place in the division.