The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 season, the Colts have played their games in Lucas Oil Stadium. Previously, the team had played for over two decades (1984–2007) at the RCA Dome. Since 1987, the Colts have served as the host team for the NFL Scouting Combine.
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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Boston and 18 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Island. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2023, the Patriots are the second most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.
Peyton Williams Manning is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with the Denver Broncos. Manning is considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the second son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and an older brother of former NFL quarterback Eli Manning. He played college football at Tennessee, where he won the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards as a senior en route to victory in the 1997 SEC Championship.
Adam Matthew Vinatieri is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Considered one of the greatest placekickers of all time, he is the NFL's all-time leading scorer at 2,673 points. He also holds the NFL records for field goals made (599), postseason points (238), and overtime field goals made (12).
William Stephen Belichick is an American football coach who is the head coach and general manager of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, for the record of eight combined total Super Bowl victories as coach and coordinator. Belichick is often referred to as a "student of the game", with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of each player position, and is known as a renowned American football historian. Under his tenure with the Patriots, he was a central figure as the head coach as well as the chief executive during the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the division: the Buffalo Bills ; the Miami Dolphins ; the New England Patriots ; and the New York Jets. All four members of the AFC East were previously members of the Eastern Division of the American Football League (AFL).
The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Phoenix, Arizona, area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division. The playoff races came down to the regular season's final week, with the Seattle Seahawks winning the AFC West by one game, and the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers winning their respective divisions in a five-way tie, with the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants losing the NFC Wild Card berth to the Los Angeles Rams on tiebreakers.
Stephen Carroll Gostkowski is an American football former placekicker who played for 15 years in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots.
The 1972 New England Patriots season was the franchise's third season in the National Football League and 13th overall. The Patriots ended the season with a record of three wins and eleven losses and finished last in the AFC East Division. The Patriots continued their period of futility as they slumped to another horrendous record, and missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season. After being embarrassed 31–7 in their home opener against Cincinnati, the Patriots would win their next two games against Atlanta and Washington. However, the Patriots would continue their mid-season misery, losing nine consecutive games to slide to 2–10 before winning their first road game against the New Orleans Saints. New England went winless against AFC opponents. Out of their 11 losses, only two were by one possession, a 24–17 loss to Baltimore and a 27–24 loss to Buffalo. The worst of these losses was a 52–0 thrashing by the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Miami Dolphins, who would go on to achieve the only undefeated season in NFL history. That Dolphins loss remains the worst loss and most points ever allowed in a game in Patriots history.
The 1978 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League and 19th overall. They finished the season with a record of eleven wins and five losses, tied for first in the AFC East, and had the tiebreaker over the Miami Dolphins; it was the Patriots' second division title, and the first since 1963, the fourth year of the AFL.
The 1990 New England Patriots season was the team's 31st, and 21st in the National Football League (NFL). It was the first for head coach Rod Rust, who was looking to improve on the 5-11 mark from the year before that cost Raymond Berry, who had led the Patriots to the playoffs twice in his tenure, his job.
The Colts–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. It is considered one of the most famous rivalries in the NFL from the 2000s due to the teams posting numerous winning seasons during the decades as well as it being the height of the rivalry between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, even though the rivalry began in 1970 when the AFL and NFL merged. While the Patriots were the unquestioned lords of the NFL during the 2000s, the Colts were one of the few teams that could retrospectively give the Patriots a run for their money, especially with their higher winning percentage and 2006 season. The two teams have combined for seven Super Bowl victories and eleven AFC Championships since 2001. The Colts and Patriots were AFC East division rivals from 1970 to 2001, but their intensified enmity was not prevalent until Indianapolis was moved into the newly formed AFC South following the 2001 season as part of the NFL's realignment. Following New England’s 26-3 win in 2022 the Patriots lead overall series with 53 wins versus thirty wins for the Colts, and the Patriots hold a lead in points scored, 2,082 to 1,567 for the Colts. In 2020, CBS ranked this rivalry as the No. 1 NFL rivalry of the 2000s.
The 1988 Indianapolis Colts season was the 36th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and fifth in Indianapolis. The team finished the year with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, and tied for second in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots. However, the Colts finished ahead of New England based on better record against common opponents. At the start of the season, Ron Meyer demoted quarterback Gary Hogeboom to back up, and promoted Jack Trudeau to starter, which prompted Hogeboom to demand that he be either traded or released.
The 1991 Indianapolis Colts season was the 39th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and eighth in Indianapolis. The team was looking to improve on the 7–9 record they had recorded in 1990. Instead, the Colts put together a campaign that ranked as one of the worst in NFL history.
The 1981 Baltimore Colts season was the 29th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Colts finished the NFL's 1981 season with a record of 2 wins and 14 losses, finishing in a tie with the New England Patriots for both last place in their division, the AFC East, and the worst record in the league. However, by virtue of beating the Patriots for their only two wins of the season, the Colts finished ahead of New England on a tiebreaker. Those wins came in the first and last weeks of the season, as the Colts lost their other fourteen games consecutively.
The 1978 Baltimore Colts season was the 26th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Under fourth-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with 5 wins and 11 losses, tied for fourth in the AFC East division with the Buffalo Bills. Baltimore lost the tiebreaker to Buffalo based on head-to-head series (0–2). This was the first time under Marchibroda that Baltimore did not make the postseason.
The 1970 Baltimore Colts season was the 18th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Led by first-year head coach Don McCafferty, the Colts finished the 1970 season with a regular season record of 11 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie to win the first AFC East title. The Colts completed the postseason in Miami with a victory over the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, their first Super Bowl title and third world championship. The Baltimore Colts would not return to a championship game again.
The 1981 Miami Dolphins season was the 16th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise and 12th in the National Football League (NFL). With the retirement of Bob Griese, not much was expected out of the Dolphins. The Dolphins Defense became known as the Killer Bees because of the number of players whose last name began with the letter B; Bill Barnett, Bob Baumhauer, Lyle Blackwood, Kim Bokamper, and Bob Brudzinski anchored a strong team. They finished 11-4-1, as Don Shula reached a milestone by winning his 200th game of his coaching career. In the Divisional Playoffs against the San Diego Chargers the Dolphins fell behind 24-0 early in front of a sold out crowd at the Orange Bowl. With time running out in the first half, the Dolphins desperately needed a score to get back in the game. Out of nowhere the Dolphins ran the old schoolyard hook and lateral play to success. On the play, Quarterback Don Strock threw a pass over the middle to WR Duriel Harris, who lateraled to HB Tony Nathan, who ran the ball in for a touchdown. The play sparked the Dolphins, who came back and took a lead in the 4th Quarter. However, the Killer Bees could not contain Chargers QB Dan Fouts, who tied the game and forced overtime, where the Chargers won the game on a Rolf Benirschke field goal in the 14th minute of overtime. If it hadn't been for the player's strike of the following season, this would've been the first of five consecutive AFC East titles for the Dolphins.
Qualin Dont'a Hightower is an American former football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, receiving consensus All-American honors and winning two BCS National Championships. Hightower was selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Patriots, where he was named to two Pro Bowls and won three Super Bowl titles.
