2001 Indianapolis Colts season
| 2001 Indianapolis Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jim E. Mora |
| General manager | Bill Polian |
| Owner | Jim Irsay |
| Home field | RCA Dome |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–10 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers |
WR Marvin Harrison TE Ken Dilger |
The 2001 Indianapolis Colts season was the 49th season for the team in the National Football League and 18th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 2001 season with a record of 6 wins and 10 losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division. In the process the Colts allowed 486 points in sixteen games, an average of 30 points per match and the franchise worst since the infamous 1981 Colts who allowed 533. At the time only the aforementioned Colts, the 1980 Saints and the notorious 1966 Giants (in a 14-game schedule) had ever allowed more points.[1]
Personnel
Staff
| 2001 Indianapolis Colts staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Roster
| Indianapolis Colts 2001 final roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
|
Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive Backs
Special Teams
|
Reserve Lists
| |||||
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | TV Time | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9, 2001 | at New York Jets | W 45–24 | 1–0 | The Meadowlands | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 2 | September 23, 2001 | Buffalo Bills | W 42–26 | 2–0 | RCA Dome | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 3 | September 30, 2001 | at New England Patriots | L 13–44 | 2–1 | Foxboro Stadium | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 4 | Bye | |||||||
| 5 | October 14, 2001 | Oakland Raiders | L 18–23 | 2–2 | RCA Dome | ESPN 8:30 pm | | |
| 6 | October 21, 2001 | New England Patriots | L 17–38 | 2–3 | RCA Dome | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 7 | October 25, 2001 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 35–28 | 3–3 | Arrowhead Stadium | ESPN 8:30 pm | | |
| 8 | November 4, 2001 | at Buffalo Bills | W 30–14 | 4–3 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 9 | November 11, 2001 | Miami Dolphins | L 24–27 | 4–4 | RCA Dome | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 10 | November 18, 2001 | at New Orleans Saints | L 20–34 | 4–5 | Louisiana Superdome | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 11 | November 25, 2001 | San Francisco 49ers | L 21–40 | 4–6 | RCA Dome | FOX 1:00 pm | | |
| 12 | December 2, 2001 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 27–39 | 4–7 | PSINet Stadium | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 13 | December 10, 2001 | at Miami Dolphins | L 6–41 | 4–8 | Pro Player Stadium | ABC 9:00 pm | | |
| 14 | December 16, 2001 | Atlanta Falcons | W 41–27 | 5–8 | RCA Dome | FOX 1:00 pm | | |
| 15 | December 23, 2001 | New York Jets | L 28–29 | 5–9 | RCA Dome | ESPN 8:30 pm | | |
| 16 | December 30, 2001 | at St. Louis Rams | L 17–42 | 5–10 | Trans World Dome | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
| 17 | January 6, 2002 | Denver Broncos | W 29–10 | 6–10 | RCA Dome | CBS 1:00 pm | | |
Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| (2) New England Patriots | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 371 | 272 | W6 | ||
| (4) Miami Dolphins | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 344 | 290 | W2 | ||
| (6) New York Jets | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 308 | 295 | W1 | ||
| Indianapolis Colts | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 413 | 486 | W1 | ||
| Buffalo Bills | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 265 | 420 | L1 | ||
Season summary
The Colts suffered only the second losing season of Peyton Manning's career. After opening with dominant wins over the Jets and Buffalo, the Colts were crushed twice in three games by the Patriots to go with a loss to Oakland. Two more wins followed but the season fell apart with losses in seven of the season's final nine games; a 40–21 rout by the San Francisco 49ers on November 25 set off an infamous postgame press conference rant by coach Jim Mora in which he harped on four Manning interceptions, repeatedly noting one was returned (by the Niners' Zack Bronson) for a touchdown and the others set up San Francisco scores, and a fumble; he angrily scoffed at a reporter's question about the Colts' playoff chances when he barked, "What's that? Playoffs? Don’t talk about — playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game!" Mora was fired after the season.
Manning threw 23 interceptions during the season, the highest number of his career following his rookie season. He was sacked a career-high 29 times.