In 1981, the Colts defense allowed an NFL-record 533 points, set an all-time record for fewest sacks ( 13 ) and also set a modern record for fewest punt returns ( 12 ).

The Colts ' main strength was their defense.

Like the Colts, the Cowboys main strength was their defense.

Dallas ' defense forced Baltimore to punt after 3 plays, and got the ball back with great starting field position after receiving David Lee's 38-yard punt at the Colts 48-yard line with less than 2 minutes left in the game.

Pittsburgh, who dominated teams with their " Steel Curtain " defense and running game, finished the regular season with a league best 12 – 2 record and defeated the Baltimore Colts and the Oakland Raiders in the playoffs.

In the third AFL-NFL World Championship Game, Philbin anchored the Jets defense in limiting the Colts to seven points.

A member of the " Ole Miss " Athletic Hall of Fame, he was a linebacker of the University of Mississippi who came to the American Football League's New York Titans in the 1960 college draft and helped form the backbone of a New York Jets defense that reached the playoffs in 1968 and 1969, and in 1968 captured the AFL Championship and the World Championship, over the NFL's Baltimore Colts.

However, New England's defense dominated the Colts, only allowing 14 points, intercepting 4 passes from Manning ( 3 of them by Law ), and forcing a safety.

Manning was certainly a bright spot in 1998 for the Colts, but he also threw a league high 28 interceptions as the team struggled to a 3 – 13 record with a defense that gave up more than 27 points per game.

The Patriots defense intercepted Manning four times and sacked him another four, as the Colts lost the game 24 – 14.

In 2005, the Colts had a greatly improved defense over that of recent years.

Plagued by a run defense that would allow over 100 yards in every game, the Colts were 11 – 4 heading into their final game.

In week 10 the Colts traveled to Pittsburgh, who had the league's # 1 defense.

Some of these events include: Lou Gehrig's " Luckiest Man Alive " Speech ( July 4, 1939 ); Babe Ruth's " Final Visit to Yankee Stadium " ( June 11, 1948 ); Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling heavyweight title bout ( June 19, 1936, Schmeling won ), the 1958 NFL Championship between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts and Muhammad Ali's title defense against Ken Norton ( Sept. 28, 1976 ).

He installed his " Tampa 2 " defense immediately and continued to retool the Colts ' defense to his liking during his tenure.

During his early tenure in Indianapolis, Dungy struggled to fix the Colts ' defense and had mixed results in the postseason.

Over the next four seasons, Manning, along with other stars such as receiver Marvin Harrison and running back Edgerrin James, turned the Colts into one of the best offensive teams in the NFL, but the team struggled to find consistency on defense and always ended up with either a losing season or elimination from the playoffs in the first round.

In 2005, the Colts ' defense improved, making the team the clear favorites in the NFL.

The Colts ' run defense, however, was a major problem, giving up 2, 768 yards on the ground, an average of 173 per game and last in the NFL.

Morris also started 9 games for the Colts during the 2006 season, including 3 games in the playoffs and Super Bowl XLI, replacing Gilbert Gardner to improve the Colts ' run defense.

The Colts defense was ranked first in the NFL in most defensive categories.

The Baltimore Colts played their final home game in Baltimore final on December 18, 1983 against the then Houston Oilers.

The Colts wore blue pants with their white jerseys for the first three games of the 1995 season, but then returned to white pants with both the blue and white jerseys.

In 2002, the Colts made a minor striping pattern change on their jerseys, having the stripes only on top of the shoulders then stop completely.

The Colts then repeated the feat by posting an identical record and routing the Giants in the 1959 final.

The two teams met twice a year ( interrupted in 1982 by a player strike ) 1970 – 2001 ; with the move of the Colts to the AFC South the two teams ' rivalry actually escalated, as they met three times in the playoffs in the South's first nine seasons of existence ; the Jets crushed the Colts 41 – 0 in the 2002 Wild Card playoff round ; the Colts then defeated the Jets 30 – 17 in the 2009 AFC Championship Game ; but the next year in the Wild Card round the Jets pulled off another playoff upset of the Colts, winning 17 – 16 ; it was Peyton Manning's final playoff game with the Colts.

Marino led a 25-point fourth quarter comeback for a 34 – 31 Dolphins win at the RCA Dome, then in Miami Marino led another comeback to tie the game 34 – 34 with 36 seconds remaining ; Manning, however, drove the Colts in range for a 53-yard field goal as time expired ( 37 – 34 Colts win ).

The two then met in the wild-card round where the Dolphins won 23 – 17 before being blown out by Oakland 27 – 0 ( the Colts themselves had suffered a bitter loss to the Raiders in Week Two of the season when the Raiders erased a 24-7 gap to win 38-31 ).

Manning's Colts defeated the Chargers in 1998 and 1999, but in 2004 with Leaf long gone from the game the revamped Chargers behind Drew Brees erupted into playoff contention ; on December 26 with both teams at 11-3 the Colts hosted the Chargers with Manning close to matching Dan Marino's touchdown record ; the Chargers stormed to a 31-16 lead, but Dominic Rhodes ' kickoff return put the Colts within eight points, then with one minute remaining Manning rifled a 21-yard touchdown to Brandon Stokley, breaking Marino's record ; the two-point try succeeded, then after Brees was intercepted the game went to overtime and the Colts won 34-31 on a field goal.

First on November 11, with the Chargers up only 23-21 and despite five Manning interceptions, the Colts closed to range of a 29-yard field goal try for Adam Vinatieri, a kick that shockingly missed ; Manning then threw a sixth interception and the Chargers won.

The Jets have maintained a rivalry with the Indianapolis Colts since 1969 when the Jets and the Colts, known then as the Baltimore Colts, faced off in Super Bowl III.

Though regular season meetings have been infrequent since then, the teams have met two more times in the playoffs, including in 2009 when the Colts and Jets met in the AFC Championship Game.

The Colts finished 0 – 8 – 1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season and earned the team the right to select Stanford quarterback John Elway with the first overall pick, but Elway refused to play for Baltimore, and using leverage as a draftee of the New York Yankees baseball club, forced a trade to Denver.

Dallas forced the Colts to punt on their next possession, and several plays later, quarterback Craig Morton completed a 47-yard pass to Bob Hayes at the Colts 12-yard line, with a roughing the passer penalty adding 6 yards ( half the distance to the goal ).

On third down, Morrall threw his third consecutive incompletion, which would have forced Baltimore to punt from deep in their own territory, but Renfro was called for a 13-yard pass interference penalty while trying to cover Hinton, giving the Colts a first down.

) Dallas was forced to punt on their ensuing drive, and Widby managed to pin the Colts deep in their own territory with a 40-yard punt that was downed on Baltimore's 5-yard line.

The Cowboys, who traditionally wear their white jerseys in home games and often only wear their blue jerseys against teams that have similar policies for themselves ( most notably against the Washington Redskins and occasionally the Philadelphia Eagles ), were forced to wear their blue jerseys as the " home " team in Super Bowl V, which the team lost to the Baltimore Colts and is widely believed where the " blue jersey jinx " started with America's Team.

As a result of Shula's signing the team was charged with tampering by the NFL, which forced the Dolphins to give their first round pick to the Colts.

His first two years with the Patriots were fairly uneventful ; in his rookie year he had ten catches for 95 yards and a two-yard touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts that forced overtime in a 23-17 Patriots win.

He finished second on the team with 12 tackles vs. Houston Texans and posted 8 tackles and 1 forced fumble vs. Indianapolis Colts and he tied a then career-high with 16 tackles in addition to one forced fumble and 1 pass defensed vs. Miami.

But the Colts forced 5 turnovers, including cornerback Kelvin Hayden's 56-yard interception return for a touchdown, and Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri made three field goals.

On November 1, 2009, Clements suffered a right shoulder injury against the Indianapolis Colts in the first quarter and forced to leave the game.

The Colts were forced to punt and the Saints took over driving down.

Denver was forced to punt after three plays and Troy Walters returned the ball 9 yards to the Colts 48-yard line.

Denver managed to move the ball to the Colts 36-yard line on their ensuing drive, but a 15-yard penalty on guard Dan Neal pushed them out of field goal range and forced them to punt.

However, the Steelers were forced to advance the ball towards another score instead of taking a quarterback kneel because the Colts still had three timeouts remaining.

The Steelers defense forced 4 turnovers and held the Colts to 154 total yards of offense, while Pittsburgh's Franco Harris shreded Baltimore's defense with 153 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Oakland then forced a three and out deep in Baltimore territory and got the ball back with great field position at the Colts 48.

In the playoff game, both Colts starting quarterback Johnny Unitas and backup Gary Cuozzo could not play, so Baltimore was forced to use Tom Matte, normally a running back, as the starting quarterback.