2005 Indianapolis Colts season

2005 Indianapolis Colts season
Head coach	Tony Dungy
General manager	Bill Polian
Owner	Jim Irsay
Home field	RCA Dome
Results
Record	14–2
Division place	1st AFC South
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 21–18
Pro Bowlers	QB Peyton Manning RB Edgerrin James WR Marvin Harrison OT Tarik Glenn C Jeff Saturday DE Dwight Freeney OLB Cato June FS Bob Sanders
Uniform
← 2004 Colts seasons 2006 →

The 2005 Indianapolis Colts season was the 53rd season for the team in the National Football League and 22nd in Indianapolis. The 2005 Colts improved on their 12–4 record from 2004.

The Colts finished the season 14–2, but lost their first playoff game to the Pittsburgh Steelers who eventually went on to win the Super Bowl.

Indianapolis started the season with a 13-game winning streak and were heavily favored to go to the Super Bowl. The Colts' nemesis, the New England Patriots, lost to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional round of the playoffs. The following night the Colts were favored over the Steelers because they had easily beaten them in their previous meeting. However, the Colts were disappointed by the sixth-seeded Steelers' upset win.

The 2005 Colts set an NFL record by winning twelve games in which they never trailed at any point in the contest.

The 2005 Colts were the first team with a 13-game winning steak to lose a playoff game, followed by the Green Bay Packers 6 years later, who went 15-1.

The Colts had a busy offseason with the main focus to sign star running back Edgerrin James to a new contract. However, that did not happen, and the Colts decided to take the initiative of sticking him with the franchise tag [1]. (The franchise tag is a way to keep a player on the roster for one more year, but for a much larger salary than specified on the contract.) The Colts also signed RT Ryan Diem to a seven-year contract that included a $12 million signing bonus, which made him one of the highest-paid tackles in the league.

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