# 1984 Indianapolis Colts season

The 1984 Indianapolis Colts season was the 32nd season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and first in Indianapolis, as they relocated from Baltimore after the 1983 NFL season. The Colts finished the year with a record of 4 wins and 12 losses, and fourth in the AFC East division. In their inaugural game in Indianapolis, they lost 23–14 to the New York Jets and did not win their first game at Indianapolis until week 5, when they defeated the Buffalo Bills 31–17. The Colts lost five games in a row (including another one to the Bills, who started the season 0–11 and finished 2–14) to end the season and miss the playoffs for the 7th straight season.
The Colts' 2,107 passing yards and 4,132 total yards gained on offense were the fewest in the league in 1984.

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 2 | New York Jets | L 14–23 | 0–1 | Hoosier Dome | 61,148 |
| 2 | September 9 | at Houston Oilers | W 35–21 | 1–1 | Astrodome | 43,820 |
| 3 | September 16 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 33–34 | 1–2 | Hoosier Dome | 60,274 |
| 4 | September 23 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–44 | 1–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 55,415 |
| 5 | September 30 | Buffalo Bills | W 31–17 | 2–3 | Hoosier Dome | 60,032 |
| 6 | October 7 | Washington Redskins | L 7–35 | 2–4 | Hoosier Dome | 60,012 |
| 7 | October 14 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 7–16 | 2–5 | Veterans Stadium | 50,277 |
| 8 | October 21 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 17–16 | 3–5 | Hoosier Dome | 60,026 |
| 9 | October 28 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 3–22 | 3–6 | Texas Stadium | 58,724 |
| 10 | November 4 | San Diego Chargers | L 10–38 | 3–7 | Hoosier Dome | 60,143 |
| 11 | November 11 | at New York Jets | W 9–5 | 4–7 | Giants Stadium | 51,066 |
| 12 | November 18 | New England Patriots | L 17–50 | 4–8 | Hoosier Dome | 60,009 |
| 13 | November 25 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 7–21 | 4–9 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 40,289 |
| 14 | December 2 | at Buffalo Bills | L 15–21 | 4–10 | Rich Stadium | 20,693 |
| 15 | December 9 | Miami Dolphins | L 17–35 | 4–11 | Hoosier Dome | 60,411 |
| 16 | December 16 | at New England Patriots | L 10–16 | 4–12 | Sullivan Stadium | 22,383 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Miami Dolphins$^{(1)}$ | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 8–0 | 10–2 | 513 | 298 | W2 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 362 | 352 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–5 | 7–7 | 332 | 364 | L1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 4–8 | 239 | 414 | L5 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–7 | 1–11 | 250 | 454 | L2 |

## Regular season
### Game summaries
#### Week 2: vs. Houston Oilers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 0 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Oilers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Astrodome • Houston, Texas
* Date: September 9, 1984
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 43,820
* Referee: Fred Wyant
* TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone (play-by-play) and Reggie Rucker (color commentator)
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Colts
Oilers :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | IND | HOU |
| 1 | | | | | Oilers | Campbell 2-yard touchdown run, Kempf kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | | | | | Colts | Pagel 1-yard touchdown run, Biasucci kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | | | | | Oilers | Campbell 15-yard touchdown run, Kempf kick good | 7 | 14 |
| 2 | | | | | Colts | Dickey 15-yard touchdown run, Biasucci kick good | 14 | 14 |
| 2 | | | | | Colts | Butler 31-yard touchdown reception from Pagel, Biasucci kick good | 21 | 14 |
| 3 | | | | | Colts | Butler 14-yard touchdown reception from Pagel, Biasucci kick good | 28 | 14 |
| 4 | | | | | Oilers | Campbell 1-yard touchdown run, Kempf kick good | 28 | 21 |
| 4 | | | | | Colts | Porter 33-yard touchdown reception from Pagel, Biasucci kick good | 35 | 21 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 35 | 21 |

#### Week 8 vs. Pittsburgh

"Good Things come to those who hustle", are words attributed by Pittsburgh's eventual Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll when he recalled Franco Harris Immaculate Reception in 1972. Those words were never so true when Ray Butler scored in the last minute of play-off a deflected pass to give the Colts a dramatic 17–16 win over the eventual AFC Central Division champion Steelers. The 54-yard score capped a 17-point fourth quarter for the Colts, as they moved on drives of 57, 77 and 80 yards for the Colts third victory for the season.