# 2000 Indianapolis Colts season

The 2000 season was the Indianapolis Colts' 48th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 17th in Indianapolis. They finished second in the AFC East with a 10–6 record, but lost in overtime to their division rival Miami Dolphins in the wildcard round of the playoffs.
As in the previous season, the Colts once again sent Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison to the Pro Bowl at the end of the season.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| RB Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar (Browns) | TE/LS Bradford Banta (Jets) |
| DT Bernard Holsey (Giants) | LB Bertrand Berry (Eskimos) |
| LB Dwight Hollier (Dolphins) | DT Tony McCoy (Cardinals) |

### NFL Draft

2000 Indianapolis Colts draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 28 | Rob Morris | LB | BYU |
| 2 | 59 | Marcus Washington | LB | Auburn |
| 3 | 91 | David Macklin | CB | Penn State |
| 4 | 122 | Josh Williams | DT | Michigan |
| 5 | 138 | Matt Johnson | C | BYU |
| 7 | 235 | Rob Renes | DT | Michigan |
| 7 | 238 | Rodregis Brooks | CB | UAB |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

2000 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| John Baker | Punter | North Texas |
| Mike Furrey | Wide Receiver | Northern Iowa |
| Steve Gleason | Safety | Washington State |
| Trevor Insley | Wide Receiver | Nevada |
| Kevin McDougal | Running Back | Colorado State |
| John Mlerandi | Center | Notre Dame |
| Ike Ried | Linebacker | Ohio Western |
| Justin Snow | Long snapper | Baylor |
| Brian Wofford | Wide Receiver | Clemson |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | July 29 | Atlanta Falcons | L 13–20 | 0–1 | RCA Dome | Recap |
| 2 | August 5 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 16–28 | 0–2 | Husky Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | August 12 | New Orleans Saints | W 17–0 | 1–2 | Ross–Ade Stadium (West Lafayette) | Recap |
| 4 | August 19 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–23 | 2–2 | Estadio Azteca (Mexico City) | Recap |
| 5 | August 24 | Minnesota Vikings | W 32–30 | 3–2 | RCA Dome | Recap |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 3 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–14 | 1–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 78,357 |
| 2 | September 10 | Oakland Raiders | L 31–38 | 1–1 | RCA Dome | 56,769 |
| 3 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 4 | September 25 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 43–14 | 2–1 | RCA Dome | 56,816 |
| 5 | October 1 | at Buffalo Bills | W 18–16 | 3–1 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | 72,617 |
| 6 | October 8 | at New England Patriots | L 16–24 | 3–2 | Foxboro Stadium | 60,292 |
| 7 | October 15 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 37–24 | 4–2 | Husky Stadium | 63,593 |
| 8 | October 22 | New England Patriots | W 30–23 | 5–2 | RCA Dome | 56,828 |
| 9 | October 29 | Detroit Lions | W 30–18 | 6–2 | RCA Dome | 56,971 |
| 10 | November 5 | at Chicago Bears | L 24–27 | 6–3 | Soldier Field | 66,944 |
| 11 | November 12 | New York Jets | W 23–15 | 7–3 | RCA Dome | 56,657 |
| 12 | November 19 | at Green Bay Packers | L 24–26 | 7–4 | Lambeau Field | 59,869 |
| 13 | November 26 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–17 | 7–5 | RCA Dome | 56,935 |
| 14 | December 3 | at New York Jets | L 17–27 | 7–6 | Giants Stadium | 78,138 |
| 15 | December 11 | Buffalo Bills | W 44–20 | 8–6 | RCA Dome | 56,671 |
| 16 | December 17 | at Miami Dolphins | W 20–13 | 9–6 | Pro Player Stadium | 73,884 |
| 17 | December 24 | Minnesota Vikings | W 31–10 | 10–6 | RCA Dome | 56,672 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: at Kansas City Chiefs

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Chiefs | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
* Date: September 3
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 90 °F or 32.2 °C; relative humidity 50%, wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
* Game attendance: 78,357
* Referee: Larry Nemmers
* TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist, Dan Dierdorf, and Bonnie Bernstein
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring plays
Second quarter
IND — James 1-yard run (Vanderjagt kick), 14:15. Colts 7–0
KC — Richardson 11-yard pass from Grbac (Stoyanovich kick), 5:23. 7–7
Third quarter
IND — James 27-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 8:23. Colts 14–7
KC — Alexander 21-yard pass from Grbac (Stoyanovich kick), 4:25. 14–14
Fourth quarter
IND — Vanderjagt 23-yard field goal, 13:37. Colts 17–14
IND — Burris 27-yard interception return (Vanderjagt kick), 12:38. Colts 24–14
IND — Vanderjagt 40-yard field goal, 4:01. Colts 27–14
Top passers
IND — Peyton Manning, 22/32, 273 yards, TD, INT
KC — Elvis Grbac, 16/37, 212 yards, 2 TD, INT
Top rushers
IND — Edgerrin James, 28 rushes, 124 yards, TD
KC — Tony Richardson, 13 rushes, 58 yards
Top receivers
IND — Marvin Harrison, 9 receptions, 115 yards
KC — Sylvester Morris, 3 receptions, 58 yards :

#### Week 2: vs. Oakland Raiders

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 7 | 24 | 7 | 38 |
| Colts | 14 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 31 |
at RCA Dome
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Dome
* Game attendance: 56,769
* TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel, Todd Blackledge, and Armen Keteyian
Game information :
First Quarter
IND — Pollard 13-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 10:17. Colts 7–0
IND — James 6-yard rush (Vanderjagt kick), 4:57. Colts 14–0
Second Quarter
IND — James 10-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 11:28. Colts 21–0
OAK — Gannon 3-yard rush (Janikowski kick), 2:51. Colts 21–7
IND — Mike Vanderjagt 31-yard field goal, 0:03. Colts 24–7
Third Quarter
OAK — Gannon 7-yard rush (Janikowski kick), 10:56. Colts 24–14
OAK — Janikowski 24-yard field goal, 7:30. Colts 24–17
OAK — Gannon 6-yard rush (Janikowski kick), 3:58. 24–24
OAK — Wheatley 6-yard rush (Janikowski kick), 0:41. Raiders 31—24
Fourth Quarter
OAK — Wheatley 1-yard rush (Janikowski kick), 5:39. Raiders 38–24
IND — Harrison 50-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 4:07. Raiders 38–31
Top passers
OAK — Rich Gannon, 15/22, 207 yards
IND — Peyton Manning, 33/48, 367 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
OAK — Napoleon Kaufman, 8 rushes, 66 yards
IND — Edgerrin James, 18 rushes, 91 yards, TD
Top receivers
OAK — Tim Brown, 8 receptions, 66 yards
IND — Marvin Harrison, 10 receptions, 141 yards, TD :
This was the first time the Raiders had ever visited Indianapolis, Their previous regular season away game against the Colts occurred as far back as 1975, although they also played in Baltimore during the 1977 postseason. This anomaly was due to old NFL scheduling formulas in place prior to 2002, whereby teams had no rotating schedule opposing members of other divisions within their own conference, but instead played interdivisional conference games according to position within a season's table.

#### Week 4: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jaguars | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Colts | 7 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 43 |
at RCA Dome
* Game time: 9:00 p.m., EST
* Game weather: Dome
* Game attendance: 56,816
* Referee: Mike Carey
Game information :
First Quarter
IND — Harrison 76-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 10:59. Colts 7–0
Second Quarter
JAX — Smith 9-yard pass from Brunell (Lindsey kick), 7:36. 7—7
IND — Wilkins 27-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 5:09. Colts 14–7
IND — Pathon 16-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 1:28. Colts 21–7
JAX — Smith 26-yard pass from Brunell (Lindsey kick), 0:11. Colts 21–14
Third Quarter
IND — Vanderjagt 41-yard field goal, 5:32. Colts 24–14
IND — Brunell sacked by Bratzke in end zone for safety, 1:10. Colts 26–14
Fourth Quarter
IND — Vanderjagt 22-yard field goal, 11:31. Colts 29–14
IND — Dilger 4-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 8:42. Colts 36–14
IND — James 14-yard rush (Vanderjagt kick), 5:55. Colts 43–14
Top passers
JAX — Mark Brunell, 21/36, 229 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
IND — Peyton Manning, 23/36, 440 yards, 4 TD
Top rushers
JAX — Fred Taylor, 14 rushes, 57 yards
IND — Edgerrin James, 22 rushes, 89 yards, TD
Top receivers
JAX — Jimmy Smith, 9 receptions, 132 yards, 2 TD
IND — Terrence Wilkins, 9 receptions, 148 yards, TD :

#### Week 5: at Buffalo Bills

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 0 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 18 |
| Bills | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium
* Game time: 1:01 p.m., EST
* Game weather: 70 °F or 21.1 °C, relative humidity 52%, wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
* Game attendance: 72,617
* Referee: Gerry Austin
Game information :
First Quarter
BUF — Christie 19-yard field goal, 7:19. Bills 3–0
Second Quarter
BUF — Christie 30-yard field goal, 14:12. Bills 6–0
BUF — Christie 27-yard field goal, 8:54. Bills 9–0
IND – Harrison 14-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 4:09. Bills 9–7
Third Quarter
No scoring plays
Fourth Quarter
IND — Wilkins 10-yard pass from Manning (James run), 14:10. Colts 15–9
BUF – Moulds 40-yard pass from Johnson (Christie kick), 1:08. Bills 16–15
IND — Vanderjagt 45-yard field goal, 0:00. Colts 18–16
Top passers
IND — Peyton Manning, 16/27, 187 yards, 2 TD, INT
BUF — Rob Johnson, 21/32, 246 yards, TD
Top rushers
IND — Edgerrin James, 19 rushes, 60 yards
BUF — Jonathan Linton, 13 rushes, 58 yards
Top receivers
IND — Marvin Harrison, 3 receptions, 45 yards, TD
BUF — Eric Moulds, 9 receptions, 112 yards, TD :

#### Week 6: at New England Patriots

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| Patriots | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
at Foxboro Stadium
* Date: October 8, 2000
* Game time: 1:02 p.m., EST
* Game weather: 55 °F or 12.8 °C, wind 20 miles per hour (32 km/h; 17 kn)
* Game attendance: 60,292
* Referee: Walt Coleman
Game information :
First Quarter
NWE — Vinatieri 21-yard field goal, 10:01. Patriots 3–0
Second Quarter
IND — Harrison 17-yard pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 8:24. Colts 7–3
IND — Vanderjagt 33-yard field goal, 0:10. Colts 10–3
NWE — Tony Simmons 44-yard pass from Bishop (Adam Vinatieri kick), 0:00. 10–10
Third Quarter
IND — Vanderjagt 33-yard field goal, 4:41. Colts 13–10
Fourth Quarter
NWE — Bjornson 2-yard pass from Bledsoe (Vinatieri kick), 14:56. Patriots 17–13
NWE — Glenn 4-yard pass from Bledsoe (Vinatieri kick), 7:26. Patriots 24–13
IND — Vanderjagt 34-yard field goal, 0:36. Patriots 24–16
Top passers
IND — Peyton Manning, 31/54, 334 yards, TD, 3 INT
NWE — Drew Bledsoe, 15/23, 142 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
IND — Edgerrin James, 24 rushes, 75 yards
NWE — Kevin Faulk, 12 rushes, 64 yards
Top receivers
IND — Marvin Harrison, 13 receptions, 159 yards, TD
NWE — Terry Glenn, 5 recptions, 51 yards, TD :

#### Week 10: at Chicago Bears

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| Bears | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
* Date: November 5, 2000
* Game time: 3:15 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Overcast, 57 °F (14 °C)
* Game attendance: 66,944
* TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle and Mark May
Game information :
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
IND – Peyton Manning – 26/39, 302 yards, 2 TD, INT
CHI – Jim Miller – 24/35, 203 yards, TD
Top rushers
IND – Edgerrin James – 17 rushes, 68 yards, TD
CHI – James Allen – 16 rushes, 85 yards
Top receivers
IND – Ken Dilger – 5 receptions, 66 yards
CHI – Marcus Robinson – 8 receptions, 90 yards, TD :

#### Week 12: at Green Bay Packers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 24 |
| Packers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
* Date: November 19, 2000
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Overcast, 27 °F (−3 °C)
* Game attendance: 59,869
* TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle and Mark May
Game information :
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
IND – Peyton Manning – 25/44, 294 yards, 3 TD, INT
GB – Brett Favre – 23/36, 301 yards, 2 TD, INT
Top rushers
IND – Edgerrin James – 17 rushes, 71 yards
GB – Ahman Green – 24 rushes, 153 yards
Top receivers
IND – E. G. Green – 6 receptions, 81 yards, TD
GB – Bill Schroeder – 8 receptions, 155 yards :

#### Week 17: vs. Minnesota Vikings

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Colts | 7 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
* Date: December 24
* Game time: 4:15 p.m. EST
* Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
* Game attendance: 56,672
* Referee: Bill Carollo (63)
* Recap, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
IND – Marvin Harrison 4-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick), 7:32. Colts 7–0. Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 5:45.
MIN – Randy Moss 42-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper (Gary Anderson kick), 3:07. Tied 7–7. Drive: 8 plays, 81 yards, 4:25.
Second quarter
IND – Edgerrin James 52-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick), 9:12. Colts 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 87 yards, 2:43.
MIN – Gary Anderson 31-yard field goal, 5:04. Colts 14–10. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 1:22.
IND – Marvin Harrison 15-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick), 1:19. Colts 21–10. Drive: 9 plays, 76 yards, 3:45.
Third quarter
IND – Marvin Harrison 18-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Mike Vanderjagt kick), 7:47. Colts 28–10. Drive: 5 plays, 55 yards, 2:25.
Fourth quarter
IND – Mike Vanderjagt 28-yard field goal, 9:54. Colts 31–10. Drive: 13 plays, 85 yards, 6:33.
Top passers
MIN – Daunte Culpepper – 7/10, 97 yards, TD
IND – Peyton Manning – 25/36, 283 yards, 4 TD, INT
Top rushers
MIN – Robert Smith – 15 rushes, 37 yards
IND – Edgerrin James – 26 rushes, 128 yards
Top receivers
MIN – Cris Carter – 4 receptions, 67 yards
IND – Marvin Harrison – 12 receptions, 109 yards, 3 TD :
This was the first occasion the Colts hosted the Vikings in the regular season since 1968 in Baltimore, although the two teams would again play in the Colts’ stadium during that postseason. The intervening gap of 31 seasons constitutes the second-longest gap without one team visiting another in NFL history, and at the time was a record.

## Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Miami Dolphins | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 323 | 226 | W1 |
| $^{(6)}$ Indianapolis Colts | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 429 | 326 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 321 | 321 | L3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 315 | 350 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 276 | 338 | L1 |

## Playoffs

The team earned a Wild Card berth to the playoffs as the No. 6 seed and traveled to Miami to face the Dolphins. The Dolphins turned the ball over three times in the first half as the Colts staked a 14–0 lead by halftime. Miami then outscored the Colts 17–3 in the second half to send it to overtime. The Colts had a chance to win the game with a 49-yard FG but Mike Vanderjagt's kick was wide right. The Dolphins then marched 61 yards in 11 plays, ending with a Lamar Smith game-winning touchdown.
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wild Card | December 30 | at Miami Dolphins (3) | L 17–23 | 0–1 | Pro Player Stadium | 73,193 |

## Awards and records

* Marvin Harrison, AFC Pro Bowl Selection
* Edgerrin James, AFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 7
* Edgerrin James, AFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 15
* Edgerrin James, AFC Pro Bowl Selection,
* Peyton Manning, AFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 4
* Peyton Manning, AFC Offensive Player of the Week, week 17
* Peyton Manning, AFC Pro Bowl Selection
* Hunter Smith, AFC Special Teams Player of the Month, September
* Mike Vanderjagt, AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, week 5