# 1997 Indianapolis Colts season

The 1997 Indianapolis Colts season was the 45th season for the team in the National Football League and 14th in Indianapolis. The Colts finished the National Football League’s 1997 season with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, and finished fifth in the AFC East division. The Colts would start horribly, losing their first ten games for their worst start since 1986. They became only the second team to start 0–10 since 1987 after the 1993 Bengals, before an upset home win over eventual NFC Champion Green Bay. That would turn out to be the only good highlight all season for the Colts, as the team fell to a league-worst 3–13 record, and earned the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft, where they selected quarterback Peyton Manning.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1997 Indianapolis Colts draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 19 | Tarik Glenn * | Offensive tackle | California |
| 2 | 48 | Adam Meadows | Offensive tackle | Georgia |
| 3 | 86 | Bertrand Berry * | Defensive end | Notre Dame |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance |
| 1 | August 31 | at Miami Dolphins | L 10–16 | 0–1 | Pro Player Stadium | 70,813 |
| 2 | September 7 | New England Patriots | L 6–31 | 0–2 | RCA Dome | 53,632 |
| 3 | September 14 | Seattle Seahawks | L 3–31 | 0–3 | RCA Dome | 49,194 |
| 4 | September 21 | at Buffalo Bills | L 35–37 | 0–4 | Rich Stadium | 55,340 |
| 5 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 6 | October 5 | New York Jets | L 12–16 | 0–5 | RCA Dome | 48,295 |
| 7 | October 12 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 22–24 | 0–6 | Three Rivers Stadium | 57,925 |
| 8 | October 20 | Buffalo Bills | L 6–9 | 0–7 | RCA Dome | 61,139 |
| 9 | October 26 | at San Diego Chargers | L 19–35 | 0–8 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 63,177 |
| 10 | November 2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 28–31 | 0–9 | RCA Dome | 58,512 |
| 11 | November 9 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–28 | 0–10 | RCA Dome | 58,473 |
| 12 | November 16 | Green Bay Packers | W 41–38 | 1–10 | RCA Dome | 60,928 |
| 13 | November 23 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–32 | 1–11 | Pontiac Silverdome | 62,803 |
| 14 | November 30 | at New England Patriots | L 17–20 | 1–12 | Foxboro Stadium | 58,507 |
| 15 | December 7 | at New York Jets | W 22–14 | 2–12 | The Meadowlands | 61,168 |
| 16 | December 14 | Miami Dolphins | W 41–0 | 3–12 | RCA Dome | 61,282 |
| 17 | December 21 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 28–39 | 3–13 | Metrodome | 54,107 |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 9 (Sunday, October 26, 1997): at San Diego Chargers

Although unknown at the time, this game was of significant consequence in NFL history. The loser of this game would have the first pick in the 1998 NFL draft, which for the Colts was Payton Manning.

#### Week 17 (Sunday, December 21, 1997): at Minnesota Vikings
## Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ New England Patriots | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 369 | 289 | W1 |
| $^{(6)}$ Miami Dolphins | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 339 | 327 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 348 | 287 | L1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 255 | 367 | L3 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 313 | 401 | L1 |