Colts – Patriots rivalry The rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots of the National Football League is one of the NFL ' s most famed rivalries of the 2000s . The two teams combined for four Super Bowl victories ( three by the Patriots ) and six American Football Conference Championships since 2001 , while both are noted for their organizational excellence . The nature of this rivalry is somewhat ironic because while the Colts and Patriots were AFC East division rivals from 1970 to 2001 ( dating back to the Colts ' time in Baltimore ) , their intensified enmity wasn ' t prevalent until Indianapolis was moved into the newly formed AFC South following the 2001 season as part of the NFL ' s realignment . Since 2002 ( the only season since realignment in which they did " not " meet ) the rivalry has been bitterly close : following New England ' s 31 - 24 win in 2010 the Patriots lead the series with eight wins ( two in the playoffs ) versus five wins ( one playoff ) for the Colts , and the Patriots hold a lead in points scored , 401 - 335 . The modern matchup is often headlined as a contest between Pro Bowl quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady , who together have won six NFL MVP awards in eight years ( 2003 - 2010 ; four of which by Manning and two by Brady ) . Tom Brady received his first start against the Colts after an injury to then - starter Drew Bledsoe , and proceeded to defeat the Colts in his first six games against them in the next years , including the 2003 AFC Championship game and a 2004 AFC Divisional playoff game . The Colts won the next three matches , notching two regular season victories and a win in the 2006 AFC Championship game on the way to their win in Super Bowl XLI . The 1967 football season for both the NFL and the American Football League opened with the agreement for the pending merger of the two leagues already in place . On August 13 , 1967 the Boston Patriots hosted the Baltimore Colts at Harvard Stadium . The Patriots and Colts met for the first time in NFL regular - season play at Harvard Stadium in week three of the 1970 season . The Colts jumped to a 7 - 0 lead in the first quarter , but the Patriots closed to a 7 - 6 fourth - quarter score on two Gino Cappelletti field goals . On following series , Johnny Unitas finished off the Patriots with a 55 - yard touchdown pass and a 14 - 6 Colts win . Battling the Colts for the AFC East title , the Patriots traveled to Baltimore with a 6 - 3 record ( including a 27 - 13 Colts victory in Foxborough in week one of the season ) . The Patriots picked off Bert Jones twice , leading to a 21 - 14 win . The win accelerated a six - game winning streak for the Patriots and their first playoff berth since 1963 . The Patriots lost to the Baltimore Colts 12 - 7 in Baltimore ; it turned out to be the final meeting between the Patriots and the Baltimore Colts , as the team moved to Indianapolis for 1984 . It was also New England ' s last game in Baltimore until the Baltimore Ravens debuted in 1996 . In their first meeting at Indianapolis , the Patriots made their first trip to the Hoosier Dome and defeated the Colts 50 - 17 . The win was the second for new coach Raymond Berry , a former Colts receiver . The 4 - 5 Colts hosted the 0 - 9 Patriots and the two teams lit up the Hoosier Dome scoreboard in an overtime thriller . The game lead tied or changed 10 times and the Patriots scored twice off Jeff George interceptions . Patriots kicker Charlie Baumann accounted for the Patriots ' final nine points of a 37 - 34 overtime triumph that came amid illness to coach Dick McPherson . Peyton Manning made his second career trip to Foxborough and led the Colts to a 28 - 7 halftime lead . The Patriots , behind Drew Bledsoe , scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth off Colt turnovers and the game - winning Adam Vinatieri field goal came in the final thirty seconds . On December 12 , the Colts hosted the Patriots , holding a 10 - 2 record to New England ' s 7 - 5 . The Colts earned a 20 - 15 win , the first for Manning over New England after three straight losses and the first win over the Patriots for the Manning family ( Peyton ' s dad Archie was 0 - 3 lifetime against the Patriots with the New Orleans Saints and Houston Oilers . Week three of the 2001 season , Tom Brady made his first NFL start when the 2 - 0 Colts came to Foxborough . The Colts were defeated 44 - 13 as Peyton Manning threw three interceptions , two returned for touchdowns . On October 21 , the Patriots traveled to the RCA Dome and won 38 - 17 , where David Patten became the first player since Walter Payton in 1979 to score touchdowns three separate ways : throwing a 60 - yard pass to Troy Brown , a 91 - yard reception from Brady , and a rushing score . Heading into the Monday Night duel between the Colts ( 8 - 0 ) and the two - time defending Super Bowl champion Patriots ( 4 - 3 ) , QB Peyton Manning was win less against New England in Foxborough ( 0 - 7 ) . The Colts beat the Patriots , 40 - 21 . In the game ' s closing minutes , veteran QB Doug Flutie replaced Brady , and Colts president Bill Polian was heard in the press box yelling " break his leg ! " The 8 - 0 Patriots faced the 7 - 0 Colts in the RCA Dome , the latest in a season that two undefeated teams had ever faced off . The Patriots had scored over 34 points in every game but the Colts defense stifled the Patriots attack and Indianapolis clawed to a 20 - 10 lead in the fourth . But a 58 - yard Tom Brady bomb to Randy Moss was caught at the Colts 3 - yard line , leading to a Wes Welker touchdown catch . After stopping Manning and forcing a punt , a strong kick return by Welker set up a three - play touchdown drive highlighted by a 32 - yard catch by Donte Stallworth and a Kevin Faulk touchdown catch . Manning was hit and threw the ball into the hands of Rosevelt Colvin on the next Colts drive and the Patriots killed the remaining clock for the 24 - 20 win . The Colts won 18 - 15 in a game which ultimately helped cost the Patriots a playoff spot as a result of a lesser conference record than that of the third - seeded Miami Dolphins and the sixth - seeded Baltimore Ravens . The Patriots would end up with the record for the most wins in a regular season by a team not qualifying for the postseason . The undefeated Indianapolis Colts again played the 6 - 2 New England Patriots in what was Tom Brady ' s first start at Lucas Oil Stadium . With 4 : 12 left in the fourth quarter , the Patriots had pulled away 34 - 21 . However , thanks to a leap in field position due to a pass interference call , Colts RB Joseph Addai scored a touchdown on a four - yard run with 2 : 23 left to make the score 34 - 28 . Backed up to their 28 and needing to reach the 30 for a first down , Bill Belichick elected to go for it on 4th and 2 instead of punting . Brady completed a pass to halfback Kevin Faulk , but Faulk appeared not to make a clean catch and was immediately driven backwards . Officials determined that Faulk had not secured possession of the ball until he was short of the first down marker , resulting in a turnover on downs , and giving Manning and the Colts the ball on the Patriots ' own 29 - yard line with two minutes remaining . After three plays , Manning completed a one - yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne , making the score even at 34 - 34 with 13 seconds left . Kicker Matt Stover , filling in for Adam Vinatieri , made the extra point to make the score 35 - 34 and secured the victory for Indianapolis . Notable games . Belichick obliquely criticized the ball - spot on the play in his Monday morning press conference . Nevertheless , his decision was highly criticized by the media . Jarrett Bell of " USA Today " claimed the coach had " outsmarted himself , " while Bill Simmons , ESPN . com writer and Patriots fan , asked " What the f - - - was Belichick thinking " and compared the entire ordeal to " riding in the passenger seat of a friend ' s car and watching helplessly as he plows over a pedestrian " . The 6 - 3 Colts traveled to New England for the first time since 2006 and New England won its first home game against Indianapolis since a playoff game in 2005 . Manning and his Colts were down by 17 in the 4th quarter and came back again to make it 31 - 28 with a few minutes left . Manning led the drive down field and it looked like the previous year ' s matchup all over again . However , already in great field goal range ( 24 - yard line of New England ) , Manning ' s third interception was made by James Sanders with 32 seconds left , and it sealed the win for the Patriots who went to 8 - 2 while the Colts fell to second in the AFC South with a 6 - 4 record . Appearances in advertising . The rivalry forms the basis of a Sprint telecommunications television ad for their service providing NFL updates to cell phones . In the ad , a cell phone opens up to form a miniature NFL stadium with the Patriots logo in one end zone and the Colts logo in the other ( the only scenarios in which this type of field layout would occur are the NFL Hall of Fame exhibition game and the NFL International Series ) . As two men watch , a winning field goal is kicked and fireworks erupt . The winner is not named but evidence suggests the Patriots , as the " game " call is by New England ' s radio play - by - play announcer Gil Santos . The rivalry is also referenced in a Mastercard ad in which Peyton Manning is staying in hotels in New England , San Diego , and Cleveland while misunderstanding taunting comments made to him by fans of the opposing teams .