2011 Indianapolis Colts season The 2011 Indianapolis Colts season is the franchise ' s 59th season in the National Football League , the 28th in Indianapolis and the third under head coach Jim Caldwell . The Colts are coming off a 10 – 6 record in 2010 and a second consecutive AFC South championship , as well as a ninth consecutive playoff appearance . In 2011 , the Colts were looking to set an NFL record for the most consecutive playoff appearances ( 10 ) and appear in Super Bowl XLVI , which will be held in Indianapolis . However , as of Week 11 , the Colts are winless for the first time since their 1982 season in Baltimore , and for the first time in 10 years they will be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose any more games . They also matched their worst start in franchise history with their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at home — the Colts started 0 – 9 in 1991 and went on to be 1 – 15 . Schedule . Regular season . LEGEND : Game notes . Week 1 : at Houston Texans . The Indianapolis Colts began their 2011 season at Reliant Stadium against the Houston Texans . For the first time since the 1998 season , Peyton Manning was not under the helm at quarterback and it was recently acquired Kerry Collins that would take his position . The game started very well for the Colts , opening up with an interception by Melvin Bullitt that allowed the Colts to take control . However , a three and out from the offense quickly gave the Texans the ball to drive down and score a field goal and take a 3 – 0 lead . Collins and the Colts offense was out of sync for much of the first quarter , fumbling two snaps and giving Houston the great field position inside of the Indianapolis 40 yard line . After the first quarter , the Texans held a commanding 17 – 0 lead and were firing on all cylinders . The second quarter continued Houston ' s dominance , with all three teams of the Colts failing to stop or to execute against the Texans . At halftime , the Colts trailed Houston 34 – 0 , the largest deficit in the entire 58 - year history of the franchise . The second half saw little action with both teams taking shorter drives and in some senses , running down the clock . The Colts scored their first and the only points scored in the second half with a Reggie Wayne touchdown from Collins in the fourth quarter . The Colts went onto lose to the Texans 34 – 7 , their second straight season starting 0 – 1 . Week 2 : vs . Cleveland Browns . The Indianapolis Colts home opener had their 2011 home opener against the 0 – 1 Cleveland Browns . The first quarter saw both teams getting into offensive and defensive rhythms and ended with the Colts holding only a 3 – 0 lead on an Adam Vinatieri field goal . Heading to the second quarter , the Colts offense began to pick up behind Kerry Collins , rookie Delone Carter , and Joseph Addai . However much of the success faded once Indianapolis reached the red zone , and were only able to come away with two field goad during the quarter . Cleveland , however , was able to capitalize on the Colts defense , and saw a touchdown pass from Colt McCoy and a touchdown run from Peyton Hillis . Cleveland went into halftime with a 14 – 9 lead . The Indianapolis defense was able to stop Cleveland for most of the third quarter , and allowed the struggling offensive to close the gap with a fourth Vinatieri field goal , with Cleveland still holding a 14 – 12 lead into the fourth quarter . Cleveland quickly drove down the field and started the quarter with a Phil Dawson field goal , allowing the Colts to remain in contention for the victory . However , after turnovers and an inability to produce on offense , Cleveland broke the game open with a Hillis touchdown run , along with another Dawson field goal with 2 : 59 remaining in the game . With Cleveland holding a 27 – 12 lead , Indianapolis was able to score their first touchdown of the game , allowing them to try an onside kick to preserve any chance of a comeback , which they were not able to convert . Cleveland finished the game and the Colts by winning 27 – 19 , their first victory over the Colts since 1994 , and the Colts first 0 – 2 start since the 1998 season . Week 3 : vs . Pittsburgh Steelers . Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Cleveland Browns , the Indianapolis Colts remained at home for a week three intra - conference matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night . Indianapolis trailed early in the first quarter as Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham got a 48 yard field goal , followed by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completing an 81 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace . The Colts would answer in the second quarter with a 21 yard field goal from kicker Adam Vinatieri , followed by defensive end Jamaal Anderson returning a fumble , forced by Dwight Freeney , 47 yards for a touchdown . Another defensive turnover allowed the Colts and Vinatieri to score a 25 yard field goal , giving them a 13 – 10 lead at halftime . After a scoreless third quarter , Pittsburgh took the lead in the fourth quarter with a Suisham 44 yard field goal , followed by safety Troy Polamalu returning a fumble 16 yards for a touchdown . Indianapolis would tie the game again on running back Joseph Addai ' s 6 yard touchdown run with 2 : 15 remaining in the game . However , the Steelers were able to capture the win with a final 38 yard field goal from Suisham , dropping the Colts to 0 – 3 on the season . Week 4 : at Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Hoping to rebound from their home loss to the Steelers , the Colts flew to Raymond James Stadium for a Week 4 Monday night duel with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . With quarterback Kerry Collins recovering from his concussion , quarterback Curtis Painter would make his first career start . Indianapolis delivered the game ' s opening punch in the first quarter with a 45 - yard field goal from kicker Adam Vinatieri . The Colts would add onto their lead in the second quarter with Painter finding wide receiver Pierre Garçon on an 87 - yard touchdown pass , yet the Buccaneers answered with quarterback Josh Freeman getting a 1 - yard touchdown run . Tampa Bay would tie the game in the third quarter with kicker Connor Barth getting a 46 - yard field goal , yet Indianapolis came right back with Painter hooking up Garçon again on a 59 - yard touchdown pass . Afterwards , the Buccaneers tied the game with Freeman completing a 13 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Preston Parker . Tampa Bay would take the lead in the fourth quarter with running back LeGarrette Blount getting a 35 - yard touchdown run . From there , the defense prevented any comeback from the Colts ' offense . With the loss , the Colts dropped to 0 – 4 . Week 5 : vs . Kansas City Chiefs . After dropping their first four games of the season , the Indianapolis Colts came back to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs . They game opened well for the Colts , who scored on their opening drive with another Curtis Painter to Pierre Garçon touchdown reception . In the second quarter , the Colts were able to rack up the score with an Adam Vinatieri field goal , and another Painter to Garçon touchdown , giving Indianapolis a 17 – 0 lead midway through the second quarter . A Kansas City touchdown pass from Matt Cassel ended the shutout but Indianapolis was able to score another touchdown later . A late Kansas City touchdown allowed the Colts to go into halftime with a 24 – 14 lead . Two touchdown passes from Cassel to Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston respectively allowed the Chiefs to score 21 unanswered points , and complete the comeback , winning the game 28 – 24 , dropping the Colts to 0 – 5 on the season . Week 6 : at Cincinnati Bengals . With the Colts losing five consecutive games starting the 2011 season , Indianapolis looked to win their first game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals . Cincinnati opened up the game well , with a 1 yard touchdown run from Cedric Benson . With both defenses performing well throughout the remainder of the first half with the only other scores coming on a Donald Brown touchdown run for the Colts , and a Mike Nugent field goal . Going into halftime , the Bengals led the Colts 10 – 7 . Cincinnati dominated the third quarter on both fronts , with another Benson touchdown run and Nugent field goal , quickly running the lead up to 20 – 7 heading into the fourth quarter . There Colts were able to strike on a Adam Vinatieri 46 yard field goal narrowing the score to 20 – 10 . A Dallas Clark touchdown reception from Curtis Painter allowed the Colts to cut the game to a 20 – 17 affair with 9 : 33 remaining in the fourth quarter . After a missed Nugent field goal , with the Colts driving , Pierre Garçon fumbled the football , giving it to Carlos Dunlap who would take the ball in for a touchdown , and ended the score , with the Bengals winning the game 27 – 17 , giving the Colts an 0 – 6 record on the season . Week 7 : at New Orleans Saints . In a rematch of Super Bowl XLIV , the Colts suffered their worst loss in New Orleans , falling to the Saints 62 - 7 , being the worst loss in the season so far . Week 9 : vs . Atlanta Falcons . In the loss to the Falcons , the Colts continue their winless season at 0 - 9 , ensuring of their first losing season since 2001 . Week 10 : vs . Jacksonville Jaguars . With the loss , the Colts entered their bye week at 0 - 10 .