2009 Indianapolis Colts season The 2009 Indianapolis Colts season was the 57th season for the team in the National Football League and the 26th in Indianapolis . It was the first season since 2002 that the Colts did not have Tony Dungy on their coaching staff , due to his retirement from coaching . The 2009 Indianapolis Colts improved upon their 12 – 4 record from 2008 as well as winning their sixth AFC South division championship in seven years . The Colts also clinched the # 1 playoff seed in the AFC . The Colts became the sole undefeated team after week 15 . The following week , the Colts lost to the New York Jets . During the playoffs , the Colts defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round and the New York Jets in the AFC Championship game , but lost to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV , 31 – 17 . Offseason . Head coach announcement . On January 12 , 2009 , Head Coach Tony Dungy announced his retirement from coaching in the National Football League . Two days later , then - Assistant Coach and Quarterbacks Coach Jim Caldwell was formally announced as Dungy ' s successor . Schedule . Preseason . The preseason opponents were announced on March 30 . Game notes . Week 2 : at Miami Dolphins . With the win , not only did the Colts improve to 2 – 0 , but Peyton Manning ' s 119th career victory would surpass Johnny Unitas for the most quarterback wins in franchise history . Indianapolis ' offense would make the most of its time on the field , as they were only in the game for 14 : 53 . Week 4 : vs . Seattle Seahawks . With the win , the Colts improved to 4 – 0 . Colts QB Peyton Manning would tie Fran Tarkenton for the third – most career touchdown passes in NFL history ( 342 ) , behind only Brett Favre and Dan Marino . Also , Colts head coach Jim Caldwell would become the franchise ' s first rookie head coach since Lindy Infante in 1996 to win their first four games . Week 7 : at St . Louis Rams . " at Edward Jones Dome , St . Louis , Missouri " Coming off their bye week , the Colts flew to the Edward Jones Dome for a Week 7 interconference duel with the St . Louis Rams . Indianapolis came out of the gates early in the first quarter as quarterback Peyton Manning completed a six - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne . The Rams would respond with a 30 - yard field goal from kicker Josh Brown , yet the Colts answered with Manning hooking up with tight end Dallas Clark on a 22 - yard touchdown pass . Afterwards , running back Joseph Addai would acquire the only score of the second quarter with a six - yard touchdown . St . Louis would begin the third quarter with Brown booting a 45 - yard field goal , yet Indianapolis calmly responded with rookie cornerback Jacob Lacey returning an interception 35 yards for a touchdown . Afterwards , the Colts closed out the game with Manning finding rookie wide receiver Austin Collie on an eight - yard touchdown pass and running back Chad Simpson getting a 31 - yard touchdown run . With the win , Indianapolis improved to 6 – 0 . Week 8 : vs . San Francisco 49ers . " at Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis , Indiana " The Colts began three straight home games in Week 8 with an interconference duel against the San Francisco 49ers . Indianapolis would find themselves trailing in the first quarter as 49ers running back Frank Gore got a 64 - yard touchdown run . The Colts answered with kicker Matt Stover getting a 38 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , Indianapolis crept closer as Stover made a 33 - yard field goal , yet San Francisco answered with quarterback Alex Smith completing an eight - yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis . The Colts closed out the half with a 31 - yard field goal from Stover . In the second half , Indianapolis narrowed San Francisco ' s lead to two as Stover booted a 40 - yard field goal . In the fourth quarter , they executed a halfback option play as running back Joseph Addai ' s threw a 22 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne . Afterwards , the defense held off against the various comeback attempts from the 49ers . With the win , the Colts improved to 7 – 0 for the fourth time in five seasons and they set a franchise record with 16 consecutive regular season wins . Also , quarterback Peyton Manning ( 31 / 48 for 347 yards ) joined Dan Marino , Brett Favre , and John Elway as the only players in NFL history to complete 4 , 000 career passes . In addition , he became the fastest to reach the milestone as he reached it in 183 games . Week 9 : vs . Houston Texans . " at Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis , Indiana " Coming off their win over the 49ers , the Colts stayed at home for a Week 9 AFC South duel with the Houston Texans . Indianapolis would get off to a fast start in the first quarter as quarterback Peyton Manning completed a seven - yard touchdown pass to running back Joseph Addai , followed by kicker Matt Stover nailing a 22 - yard field goal . The Colts would add onto their lead in the second quarter as Stover booted a 37 - yard field goal , while the Texans would close out the half with a 56 - yard field goal from kicker Kris Brown . In the third quarter , Houston began to rally as quarterback Matt Schaub found running back Ryan Moats on a one - yard touchdown pass . The Texans would take the lead in the fourth quarter with a one - yard touchdown run from running back Steve Slaton , yet Indianapolis regained the lead with Addai ' s two - yard touchdown run . The Texans attempted to force the game into overtime with a 42 - yard field goal attempt , which went wide left . With the win , the Colts improved to 8 – 0 for the third time in five seasons . Peyton Manning ( 34 / 50 for 318 yards , 1 TD , 1 INT ) would become the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 40 , 000 yards in one decade . Jim Caldwell would become the first rookie head coach to start 8 – 0 since Potsy Clark in 1931 . Week 10 : vs . New England Patriots . " at Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis , Indiana " The Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots set up for their rivalry game at Lucas Oil Stadium . The Colts came in at 8 – 0 while the Patriots came in 6 – 2 , both shooting for home field advantage during the playoffs . The Colts struck first with a 15 - yard pass from Manning to Addai . However New England answered with 24 unanswered points in the first and second quarter . The Colts finally got back into the game with a 20 - yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne towards the end of the first half . The third quarter was scoreless with the Colts still trailing by 10 , but the Patriots started the fourth with a touchdown pass to Randy Moss with the Patriots now leading 31 – 14 . The Colts came back quickly scoring a touchdown , making it 31 – 21 . After a New England field goal , the Colts scored a touchdown on an Addai run . The Patriots were still in the lead 34 – 28 , however the Colts were hot with Peyton Manning ready to lead them to a win if the defense could hold the Patriot offense for one more drive . With less the two and a half minutes remaining in the game , the New England Patriots were faced with a fourth and two on the Indianapolis 28 yard line . Bill Belichick decided to go for it on a controversial play , where Brady threw to Kevin Faulk , who gained control of the ball behind the first down marker , forcing the Patriots to turn the ball over on downs . Having wasted their last time out on the preceding play and the play occurring before the two minute warning , the Patriots couldn ' t challenge the ruling on the field . With a minute left Peyton Manning found Reggie Wayne for the touchdown to seal a 35 – 34 victory over the Patriots . Week 11 : at Baltimore Ravens . " at M & T Bank Stadium , Baltimore , Maryland " Following their comeback win over the Patriots , the Colts flew to M & T Bank Stadium for a Week 11 duel with the Baltimore Ravens . In the first quarter , Indianapolis got on the board first with quarterback Peyton Manning passing to tight end Dallas Clark for a three - yard touchdown . Baltimore would respond as kicker Billy Cundiff made a 46 - yard and a 44 - yard field goal . In the second quarter , the Ravens took the lead with Cundiff nailing a 38 - yard field goal , until the Colts came right back when running back Joseph Addai ' s five - yard touchdown run . The Ravens would close out the half with Cundiff booting a 36 - yard field goal . After a scoreless third quarter , Cundiff ' s 20 - yard field goal gave the Ravens the lead again in the fourth quarter . Fortunately , Indianapolis would regain the lead again as former Baltimore kicker Matt Stover booted a 20 - yard field goal . With the win , the Colts would improve to 10 – 0 , which includes a franchise - best nine - straight road win dating back to last season . Dallas Clark ( 1 reception for 3 yards and 1 TD ) would break John Mackey ' s record for the most receptions by a Colts tight end with 321 . Week 12 : at Houston Texans . " at Reliant Stadium , Houston , Texas " Coming off their road win against the Ravens , the Colts flew to Reliant Stadium for an AFC South showdown with the Texans , their second meeting of the season . Houston dominated throughout the first half , scoring 17 points . The Colts took over from there , scoring 35 points , one of which was an interception returned 27 yards by Clint Session . With the win , the Colts went to 11 – 0 . Also , with the win and Jacksonville ' s loss to San Francisco , the Colts clinched the AFC South division title , the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season . Week 13 : vs . Tennessee Titans . " at Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis , Indiana " Coming off their come - from - behind road win against Houston , the Colts went home for a divisional duel with the 5 – 6 Tennessee Titans . Indianapolis started off the scoring with an eight - yard run from Joseph Addai . The Titans came back with a 20 yard field goal by Rob Bironas . Indianapolis struck again in the second quarter on another Joseph Addai run , then again on a four - yard pass to Austin Collie . The Titans would hit paydirt next with 0 : 20 left in the half , but Indianapolis would close out the first half with a 43 - yard field goal by Matt Stover . After a scoreless third quarter , the Colts would strike next on another field goal , this time from 36 yards . The Titans scored again on a 17 - yard pass to Bo Scaife . The Titans regained possession on an onside kick , but the Colts Defense kept the Titans from scoring again . With the win , the Colts went to 12 – 0 Also with the win , the Colts tied the 2006 – 2008 Patriots record for most consecutive regular season wins with 21 . Week 14 : vs . Denver Broncos . " at Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis , Indiana " The Colts improved their season record to 13 – 0 and broke the 2006 – 2008 Patriots record for most consecutive regular season wins with 22 . Week 15 : at Jacksonville Jaguars . " at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium , Jacksonville , Florida " Week 16 : vs . New York Jets . " at Lucas Oil Stadium , Indianapolis , Indiana " With this loss , the Colts ended their perfect season run and had a record of 14 – 1 heading into the last week of the regular season . The Colts also ended their 23 – game regular season winning streak . AFC Divisional vs . Baltimore Ravens . Entering the postseason as the AFC ' s # 1 seed , the Colts began their playoff run at home in the AFC Divisional Round against the # 6 Baltimore Ravens . Indianapolis would open the first quarter with a 44 - yard field goal from former Ravens kicker Matt Stover . Baltimore would reply with a 25 - yard field goal from kicker Billy Cundiff . In the second quarter , the Colts would deliver a big punch as quarterback Peyton Manning hooked up with rookie wide receiver Austin Collie on a 10 - yard touchdown pass and then found wide receiver Reggie Wayne on a three - yard touchdown pass . After a scoreless third quarter , Indianapolis would add onto their lead with Stover ' s 33 - yard field goal . From there , the defense kept forcing turnovers to prevail . AFC Championship vs . New York Jets . Coming off their divisional win over the Ravens , the Colts would stay at home for the AFC Championship Game against the # 5 New York Jets . After a scoreless first quarter , Indianapolis would begin the second quarter with a 25 - yard field goal from kicker Matt Stover . However , the Jets responded with quarterback Mark Sanchez completing an 80 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Braylon Edwards . The Colts would come right back with Stover ' s 19 - yard field goal , but New York answered with Sanchez ' s nine - yard touchdown pass to tight end Dustin Keller , followed by kicker Jay Feely making a 48 - yard field goal . Fortunately , Indianapolis would strike back as quarterback Peyton Manning found rookie wide receiver Austin Collie on a 16 - yard touchdown pass . The Colts would take the lead in the third quarter with Manning hooking up with wide receiver Pierre Garçon on a four - yard touchdown pass . Indianapolis would add onto their lead in the fourth quarter as Manning hooked up with tight end Dallas Clark on a 15 - yard touchdown pass , followed by Stover ' s 21 - yard field goal . With the win , not only did the Colts improve their overall record to 16 – 2 , but they would advance to their second Super Bowl in four years . Super Bowl XLIV vs . New Orleans Saints . After the coin toss , the Saints wanted the ball first ; however , this didn ' t help their first drive . The Colts drove the ball down the field with an attempt to score the first touchdown but was denied and forced Matt Stover to kick a 38 yard goal . But the Colts were not finished : on their next possession , Pierre Garcon caught a 19 yard TD pass from Peyton Manning , and the Colts led 10 – 0 after fifteen minutes . In the second quarter , the Saints were forced to look upon Garrett Hartley for two field goals – a 46 yarder and a 44 yarder respectively – and the deficit was reduced to four points by halftime . Kicking off the second half , the Saints caught Indy by surprise with the " Ambush " play ( an onside kick in kickoff formation ) , which the Saints recovered , shifting the momentum to them . Pierre Thomas caught a 16 yard screen pass from Drew Brees and NO had their first lead of the game , 13 – 10 after the extra point . The Colts would not be denied from scoring again with the rushing attack of Joseph Addai , capping off the scoring drive with a 4 - yard run . From here , however , the Saints would be denied . The Saints still stood by Hartley to keep the game close with a 47 yard field goal , taking the score to 17 – 16 . In the fourth quarter , Jeremy Shockey caught a two - yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees with Lance Moore catching a two - point conversion and the Saints led 24 – 17 . In the end , it was the defense that came through when Tracy Porter intercepted and returned 74 yards for a touchdown to seal the win and the first Super Bowl title for the New Orleans Saints in their 44 year existence . Criticism . In week 16 , the Indianapolis Colts faced against the New York Jets with an undefeated record of 14 – 0 , having already clinched home – field advantage throughout the playoffs . In the third quarter with a 15 – 10 lead , head coach Jim Caldwell benched Peyton Manning for Curtis Painter . The Jets forced Painter to fumble , then recovered it for a touchdown and turned into a 18 – 15 lead . Indianapolis never recovered , never put Manning into the game , and lost 29 – 15 , ending the Colts ' chance at an undefeated season . Manning ' s reaction was , " Until any player in here is the head coach , you follow orders and you follow them with all of your heart . " On fans ' reaction to the game , Jeff Saturday stated , " I don ' t blame them a bit , man . . I probably would have booed , too . I don ' t blame them . They pay to come see us win games , and we didn ' t get it done . "