1999 Indianapolis Colts season The 1999 Indianapolis Colts season was the 47th season for the team in the National Football League and 16th in Indianapolis . The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League ' s 1999 season with a record of 13 wins and 3 losses , and won the AFC East division . The 1999 Colts season began with a 31 – 14 rout of the Buffalo Bills . Peyton Manning ' s fourth career NFL win came via two touchdown throws to Marvin Harrison , an Edgerrin James rushing score , a 74 - yard interception return touchdown by Tony Blevins , and a Mike Vanderjagt field goal . Doug Flutie of the Bills had one touchdown throw and two picks . Manning erupted in the first half , completing 14 of 17 throws with three touchdown throws to Marvin Harrison along with an Edgerrin James rushing score while the Patriots shot themselves in the foot with penalties , ultimately committing fifteen fouls eating up 135 yards and trailing the Colts 28 – 7 . But from the start of the second half the Patriots shut down Manning , limiting him to just four completions in 13 throws . Following a Manning interception in he third quarter a Terry Allen touchdown catch put the Patriots down 28 – 14 , and was followed by 17 unanswered Patriots points ; Marcus Pollard fumbled the ball to Ty Law and Drew Bledsoe passes to Terry Glenn led to a three - yard Ben Coates touchdown catch . After Law forced a Manning three - and - out Bledsoe marched the Patriots down field and connected with Coates for a 10 - yard tying touchdown with three minutes to go . James was then hammered by Tebucky Jones and fumbled the ball to Brandon Mitchell , and from there the Patriots reached range for Adam Vinatieri ' s 26 - yard game - winner with 35 seconds left in a 31 – 28 Patriots triumph . The Colts ' uneven start to the season continued against the Miami Dolphins , who were going through controversy themselves following reactions by Dan Marino and coach Jimmy Johnson ( " I don ' t always say the right things , but I say what I feel , " Johnson said after the Colts game ) to a 23 – 18 loss to Buffalo the week before . Indianapolis clawed to a 17 – 9 lead in the third quarter , but it was the fourth quarter where the game exploded . First Tony Martin caught a 28 - yard Marino touchdown two minutes into the quarter ; on the ensuing kickoff Terrence Wilkins ran back 97 yards for a Colts touchdown . Over the next ten minutes Miami ' s Cecil Collins and Olindo Mare and Indy ' s Marcus Pollard put the score at 31 – 25 Indianapolis . With three minutes to go Manning was sacked in the endzone by Sam Madison for a safety and the Colts were forced to kick off to Miami . On the ensuing Dolphins drive Marino drove to the Colts ' 2 - yard line , and with 27 seconds remaining threw to Oronde Gadsden in the endzone ; he caught the ball and was thrown out of bounds before his feet touched the ground inbounds , but following a huddle by referees the play was ruled a touchdown based on force - out rules ( which would be changed years later ) . The 34 – 31 Dolphins triumph put the Colts at 2 – 2 . The Colts fell behind 13 – 0 in the second quarter , but from there the game ( and the season ) turned in Indy ' s favor . A Terrence Wilkins touchdown catch and two Mike Vanderjagt field goals tied the game , then Vanderjagt kicked the game - winner with 14 seconds remaining , putting the Colts to the 16 – 13 final and the start of an 11 - game winning streak . The season rematch was another high - scoring affair . Edgerrin James ran in two first - half touchdowns while Chad Cota scored off a Miami fumble for a 24 – 10 Colts halftime lead . Once again Miami fought back ; first Sam Madison picked off Manning and ran back for a 25 - yard touchdown , then Dan Marino touchdown throws to Stanley Pritchett and Tony Martin offset a Manning touchdown to Terrence Wilkins and left the score tied at 31 early in the fourth . Mike Vanderjagt ' s field goal in the final five minutes was answered by an Olindo Mare kick with 36 seconds to go , but the Colts drove to range of a 53 - yard Vanderjagt kick on the final play . The kick was good for a 37 – 34 Colts win , their eighth straight . Peyton Manning ' s first career win over the Patriots was a 20 – 15 affair in whch he threw for only 186 yards and two touchdowns . The Patriots committed 12 penalties for 86 yards and Drew Bledsoe was sacked five times despite throwing for 379 yards and a late - fourth - quarter touchdown to Shawn Jefferson . The Colts ' first trip to Cleveland since a 23 – 17 loss in 1988 turned into a hard - fought affair . The Colts trailed 14 – 7 in the second quarter , then trailed 28 – 19 at the end of the third quarter , but clawed to a 28 – 26 score in the fourth off an Edgerrin James rushing touchdown , then rallied for the win on a 21 - yard Vanderjagt field goal with four seconds left . It was Indy ' s 13th win of the season , the first 13 - win season for the Colts since the ill - fated 1968 Baltimore Colts went 13 – 1 before facing Joe Namath , and locked up a playoff bye for Indianapolis . Postseason . The Colts earned the No . 2 seed for the playoffs and received a bye for the Wild - Card round of the playoffs . They played host to the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional round . This was the first ever NFL playoff game played in Indianapolis . The game was close throughout until Titans running back Eddie George ran for 68 - yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter . George rushed for a team playoff - record 162 yards to help lead the Titans to victory .