1986 Indianapolis Colts season

The 1986 Indianapolis Colts season was the 34th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and third in Indianapolis. The team finished the year with a record of 3 wins and 13 losses, placing last in AFC East division.

1986 Indianapolis Colts season
OwnerRobert Irsay
General managerJim Irsay
Head coachRod Dowhower
Ron Meyer
Home fieldHoosier Dome
Results
Record3–13
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
3

The Colts did not win a game until week 14, when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons.[1] Prior to that, at least one sportswriter had theorized that the Colts wanted to finish with an 0-16 record, believing that they needed a franchise quarterback; as it turned out, Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde was the consensus overall top pick in the forthcoming draft[2] (although there were fears that he, like John Elway in 1983, would refuse to play for the team if they drafted him).[3] The Colts’ record, which included wins in their final two games, ended up not being the worst in the league; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished with a 2-14 record and got the first pick (which they would eventually use on Testaverde).

Rod Dowhower entered the season in his second year as head coach, after having replaced Frank Kush in 1985. After the 0-13 start for the team, he was fired and replaced by Ron Meyer, who had himself been fired by the New England Patriots in 1984 and had not coached since. Meyer would lead the Colts to all three of their victories in 1986.

Personnel

Staff
1986 Indianapolis Colts staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator/Running Backs – Billie Matthews
  • Quarterbacks – John Becker
  • Receivers – Chip Myers
  • Offensive Line – Tom Lovat
  • Assistant Offensive Line – Keith Rowen
 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – Keith Rowen

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Tom Zupancic

Roster
1986 Indianapolis Colts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • -- Dameon Reilly WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7 at New England Patriots L 3–33 0–1 Sullivan Stadium 55,208
2 September 14 at Miami Dolphins L 10–30 0–2 Miami Orange Bowl 51,848
3 September 21 Los Angeles Rams L 7–24 0–3 Hoosier Dome 59,012
4 September 28 New York Jets L 7–26 0–4 Hoosier Dome 56,075
5 October 5 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–35 0–5 Candlestick Park 57,252
6 October 12 New Orleans Saints L 14–17 0–6 Hoosier Dome 53,512
7 October 19 at Buffalo Bills L 13–24 0–7 Rich Stadium 50,050
8 October 26 Miami Dolphins L 13–17 0–8 Hoosier Dome 58,350
9 November 2 Cleveland Browns L 9–24 0–9 Hoosier Dome 57,962
10 November 9 New England Patriots L 21–30 0–10 Hoosier Dome 56,890
11 November 16 at New York Jets L 16–31 0–11 Giants Stadium 65,149
12 November 23 at Houston Oilers L 17–31 0–12 Astrodome 31,792
13 November 30 San Diego Chargers L 3–17 0–13 Hoosier Dome 47,950
14 December 7 at Atlanta Falcons W 28–23 1–13 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 30,397
15 December 14 Buffalo Bills W 24–14 2–13 Hoosier Dome 52,783
16 December 21 at Los Angeles Raiders W 30–24 3–13 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 41,349
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
New England Patriots(3) 11 5 0 .688 7–1 8–4 412 307 W1
New York Jets(4) 10 6 0 .625 6–2 8–4 364 386 L5
Miami Dolphins 8 8 0 .500 5–3 6–6 430 405 L1
Buffalo Bills 4 12 0 .250 1–7 3–11 287 348 L3
Indianapolis Colts 3 13 0 .188 1–7 2–10 229 400 W3

References
  1. Sheeley, Glenn; ‘Rope-a-dope: Falcon blunders give Indianapolis first victory’; Atlanta Constitution; December 8, 1986, p. D1
  2. Vierria, Dan; ‘Colts May Need a Win, but They Need Vinnie Even More’; Sacramento Bee, November 16, 1986, p. C4
  3. Kaufman, Ira; ‘Will Testaverde, like Elway, Spurn Colts’; Seattle Times, November 23, 1986, p. C5

See also


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