The 2008 Indianapolis Colts season was the 56th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and the 25th in Indianapolis. It was the first season since 2002 that the Colts did not win the AFC South title. However, after a 3–4 start on the season Peyton Manning led the Colts to a nine-game winning streak, a 12–4 record, and a wild card berth in the playoffs. The Colts' season came to an end in San Diego when they were defeated in the wild-card round against the San Diego Chargers.
The 2008 season was the Colts' inaugural season playing at Lucas Oil Stadium after playing at the RCA Dome for 24 seasons. This marks Tony Dungy's seventh and final season as head coach of the Colts, and Peyton Manning's 11th season as the starting quarterback. As a result of his play over the final two months of the regular season, Manning was awarded his third MVP award.
When the Colts won their seventh straight game in Week 15, they became the only team in the history of the NFL to have seven consecutive wins in five consecutive seasons. With their regular season record of 12–4, they became the first franchise in NFL history to have twelve wins in six consecutive seasons (the New England Patriots hold the record with 8 seasons, 2010–2017).
Offseason
Coaching announcement On January 21, 2008 Tony Dungy announced he would return for at least one more season. The Colts also announced that Assistant Head Coach Jim Caldwell would be promoted to Associate head coach and would assume the position of Colts Head Coach whenever Tony Dungy decides to retire.
Off-field activity In May, ESPN The Magazine released the findings of its annual survey of over 80,000 fans entitled the "Ultimate Standings: Fan Satisfaction Rankings". The Colts ranked as the best major league sports franchise out of 122 teams from MLB, NFL, NBA, and the NHL. In August, ESPN.com ranked Colts' fans as the 16th best in the National Football League.
Released DT Booger McFarland LB Rob Morris WR Craphonso Thorpe DE Ed Johnson
Trades Traded FB Luke Lawton to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2009 conditional draft pick.
Free agents Pos. Player Tag Result OLB Rocky Boiman UFA Signed with Eagles TE Dallas Clark UFA Re-signed with Colts TE Bryan Fletcher RFA Re-signed with Colts C/G Dylan Gandy RFA Re-signed with Colts S Matt Giordano RFA Re-signed with Colts DT Ed Johnson ERFA Re-signed with Colts DT Dan Klecko UFA Signed with Eagles G Ryan Lilja UFA Re-signed with Colts WR Aaron Moorehead UFA DT/DE Darrell Reid RFA Re-signed with Colts TE Mike Seidman UFA G Jake Scott UFA Signed with Titans RB Dominic Rhodes UFA Signed with Colts, from Raiders DE Josh Thomas UFA Re-signed with Colts WR Craphonso Thorpe ERFA Released TE Ben Utecht RFA Signed with Bengals UFA: Unrestricted free agent; RFA: Restricted free agent; ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent
2008 NFL draft
+ 2008 Indianapolis Colts Draft Selections Draft order Player Position Height Weight College Round Choice 2 59 Mike Pollak Center 6' 4" Arizona State 3 93 Philip Wheeler Linebacker 6' 2" Georgia Tech 4 127 Jacob Tamme Tight end 6' 5" Kentucky 5 161 Marcus Howard Defensive end 6' 0" Georgia 6 196 Tom Santi Tight end 6' 3" Virginia 6 201 Steve Justice Center 6' 3" Wake Forest 6 202 Mike Hart Running back 5' 8" Michigan 6 205 Pierre Garçon Wide receiver 5' 11" Mount Union 7 236 Jamey Richard Center 6' 4" Buffalo
Roster Indianapolis Colts 2008 final roster Quarterbacks Peyton Manning Jim Sorgi
Running backs Joseph Addai Lance Ball Najeh Davenport KR Dominic Rhodes Chad Simpson KR
Wide receivers Pierre Garçon KR Anthony Gonzalez Roy Hall Marvin Harrison Reggie Wayne
Tight ends Dallas Clark Gijon Robinson Jacob Tamme Offensive linemen Ryan Diem T Daniel Federkeil G/T Charlie Johnson G/T Steve Justice C/G Mike Pollak G Jamey Richard C/G Jeff Saturday C Tony Ugoh T
Defensive linemen Raheem Brock DE Keyunta Dawson DT Eric Foster DT Dwight Freeney DE Marcus Howard DE Antonio Johnson DT Curtis Johnson DE Robert Mathis DE Daniel Muir DT Darrell Reid DE Josh Thomas DE Linebackers Gary Brackett MLB Buster Davis MLB Tyjuan Hagler OLB Freddy Keiaho OLB Jordan Senn OLB Clint Session OLB Philip Wheeler OLB
Defensive backs Antoine Bethea FS Melvin Bullitt SS Matt Giordano FS/SS Kelvin Hayden CB Dante Hughes CB Tim Jennings CB Keiwan Ratliff CB/PR Bob Sanders SS Jamie Silva SS
Special teams Hunter Smith P Justin Snow LS Adam Vinatieri K Reserve lists Michael Coe CB (IR) Clifton Dawson RB (IR) Nick Graham CB (IR) Mike Hart RB (IR) Marlin Jackson CB (IR) Ryan Lilja G (PUP) T. J. Rushing CB (IR) Tom Santi TE (IR)
Practice squad Brannon Condren S Brandon Foster CB Sam Giguère WR Corey Hilliard T Jamie Petrowski TE Taj Smith WR Brandon Sumrall CB/S (IR) Michael Toudouze T
rookies in italics 53 active, 9 inactive, 7 practice squad
Staff Indianapolis Colts 2008 staff Front office Owner/CEO – Jim Irsay President – Bill Polian Senior executive vice president – Pete Ward Executive vice president – Bob Terpening Vice president of football operations – Chris Polian Director of football administration – Steve Champlin Director of player personnel – Tom Telesco Consultant to player personnel – Dom Anile, Sr. Director of pro player personnel – Clyde Powers
Head coaches Head coach – Tony Dungy Associate head coach/quarterbacks – Jim Caldwell
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Tom Moore Running backs – Gene Huey Wide receivers – Clyde Christensen Tight ends – Ricky Thomas Offensive line – Howard Mudd Offensive quality control – Pete Metzelaars Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Ron Meeks Defensive line – John Teerlinck Linebackers – Mike Murphy Defensive backs – Alan Williams Special assistant to the defense – Rod Perry Defensive assistant – Bill Teerlinck
Special teams coaches Special teams – Russ Purnell
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jon Torine Assistant strength and conditioning – Richard Howell
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF Washington Redskins L 16–30 0–1 Fawcett Stadium Recap 1 at Carolina Panthers L 20–23 0–2 Bank of America Stadium Recap 2 at Atlanta Falcons W 16–9 1–2 Georgia Dome Recap 3 Buffalo Bills L 7–20 1–3 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 4 Cincinnati Bengals L 7–27 1–4 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 7 Chicago Bears L 13–29 0–1 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 2 September 14 at Minnesota Vikings W 18–15 1–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Recap 3 September 21 Jacksonville Jaguars L 21–23 1–2 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 4 Bye 5 October 5 at Houston Texans W 31–27 2–2 Reliant Stadium Recap 6 October 12 Baltimore Ravens W 31–3 3–2 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 7 October 19 at Green Bay Packers L 14–34 3–3 Lambeau Field Recap 8 at Tennessee Titans L 21–31 3–4 LP Field Recap 9 November 2 New England Patriots W 18–15 4–4 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 10 November 9 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–20 5–4 Heinz Field Recap 11 November 16 Houston Texans W 33–27 6–4 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 12 November 23 at San Diego Chargers W 23–20 7–4 Qualcomm Stadium Recap 13 November 30 at Cleveland Browns W 10–6 8–4 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 14 December 7 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–3 9–4 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 15 December 14 Detroit Lions W 31–21 10–4 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 16 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 31–24 11–4 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Recap 17 December 28 Tennessee Titans W 23–0 12–4 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
Standings
Game recaps
Week 1: vs. Chicago Bears
The Colts began their 2008 campaign with their first official home game at Lucas Oil Stadium. For this Sunday night interconference duel, they took on the Chicago Bears in a rematch of Super Bowl XLI. In the first quarter, Indianapolis was first out of the gate as kicker Adam Vinatieri got a 39-yard field goal. The Bears responded with RB Matt Forte getting a 50-yard TD run. In the second quarter, the Colts responded with Vinatieri nailing a 34-yard field goal. However, Chicago increased its lead with kicker Robbie Gould getting a 41-yard field goal, DE Adewale Ogunleye tackling RB Joseph Addai in his endzone for a safety (first time Indy gave up a safety since November 2000), and Gould nailing a 25-yard field goal. In the third quarter, Indianapolis tried to rally as QB Peyton Manning completed a 6-yard TD pass to WR Reggie Wayne, yet the Bears replied with LB Lance Briggs returned a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Chicago sealed the win with FB Jason McKie getting a 1-yard TD run.
With the loss, the Colts began their season at 0–1.
Scoring Summary 1st Quarter IND – Adam Vinatieri 39 yard field goal, 5:52. Colts 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards, 5:05. CHI – Matt Forte 50 yard run (Gould kick), 4:59. Bears 7–3. Drive: 3 plays, 54 yards, 0:53. 2nd Quarter IND – Adam Vinatieri 34 yard field goal, 9:38. Bears 7–6. Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 4:04. CHI – Robbie Gould 41 yard field goal, 4:43. Bears 10–6. Drive: 10 plays, 43 yards, 4:55. CHI – Joseph Addai tackled by Adewale Ogunleye for a safety, 4:05. Bears 12–6. CHI – Robbie Gould 25 yard field goal, 0:00. Bears 15–6. Drive: 10 plays, 55 yards, 3:59. 3rd Quarter IND – Reggie Wayne 6 yard pass from Peyton Manning (Vinetieri kick), 9:18. Bears 15–13. Drive: 7 plays, 52 yards, 3:47. CHI – Lance Briggs 21 yard fumble return (Gould kick), 1:52. Bears 22–13. 4th Quarter CHI – Jason McKie 1 yard run (Gould kick), 8:56. Bears 29–13. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:46.
Week 2: at Minnesota Vikings
Hoping to rebound from their home loss to the Bears, the Colts flew to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome for a Week 2 interconference duel with the Minnesota Vikings. In the first half, Indianapolis trailed as Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell got a 45-yard and a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter, along with a 53-yard field goal in the second quarter. It marked the first time that the Colts got shut out in the first half since October 2006.
In the third quarter, Minnesota increased its lead with Longwell nailing a 46-yard and a 28-yard field goal. Afterwards, Indianapolis started to rally as RB Joseph Addai got a 1-yard TD run. In the fourth quarter, the Colts drew closer as QB Peyton Manning completed a 32-yard TD pass to WR Reggie Wayne, followed by a 2-point conversion run by RB Dominic Rhodes. Afterwards, near the end of game, Indianapolis completed its comeback as kicker Adam Vinatieri nailing the game-winning 47-yard field goal.
With the win, the Colts improved to 1–1.
Scoring Summary 1st Quarter MIN – Ryan Longwell 45 yard field goal, 10:10. Vikings 3–0. Drive: 6 plays, 31 yards, 2:14. MIN – Ryan Longwell 27 yard field goal, 0:09. Vikings 6–0. Drive: 8 plays, 43 yards, 3:56. 2nd Quarter MIN – Ryan Longwell 53 yard field goal, 0:00. Vikings 9–0. Drive: 3 plays, 45 yards, 0:21. 3rd Quarter MIN – Ryan Longwell 46 yard field goal, 10:38. Vikings 12–0. Drive: 8 plays, 34 yards, 4:22. MIN – Ryan Longwell 28 yard field goal, 4:09. Vikings 15–0. Drive: 8 plays, 36 yards, 3:31. IND – Joseph Addai 1 yard run (Vinatieri kick), 1:24. Vikings 15–7. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:45. 4th Quarter IND – Reggie Wayne 32 yard pass from Peyton Manning (Dominic Rhodes run), 5:54. Tied 15–15. Drive: 3 plays, 61 yards, 1:15. IND – Adam Vinatieri 47 yard field goal, 0:03. Colts 18–15. Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, 1:04.
Week 3: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars