This is what the Indianapolis Colts have done in the postseason since the NFL realigned its divisions in 2002:
2002: Lost 41-0 to Jets in Wild Card round
2003: Lost 24-14 to Patriots in AFC Championship Game
2004: Lost 20-3 to Patriots in Divisional round
2005: Lost 21-18 to Steelers in Divisional round
2006: Won 29-17 over Bears in Super Bowl
2007: Lost 28-24 to Chargers in Divisional round
2008: Lost 23-17 to Chargers in Wild Card round
The Colts have made the playoffs every year since 2002 and yet they’ve appeared in just one Super Bowl over the span of those seven years and just two AFC Championship Games.
That’s it.
While most teams (and their fans for that matter) would love to make the playoffs every year, it’s absolutely mind-boggling how this team continuously finds ways to lose in the postseason. You watch their playoff game in San Diego Saturday night and even though they’re up 17-14 with under five minutes remaining, you can’t help but think, “they’re going to blow this.”
Indy has a three-time MVP at quarterback in Peyton Manning, one of the best receiving corps in the nation (counting TE Dallas Clark), and one of the best coaches in the NFL in Tony Dungy. Yet even with all of that talent and experience, the Colts fail year in and year out to make postseason runs. You’d think that a team that made it to the playoffs every year would have more than one Super Bowl appearance, but it just goes to show you how hard it is to win in the NFL.
Getting back to their loss Saturday night to the Chargers, the Colts absolutely shot themselves in the foot with penalties in overtime. Although the defensive holding call on Tim Jennings on that 3rd and 8 was questionable to say the least. Was it a textbook hold? Maybe, but we’ve all seen worse. Then Clint Session’s facemask penalty was the nail in the coffin because that set San Diego up with game-winning-type field position.
I know it was easy to point at Manning’s struggles in the postseason before he won the Super Bowl in 2006, but this game wasn’t on him. He threw for 310 yards, one touchdown and didn’t turn the ball over. What more do you want from him? He had zero running game and you just have to tip your hat to the Chargers’ secondary for locking down the Colts’ receivers late in the game. So nobody should be talking about another classic Manning choke job after this loss, because this wasn’t on him.
Either way, the Colts will be home once again come Super Bowl weekend. Maybe their loss this year shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering they were a Wild Card team, but it’s pretty safe to say that many of us expected more from a team that won nine in a row to close out the season.
