2005 Indianapolis Colts season
Owner	Jim Irsay
General manager	Bill Polian
Head coach	Tony Dungy
Home field	RCA Dome
Results
Record	14–2
Division place	1st AFC South
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Steelers) 18–21
Pro Bowlers	QB Peyton Manning RB Edgerrin James WR Marvin Harrison OT Tarik Glenn C Jeff Saturday DE Dwight Freeney OLB Cato June FS Bob Sanders
Uniform
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The 2005 Indianapolis Colts season was the franchise's 53rd season in the National Football League (NFL), the 22nd in Indianapolis and the fourth season under head coach Tony Dungy. The Colts improved on their 12–4 record from 2004 and finished the season 14–2. Indianapolis started the season with a 13-game winning streak and were heavily favored to go to and win Super Bowl XL. The Colts' rival, the New England Patriots, lost to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional round of the playoffs. The following day, the Colts were favored over the Pittsburgh Steelers because they had easily beaten them in their previous meeting. However, the Colts lost their first playoff game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers, when placekicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a crucial field goal.

The 2005 Colts set an NFL record by winning twelve games in which they never trailed at any point in the contest and still stands as of 2023.^{[1][note 1]}

The 2005 Colts were the first team to start the season with 13 straight wins and lose an opening playoff game, although this would be repeated by the 2011 Green Bay Packers. They were also the first team to start the season with 13 straight wins and not win the Super Bowl, although this would be repeated by the 2007 New England Patriots who went 16–0 in the regular season, the Colts again in 2009 when they started 14–0 and went 14–2, the 2011 Green Bay Packers who started 13–0 and went 15–1, and by the 2015 Carolina Panthers who began the season 14–0 and went 15–1.

The Colts would, however, win the Super Bowl the next year with a 12–4 record over the Chicago Bears with a score of 29–17.

Offseason

The Colts had a busy offseason with the main focus to sign star running back Edgerrin James to a new contract. However, that did not happen, and the Colts decided to take the initiative of sticking him with the franchise tag . (The franchise tag is a way to keep a player on the roster for one more year, but for a much larger salary than specified on the contract.) The Colts also signed RT Ryan Diem to a seven-year contract that included a $12  million signing bonus, which made him one of the highest-paid tackles in the league.

The Colts were not able to re-sign TE Marcus Pollard (Detroit Lions, free-agent) or DE Brad Scioli (free-agent) during the offseason.

2005 NFL draft

Roster

Schedule

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	August 6	Atlanta Falcons	L 21–27	0–1	Tokyo Dome (Tokyo)	Recap
2	August 13	Buffalo Bills	L 10–17	0–2	RCA Dome	Recap
3	August 20	Chicago Bears	L 17–24	0–3	RCA Dome	Recap
4	August 27	at Denver Broncos	L 24–37	0–4	Invesco Field	Recap
5	September 2	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 0–38	0–5	Paul Brown Stadium	Recap

Regular season