2003 Indianapolis Colts
The 2003 Indianapolis Colts went 12–4, finishing 1st in the AFC South, and lost the conference championship. They scored 447 points and allowed 336.
- Record
- 12–4
- Home
- 5–3
- Road & neutral
- 7–1
- Points
- 447–336
- AFC South
- Place 1 of 4
- Postseason
- Lost conference championship
Where the season ranked
They scored 447 points, tied for the second-most among the 32 teams, and allowed 336, the 13th-most. Their point differential was +111.
How the season unfolded
The Colts opened with four straight wins and were 7–1 after eight games. They went 3–1 over the final four weeks to finish 12–4.
Their longest winning streak was five games, from Week 1 to Week 5.
Best and worst games
Their biggest win was 55–21 over the New Orleans Saints in Week 4 (September 28, 2003).
Their heaviest loss was 31–17 to the Denver Broncos in Week 16 (December 21, 2003).
In games decided by eight points or fewer, they went 7–3.
They played two games that went to overtime and went 1–1 in them.
Division and playoff opponents
They went 5–1 against the AFC South, sweeping the Titans and the Texans and splitting with the Jaguars.
Against teams that reached the playoffs, they went 2–3 in the regular season.
Postseason
In the Wild Card round, they beat the Denver Broncos 41–10 at home.
In the Divisional round, they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 38–31 on the road.
In the AFC Championship Game, they lost to the New England Patriots 24–14 on the road.
Before and after
That was a two-win improvement on 2002, when they went 10–6.
In 2004, they went 12–4 and returned to the playoffs.
2003 schedule and results
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sep 7, 2003 | at Cleveland Browns | W 9–6 |
| Week 2 | Sep 14, 2003 | vs Tennessee Titans | W 33–7 |
| Week 3 | Sep 21, 2003 | vs Jacksonville Jaguars | W 23–13 |
| Week 4 | Sep 28, 2003 | at New Orleans Saints | W 55–21 |
| Week 5 | Oct 6, 2003 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 38–35 (OT) |
| Week 6 | Oct 12, 2003 | vs Carolina Panthers | L 20–23 (OT) |
| Week 8 | Oct 26, 2003 | vs Houston Texans | W 30–21 |
| Week 9 | Nov 2, 2003 | at Miami Dolphins | W 23–17 |
| Week 10 | Nov 9, 2003 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 23–28 |
| Week 11 | Nov 16, 2003 | vs New York Jets | W 38–31 |
| Week 12 | Nov 23, 2003 | at Buffalo Bills | W 17–14 |
| Week 13 | Nov 30, 2003 | vs New England Patriots | L 34–38 |
| Week 14 | Dec 7, 2003 | at Tennessee Titans | W 29–27 |
| Week 15 | Dec 14, 2003 | vs Atlanta Falcons | W 38–7 |
| Week 16 | Dec 21, 2003 | vs Denver Broncos | L 17–31 |
| Week 17 | Dec 28, 2003 | at Houston Texans | W 20–17 |
| Wild Card | Jan 4, 2004 | vs Denver Broncos | W 41–10 |
| Divisional | Jan 11, 2004 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 38–31 |
| Conference championship | Jan 18, 2004 | at New England Patriots | L 14–24 |
Counted by WHYNFL from the final score of every 2003 game. Division place uses win percentage, then point differential; the NFL's full tiebreaker procedure is not applied.