2005 Pittsburgh SteelersIndianapolis Colts Playoff Game

2005 Pittsburgh Steelers–Indianapolis Colts playoff game

The 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers-Indianapolis Colts playoff game was a National Football League Divisional Round playoff game between the sixth-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers and the top-seeded Indianapolis Colts, taking place during the 2005-06 NFL playoffs at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 15, 2006. Although memorable for other reasons, the game is best remembered for a late-game fumble by Steelers running back Jerome Bettis just as the Steelers appeared to have the game won, which would be recovered by the Colts Nick Harper and returned near midfield until Ben Roethlisberger made a shoestring tackle to prevent what would have been a game-winning touchdown for the Colts. The play, which would become known both as The Immaculate Redemption (as a play on the earlier Immaculate Reception that the Steelers were on the winning side of) and The Tackle (not to be confused with an earlier play during Super Bowl XXXIV), has since entered Pittsburgh sports lore, and while initially appearing to be fatal helped the Steelers pull off an upset victory over the Colts, becoming the first-ever number six seed to advance to the AFC Championship Game (or NFC for that matter) en-route to the team's victory in Super Bowl XL, its first Super Bowl victory in 26 years. It would also mark changes to the Colts organization that would result in its first Super Bowl victory since moving to Indianapolis in 1984 only one year later. The game has been featured on NFL Films Game of the Week, and is often marked as one of the greatest NFL games of all-time, as well as one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.

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1981 Baltimore Colts season

The 1981 Baltimore Colts season was the 29th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Colts finished the NFL's 1981 season with a record of 2 wins and 14 losses, tied for fourth in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots, and also tied for the second worst record in the league. However, the Colts finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2-0). The victories over New England occurred on the first and last games of the season; Baltimore lost 14 games in between victories. They also won the two games by a combined 3 points, winning 29-28 the first time, and 23-21 the second time. The Colts' defense had one of the worst seasons in NFL history, setting records for points (533) and yards (6,793) allowed. (The yardage record was later surpassed by the 2012 New Orleans Saints, who allowed 7,042.) The Colts gave up more than twice as many points as they scored (259). Conversely, the Patriots, with whom they were tied in the AFC East, only gave up 48 more points than they scored. The Colts' pass defense surrendered a staggering 8.19 yards-per-dropback, the most surrendered by any team in NFL history. The Colts' -274 point differential (points scored vs. points allowed) is the second-worst since the 1970 merger, second only to the 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who finished 0-14 (ironically, the next year's Colts team went winless as well). The 1981 Colts are the first of only two NFL teams since 1940 to suffer eleven losses in a season during which they never had a lead.[note The Colts allowed 40 points in 4 separate games during the season, which is still an NFL record. The season included a bizarre incident in which, during the Colts' 38-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on November 15, team owner Bob Irsay called plays from the coaches' booth. Quarterback Bert Jones told Sports Illustrated in 1986:. [Irsay] could not have told you how many players there were on the field, never mind what plays we had. All he was trying to do was embarrass the coaches and the players. When he told me to run, I threw. When he told me to throw left, I ran right.

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1955 Baltimore Colts season

The 1955 Baltimore Colts season was the third season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1955 season with a record of 5 wins, 6 losses and 1 tie and finished fourth in the Western Conference