| 1996 Indianapolis Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Robert Irsay |
| General manager | Bill Tobin |
| Head coach | Lindy Infante |
| Home field | RCA Dome |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Lost Wild Card Playoffs (atSteelers) 14–42 |
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The 1996 Indianapolis Colts season was the 44th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and 13th in Indianapolis.
Despite leading the Colts to the AFC Championship Game the previous season, head coach Ted Marchibroda left the team after failing to come to terms with the club on a contract extension. Offensive coordinator Lindy Infante was promoted to head coach. Ironically, Marchibroda would quickly be hired to coach the new and then-unnamed NFL franchise in Baltimore (they would eventually be named the Baltimore Ravens), thus returning to the city where he had previously coached the Colts when they were still based in Maryland.
On October 13 Indianapolis hosted the Ravens, thus not only pitting the Colts against the team based in their former home but also matching up Marchibroda against his former team. The Colts won 26–21. This game also has the distinction of being the first NFL on TNT broadcast after TNT's parent Turner Broadcasting System completed its merger with Time Warner only three days earlier.
The season saw the Colts draft Marvin Harrison. Harrison would go on to become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, after spending his entire career as a Colt. Harrison was named to Pro Bowl several times and later helped the Colts win a Super Bowl in 2006. He continued to play for the team until 2008 and retired during the 2009 season.
The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1996 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, finished third in the AFC East division and reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Their Wild Card round game would be a rematch of the previous season's AFC title game, but would not be nearly as close as the Colts would be blown out 42–14 by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
| 1996 Indianapolis Colts draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Marvin Harrison † | Wide receiver | Syracuse | |
| 2 | 51 | Dedric Mathis | Defensive back | Houston | |
| 3 | 82 | Scott Slutzker | Tight end | Iowa | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | TV Time (ET) | TV Announcers | Attendance |
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| 1 | September 1 | Arizona Cardinals | W 20–13 | 1–0 | RCA Dome | FOX 1:00 pm | Kenny Albert & Tim Green | 48,133 |
| 2 | September 8 | atNew York Jets | W 21–7 | 2–0 | The Meadowlands | NBC 1:00 pm | Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy | 63,534 |
| 3 | September 15 | atDallas Cowboys | W 25–24 | 3–0 | Texas Stadium | NBC 4:00 pm | Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms | 63,021 |
| 4 | September 23 | Miami Dolphins | W 10–6 | 4–0 | RCA Dome | ABC 9:00 pm | Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf | 60,891 |
| 5 | Bye | |||||||
| 6 | October 6, 1996 | atBuffalo Bills | L 13–16(OT) | 4–1 | Rich Stadium | NBC 4:00 pm | Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy | 79,401 |
| 7 | October 13 | Baltimore Ravens | W 26–21 | 5–1 | RCA Dome | TNT 8:00 pm | Verne Lundquist & Pat Haden |
56,978
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| 8 | October 20 | New England Patriots | L 9–27 | 5–2 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy | 58,725 |
| 9 | October 27 | atWashington Redskins | L 16–31 | 5–3 | RFK Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms | 54,254 |
| 10 | November 3 | San Diego Chargers | L 19–26 | 5–4 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | Tom Hammond, Bob Trumpy & Sam Wyche | 58,484 |
| 11 | November 10 | atMiami Dolphins | L 13–37 | 5–5 | Joe Robbie Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | Dick Enberg, Paul Maguire & Phil Simms | 66,623 |
| 12 | November 17 | New York Jets | W 34–29 | 6–5 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | Charlie Jones & Randy Cross | 48,322 |
| 13 | November 24 | atNew England Patriots | L 13–27 | 6–6 | Foxboro Stadium | NBC 1:00 pm | Tom Hammond & Bob Trumpy | 58,226 |
| 14 | December 1 | Buffalo Bills | W 13–10(OT) | 7–6 | RCA Dome | NBC 1:00 pm | Marv Albert & Sam Wyche | 53,804 |
| 15 | December 5 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 37–10 | 8–6 | RCA Dome | ESPN 8:00 pm | Mike Patrick & Joe Theismann | 52,689 |
| 16 | December 15 | atKansas City Chiefs | W 24–19 | 9–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | NBC 4:00 pm | Dan Hicks & Bob Trumpy | 71,136 |
| 17 | December 22 | atCincinnati Bengals | L 24–31 | 9–7 | Cinergy Field | NBC 1:00 pm | Jim Lampley & Bob Golic | 49,389 |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||
| AFC East | |||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| (2) New England Patriots | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 418 | 313 | W1 |
| (4) Buffalo Bills | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 319 | 266 | W1 |
| (6) Indianapolis Colts | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 317 | 334 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 339 | 325 | W2 |
| New York Jets | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 279 | 454 | L7 |
The team received a Wild Card playoff berth to the playoffs and traveled to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers. The Colts came back from a 13-point lead in the first half but the Steelers scored 29 unanswered points in the second half and went on to beat the Colts.
| Playoff Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Game Site | TV Time | Attendance |
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| Wild Card | December 29, 1996 | atPittsburgh Steelers (3) | L 14–42 | 0–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | NBC 12:30 pm | 58,078 |
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Played in Baltimore (1953–1983) | |
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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory |
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