The

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

was the 49th season for the team in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and 18th in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. The Indianapolis Colts finished the

's 2001 season with a record of 6 wins and 10 losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division. In the process the Colts allowed 486 points in sixteen games, an average of 30 points per match and the franchise worst since the 1981 Colts who allowed 533. At the time only the aforementioned Colts, the 1980 Saints and the 1966 Giants (in a 14-game schedule) had ever allowed more points. This would be the last time the Colts would miss the playoffs until 2011 and the only time in the 2000s decade in which they didn't qualify.

Offseason

NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Season summary

The Colts suffered the second losing season of

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

's career. After opening with dominant wins over the Jets and Buffalo, the Colts were crushed twice in three games by the Patriots to go with a loss to Oakland. Two more wins followed to bring the Colts to 4–3, but they followed this up with two more losses headed into their matchup with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

at home on November 25. The 49ers entered the game having only lost twice to that point in the season, but had struggled to put up points and had barely beaten the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, who would only record one win that season, the week before. The Colts, needing the victory, instead turned the ball over five times. Manning threw four interceptions, two to

Ahmed Plummer Ahmed Kamil Plummer (born March 26, 1976) is a former American football player who played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers from 2000-2005. A 5'11", 191 lb. cornerback from Ohio State University, Plummer was selected by the 49ers in t ...

and two more to Zack Bronson including one that was returned for a touchdown. The 49ers scored 23 total points off of the five Indianapolis turnovers. Despite outgaining the 49ers, the Colts lost the game 40-21 and after the game, coach Jim Mora sharply criticized his offense's effort, especially Manning's four interceptions. During the press conference, a reporter asked Mora a question about the Colts' playoff chances now that the team was 4–6. Mora, who had not heard what was said, asked him to repeat the question. When the question was repeated, Mora responded by dismissing the suggestion that the Colts could make the postseason in the following manner: A few days later, Manning spoke to reporters ahead of the Colts’ next game with the defending Super Bowl champion

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

and sharply criticized Mora's handling of the situation. He said that he did not appreciate being called out in public like he had been and that if Mora had a problem with him he should have spoken to him directly. This caused Mora to backtrack on his previous statements, but the damage was done. The Colts went on to finish 6-10 and Mora was fired after the season. Manning threw 23 interceptions during the season, the highest number of his career following his rookie season. He was sacked a career-high 29 times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2001 Indianapolis Colts Season

Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts