The 2021 season was the

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 ...

' 69th season 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 ...

(NFL) and their 38th 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 ...

. It was their fourth season under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Frank Reich Frank Michael Reich Jr. (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Maryland a ...

and fifth under the leadership of general manager

Chris Ballard Chris Ballard may refer to: * Chris Ballard (American football), American football general manager for the Indianapolis Colts * Chris Ballard (journalist), American sports writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' * Chris Ballard (politician), Canadian ...

. Despite having 7 Pro Bowlers and 5 AP

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

s, the Colts failed to improve upon their 11–5 record from the previous season, after a Week 12 loss to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. The Colts were eliminated from the postseason in the final week of the season after a stunning loss to the 2–14

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

and the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

beating the

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 ...

the same day.

Draft

Pre-draft trades * The Colts traded their 3rd round pick in 2021 along with a conditional 2nd round pick in 2022 to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

for quarterback

Carson Wentz Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Wentz played college football at North Dakota State, where he won two consecutive NCAA FCS nat ...

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

The Colts' preseason opponents and results are mentioned as below:

Regular season

Schedule

The Colts'

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

schedule was announced on May 12. Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Seattle Seahawks

With their 8th straight season-opening defeat, the Colts started 0–1.

Week 2: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 3: at Tennessee Titans

With this loss, the Colts started 0-3 for the first time since

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Week 4: at Miami Dolphins

Week 5: at Baltimore Ravens

Week 6: vs. Houston Texans

Week 7: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 8: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 9: vs. New York Jets

This was the first NFL game that ended in a 45–30 score, making a

scorigami In sports, a scorigami (a portmanteau of '' score'' and ''origami'') is a scoring combination that has never happened before in a sport or league's history. The term was originated by sportswriter Jon Bois for National Football League scores and i ...

Week 10: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 11: at Buffalo Bills

This was the Colts' second scorigami of the season, as a 41-15 score had never occurred in the NFL before.

Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 13: at Houston Texans

Week 15: vs. New England Patriots

With the win, the Colts improved to 8–6 and beat the Patriots for the first time since Week 10 of the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

season.

Week 16: at Arizona Cardinals

Christmas Day games

Week 17: vs. Las Vegas Raiders

Week 18: at Jacksonville Jaguars

In a shocking fashion, the Colts were upset by the 2-14 Jaguars thus ending their playoff hopes, as the Steelers won earlier that day.