How Many Super Bowls Have the Indianapolis Colts Won?
The Indianapolis Colts have a pretty rich tradition. They have had excellent players like Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Andrew Luck, and others. Those players have ultimately helped them win a lot of games over the years, too. So, since the Indianapolis Colts have had so much success over the years, how many Super Bowls have they won?
The Indianapolis Colts used to be the Baltimore Colts
The question is, “How many Super Bowls have the Indianapolis Colts won?” but they had a lot of success in Baltimore before moving to Indianapolis. The Colts won some championships before the first Super Bowl, but the Baltimore Colts made their first Super Bowl appearance during the 1968 season (Super Bowl III).
The Colts were ultimately led by Earl Morrall that year, who threw for 2,909 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. They also had Tom Matte, Jimmy Orr, and John Mackey on offense, and Bobby Boyd on defense. They then played the New York Jets in the Super Bowl, but Joe Namath led the Jets to the 16-7 win.
The Baltimore Colts returned to the Super Bowl two seasons later in 1970, and Johnny Unitas led them that season. He threw for 2,213 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. They also had Roy Jefferson, Eddie Hinton, and Mackey on offense, as well as Jerry Logan on defense.
This time, the Colts won the Super Bowl, too, as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 16-13. Baltimore ended up making a field goal in the fourth quarter to win.
The Colts then played in Baltimore through the 1983 season before ultimately moving to Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Colts have won one Super Bowl title
1984 was the first season that the Colts started playing in Indianapolis, and they ultimately had some bad years when they first got there. The Colts ended up only making the playoffs in one of their first 11 seasons in Indy.
However, they drafted Peyton Manning with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft, and he ultimately changed their fortunes. From 1999 through 2010, the Colts only missed the playoffs one time.
They could not quite reach the Super Bowl, though, until Manning finally got them there during the 2006 season. The Colts were excellent that season. They went 12-4, and they had legendary players like Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark on offense while having Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, and Bob Sanders on defense.
They then played the Bears in the Super Bowl that year, and the Colts defeated them 29-17 to win their only Super Bowl title since moving to Indianapolis. Manning ended up winning Super Bowl MVP in the game with 247 passing yards and a touchdown.
The Colts have been back to the Super Bowl only one other time since then, and it was in 2009. They had many of those same players, too: Manning, Wayne, Freeney, and Mathis. However, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints ultimately beat them 31-17 in the Super Bowl.
They have been close but haven’t been back in recent years
Andrew Luck began playing for the Colts during the 2012 season, and he almost took them back to the top. Luck led the Colts to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons. Then, during the 2014 season, Luck ended up leading them to the AFC Championship Game. The Colts were pretty good that year with Luck, Wayne, and T.Y. Hilton, but they got blown out in the AFC Championship Game by the New England Patriots, 45-7.
Indy missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons after that before Luck led them to the Divisional Round in 2018. Luck then retired before the 2019 season, though, and they are now on the hunt for a new franchise quarterback.
The Indianapolis Colts have ultimately had a lot of success over the years. They, however, only have one Super Bowl title to show for it.
Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
