The 2015 season was the Indianapolis Colts' 63rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 32nd in Indianapolis, surpassing the 31 seasons they played in their original home city of Baltimore. It was also the fourth season under the trio of head coach Chuck Pagano, general manager Ryan Grigson and quarterback Andrew Luck. The Colts entered the 2015 season as the defending AFC South champions and AFC Championship runner-ups, a loss mired with controversy.
After a week 8 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Colts fired offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton and elevated associate head coach Rob Chudzinski to replace him. The Colts failed to improve from their three consecutive 11–5 records and finished the season at 8–8. They lost the division to the Houston Texans and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and only the fourth time since 1998. This was their first time to lose to the Houston Texans at home since the Texans entered the NFL in 2002.
2015 draft class
Source: 2015 Indianapolis Colts Draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 29 Phillip Dorsett Wide receiver Miami 3 65 D'Joun Smith Cornerback Florida Atlantic 93 Henry Anderson Defensive end Stanford 4 109 Clayton Geathers Safety Central Florida 5 151 David Parry Nose tackle Stanford 6 205 Josh Robinson Running back Mississippi State 207 Amarlo Herrera Inside linebacker Georgia 7* 255 Denzelle Good Tackle Mars Hill * Compensatory selection Draft trades Indianapolis traded their second and fourth-round selections (No. 61 and 128, respectively) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for Tampa's third and fourth-round selections (No. 65 and 109, respectively). Indianapolis traded their fifth and seventh-round selections (No. 165 and 244, respectively) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for San Francisco's fifth-round selection (No. 151). Indianapolis acquired an additional sixth-round selection (No. 207 overall) in a trade that sent cornerback Marcus Burley to the Seattle Seahawks. Indianapolis traded their original seventh-round selection (No. 246 overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for linebacker Cam Johnson. Indianapolis acquired an additional seventh-round selection (No. 244 overall) in a trade that sent defensive end Caesar Rayford to the Dallas Cowboys.
Undrafted free agents Source: Position Player College Notes QB Bryan Bennett Southeastern Louisiana RB Abou Toure Tennessee-Martin Waived on August 31 RB Tyler Varga Yale TE Jean Sifrin Massachusetts-Amherst Waived on June 2 TE Justin Sinz Purdue Waived on August 31 C Brandon Vitabile Northwestern Waived on August 31 WR Ezell Ruffin San Diego State Waived on August 31 WR Quan Bray Auburn WR Tyler Rutenbeck Dubuque CB Al-Hajj Shabazz West Chester CB Josh Mitchell Nebraska CB Donald Celiscar Western Michigan Waived-injured on August 31 CB Raymon Taylor Michigan ILB Justin Shirk Bloomsburg Waived on August 31 ILB Junior Sylvestre Toledo OLB Cody Galea San Diego State OLB Terrell Hartsfield Cincinnati Waived on May 10 OLB Zack Hodges Harvard Waived on August 31 S Robert Smith Clemson K Taylor Ponitus North Alabama
Roster moves
Free agents Position Player Free agencytag Date signed/released 2015 team Notes S Mike Adams UFA March 10, 2015 Indianapolis Colts LB Daniel Adongo ERFA March 10, 2015 Indianapolis Colts S Colt Anderson UFA March 10, 2015 Indianapolis Colts RB Ahmad Bradshaw UFA October 14, 2015 Indianapolis Colts S Sergio Brown UFA March 11, 2015 Jacksonville Jaguars CB Darius Butler UFA March 8, 2015 Indianapolis Colts LB Jerrell Freeman RFA April 27, 2015 Indianapolis Colts CB Josh Gordy UFA April 15, 2015 New York Giants QB Matt Hasselbeck UFA February 26, 2015 Indianapolis Colts RB Daniel Herron ERFA April 1, 2015 Indianapolis Colts S Delano Howell RFA – – – LB Cam Johnson ERFA March 10, 2015 Indianapolis Colts LB Josh McNary ERFA September 15, 2015 Indianapolis Colts LS Matt Overton RFA March 3, 2015 Indianapolis Colts DE Fili Moala UFA August 19, 2015 Houston Texans G Joe Reitz UFA March 10, 2015 Indianapolis Colts WR Hakeem Nicks UFA April 24, 2015 Tennessee Titans DT Jeris Pendleton ERFA June 30, 2015 Indianapolis Colts DE Cory Redding UFA March 11, 2015 Arizona Cardinals C A. Q. Shipley RFA March 11, 2015 Arizona Cardinals LB Andy Studebaker UFA March 10, 2015 Tennessee Titans WR Reggie Wayne UFA March 10, 2015 New England Patriots
Additions Position Player 2014 Team Notes WR Duron Carter UFA Montreal Alouettes Signed on February 3, 2015. OL Ben Heenan UFA Saskatchewan Roughriders Signed on February 3, 2015. DE Earl Okine UFA Brooklyn Bolts Signed on March 3, 2015. G Todd Herremans UFA Philadelphia Eagles Signed on March 8, 2015. RB Frank Gore UFA San Francisco 49ers Signed on March 10, 2015. LB Trent Cole UFA Philadelphia Eagles Signed on March 10, 2015. DE Kendall Langford UFA St. Louis Rams Signed on March 10, 2015. WR Andre Johnson UFA Houston Texans Signed on March 11, 2015. LB Nate Irving UFA Denver Broncos Signed on March 20, 2015. WR Vincent Brown UFA Oakland Raiders Signed on March 31, 2015. S Dwight Lowery UFA Atlanta Falcons Signed on April 3, 2015.
Departures Position Player 2015 Team Notes S LaRon Landry UFA -- Released on February 11, 2015. LB Andrew Jackson UFA -- Released on February 11, 2015. T Xavier Nixon UFA Washington Redskins Released on February 11, 2015.LB Shaun Phillips UFA -- Released on February 16, 2015. DE Ricky Jean-Francois UFA Washington Redskins Released on February 23, 2015. RB Michael Hill UFA Washington Redskins Released on March 12, 2015.RB Trent Richardson UFA Oakland Raiders Released on March 12, 2015.
Staff
Final roster
Schedule Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 16 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–36 0–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 2 Chicago Bears L 11–23 0–2 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 3 at St. Louis Rams W 24–14 1–2 Edward Jones Dome Recap 4 Cincinnati Bengals L 6–9 1–3 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 at Buffalo Bills L 14–27 0–1 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 2 New York Jets L 7–20 0–2 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 3 September 27 at Tennessee Titans W 35–33 1–2 Nissan Stadium Recap 4 October 4 Jacksonville Jaguars W 16–13 2–2 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 5 at Houston Texans W 27–20 3–2 NRG Stadium Recap 6 October 18 New England Patriots L 27–34 3–3 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 7 October 25 New Orleans Saints L 21–27 3–4 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 8 at Carolina Panthers L 26–29 3–5 Bank of America Stadium Recap 9 November 8 Denver Broncos W 27–24 4–5 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 10Bye 11 November 22 at Atlanta Falcons W 24–21 5–5 Georgia Dome Recap 12 November 29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 25–12 6–5 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 13 December 6 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–45 6–6 Heinz Field Recap 14 December 13 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 16–51 6–7 EverBank Field Recap 15 December 20 Houston Texans L 10–16 6–8 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 16 December 27 at Miami Dolphins W 18–12 7–8 Sun Life Stadium Recap 17 January 3 Tennessee Titans W 30–24 8–8 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at Buffalo Bills With the loss, the Colts fell to 0–1.
Week 2: vs. New York Jets With the upset loss, the Colts fell to 0–2 for the second straight year.
Week 3: at Tennessee Titans After trailing 14–0 in the first half, the Titans would score 27 unanswered points to take a 27–14 lead. However, the Colts would own the fourth quarter, as they outscored Tennessee 21–6. The Titans had a chance to tie the game after pulling within 35–33, but the 2-point attempt failed, and the Colts held on for the win. With the win, the Colts improved to 1–2 and picked up their 8th straight win over the Titans.
Week 4: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Due to an injured shoulder, Andrew Luck missed the first game of his career, and was replaced by 40-year-old veteran Matt Hasselbeck, who avoided any turnovers and led the Colts to a 16–13 win in overtime. Jacksonville kicker Jason Myers would miss 3 game-winning field goal attempts at the end of the fourth quarter and one in overtime. Adam Vinatieri would nail the game winner in overtime to give Indianapolis the win. With the win, the Colts evened their record at 2–2.
Week 5: at Houston Texans Despite a Hail Mary being thrown at the end of the first half, the Colts still managed to hold on for the win. With their 3rd straight win, the Colts improved to 3–2, and set a new NFL record for most consecutive wins against division opponents with 16.
Week 6: vs. New England Patriots
This game was notorious for a terrible playcall by the Colts, now known as the Colts Catastrophe. With the Colts trailing 27–21 late in the 3rd quarter, Pagano opted to run a scrimmage play using special teams on 4th and 3 on the Colts' 37-yard line. However, a bizarre formation resulted in a Patriots tackle for loss, Colts turnover, and a flag for illegal formation. The Patriots easily scored a touchdown on the next drive and went on to win the game by 7 points, 34–27. The playcall was universally criticized and was considered by many to be the worst play in NFL history.
Week 7: vs. New Orleans Saints
In the Super Bowl rematch between the two teams, the Saints started the first half, dominating the Colts 20–0, which stunned Indy's home crowd. The Colts looked for answers in the second half, but Andrew Luck struggled to find open receivers and he was intercepted twice.
Week 8: at Carolina Panthers
The Colts traveled to Charlotte to take on Cam Newton and his undefeated Carolina Panthers, looking to hang their first loss on them. After struggling much in the first half, the Colts answered back in the fourth quarter. However, it wasn't enough to stop the Panthers in overtime and the Colts would lose 29–26.
Week 9: vs. Denver Broncos
Peyton Manning returned to Indianapolis for the final time.
Late in the fourth quarter, with the Colts leading 27–24, they looked to extend the lead on a field goal by Adam Vinatieri, but it was overturned and the Colts still won 27–24.
With the win, the Colts went to 4–5, while the Broncos suffered their first loss and dropped to 7–1.
However, two days later, Andrew Luck was hospitalized with a lacerated kidney along with an abdominal injury. He ended up missing the rest of the season, putting more pressure on veteran backup Matt Hasselbeck, who was 2–0 in 2 starts due to Luck's previous injury.
Week 11: at Atlanta Falcons The Colts would trail 21–7 late in the third quarter, but they would fight back to tie the game at 21 after D'Qwell Jackson returned an interception at the Atlanta 6-yard line for a touchdown. The Colts would then later on march down the field to win it with an Adam Vinatieri field goal with 52 seconds left. With the win, the Colts improved to 5–5. They also improved to 14–2 all time against the Falcons.
Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers With the win, the Colts improved to 6–5 (2–2 against the NFC South) and remained in the playoff hunt.
Week 13: at Pittsburgh Steelers The Colts would suffer an embarrassing loss on national television to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers would lead for the majority of the game, and the Colts could not get into any rhythm. With the loss, the Colts fell to 6–6.
Week 14: at Jacksonville Jaguars The Colts would lead 13–3, but Jacksonville would outscore Indianapolis 48–3 from then on. With the loss, the Colts fell to 6–7 and lost to a divisional opponent for the first time since 2012, snapping their NFL record 16-game winning streak in division play.
Week 15: vs. Houston Texans
This, notably, is the Colts' first loss to the Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium since the latter team began play in 2002.
Week 16: at Miami Dolphins With the win, the Colts improved to 7–8, finishing 4–4 on the road and 1–3 against the AFC East. This was Matt Hasselbeck's final career game.
Week 17: vs. Tennessee Titans