For nearly a decade, Sundays in Indianapolis felt predictable.
Peyton Manning at the line. Tony Dungy on the sideline, calm as ever. Twelve wins. A playoff berth. Rinse. Repeat.
From 2002 through 2010, the Colts became the NFL’s model of consistency. Eight straight seasons with at least 12 wins. A 14–2 record in 2005. A 13–0 start in 2009. The numbers stack up like a dynasty, even if the rings don’t match New England’s total.
This wasn’t accidental success.
Dungy arrived in 2002 and brought defensive discipline to a franchise built around offensive fireworks. His Tampa-2 principles stabilized a unit that had often left Manning in shootouts. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis turned the edge rush into a nightmare. Bob Sanders, when healthy, hit like a missile.
But the engine was always Manning.
From 2003 to 2009, he won four MVP awards. He threw 49 touchdowns in 2004, a record at the time. He orchestrated the no-huddle like a maestro, turning the RCA Dome into a weekly clinic. Marvin Harrison. Reggie Wayne. Dallas Clark. Edgerrin James early on. It was precision football executed at warp speed.
The 2006 season validated the blueprint.
After years of playoff frustration, including the 2005 Divisional Round loss to Pittsburgh that still stings, the Colts finally broke through. They erased a 21–3 deficit against New England in the AFC Championship Game, winning 38–34 in one of the defining comebacks of the era.
Two weeks later in Super Bowl XLI, they beat the Chicago Bears 29–17. Manning was Super Bowl MVP. Dungy became the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl. The blueprint had delivered.
And they didn’t fade after that.
The Colts went 13–3 again in 2007. In 2009, they started 14–0 before resting starters. They reached another Super Bowl that season, falling to New Orleans, but the standard never slipped. Indianapolis was penciled into the playoffs before training camp even ended.
Then, in the span of two offseasons, it was gone.
Dungy retired after the 2008 season, handing the team to Jim Caldwell. Manning kept the machine running in 2009 and 2010. But in 2011, a neck injury sidelined him for the entire year. The Colts collapsed to 2–14. The streak ended. The aura evaporated.
By March of 2012, Manning was released. One year later, he was throwing 55 touchdowns in Denver.
Think about that swing. From eight straight 12-win seasons to a full reset. From the most stable winner of the 2000s to the first overall pick in the draft.
The Colts’ decade of excellence was built almost entirely on the alignment of one quarterback and one coach. Their philosophies meshed. Their preparation matched. Their expectations were identical.
When both pillars disappeared, so did the era.
Indianapolis didn’t just lose games.
They lost the structure that made winning automatic.
And for nearly a decade, that structure felt untouchable.