DATE: Sunday, November 16, 2008
SITE: Lucas Oil Stadium
KICKOFF: 1:00 p.m. (EST)/12:00 p.m. (CST)
CAPACITY: 63,000
SURFACE: FieldTurf
The Colts and Texans met on October 5 in Reliant Stadium. Indianapolis rallied with 21 points in a 2:10 span of the fourth quarter to earn a 31-27 victory. Indianapolis posted a 24-20 victory last Sunday at Pittsburgh. Houston dropped a 41-13 home decision to Baltimore. The Colts lead the series, 12-1. Indianapolis closes divisional action in the season's final two weeks. The Colts visit Jacksonville on December 18, then host Tennessee on December 28.
Owners of the NFL's best regular-season record (107-46) since the start of the 1999 season, while being the only team to earn eight playoff appearances in the last nine seasons, Indianapolis has won 52 of its last 66 regular-season games. Indianapolis' winning ways include a 29-10 record in AFC South play, while the club has owned or shared the lead in 95 of 112 weeks of the division's existence. The Colts have won the past five AFC South championships, the best divisional-title streak in club history. Indianapolis became the only NFL team with five consecutive 12 -victory seasons. The Colts were tied with Dallas (1992-95) as the only teams to do it four consecutive seasons.
PERSONNEL REPORT: WR-Roy Hall (knee), DB-Kelvin Hayden (hamstring), DT-Dan Muir (hamstring) were out; TE-Tom Santi (shoulder), QB-Jim Sorgi (right hand), OT-Ryan Diem (ankle) were probable. Last game's inactive players were: DB-Jamie Silva, LB-Jordan Senn, LB-Buster Davis, C-Steve Justice, Santi, Hall, Hayden and Muir.
TELEVISION/RADIO: CBS Sports telecasts with Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker. 1070-The Fan/HANK-FM, 97.1 broadcasts with Bob Lamey and Will Wolford.
NEXT WEEK: Indianapolis visits San Diego on Sunday, November 23 at 8:15 p.m. (EST).
**WWW.COLTS.COM**: Please check the official website of the Indianapolis Colts for the latest in team information and merchandise.
HEAD COACHES
TONY DUNGY is 78-27 at the Colts' helm. Dungy joined the Colts on January 22, 2002, after serving as Tampa Bay's head coach for six seasons (1996-01). Dungy's career regular-season record is 132-69, and he has an overall record of 141-78. Dungy became the 35th coach in NFL history to earn 100 career victories with a 38-20 win at Houston on 10/23/05. Dungy became the 20th coach since entering the league in 1970 to win 100 career games. Of those 20, only George Seifert (132), Joe Gibbs (148), Mike Ditka (151), Mike Holmgren (160) and Mike Shanahan (161) reached 100 career wins faster than Dungy's pace of 163 games. Dungy recorded his 100th regular-season victory vs. Tennessee 12/4/05, becoming only the 6th coach to win 100 regular-season games in the first 10 years as a head coach (113, Seifert; 105, Don Shula; 103, John Madden; 102, Dungy; 101, Gibbs; 101, Ditka). With an overall mark of 85-32, Dungy became the winningest coach in Colts history with a 31-7 win at Carolina on 10/28/07, bettering the prior total of 73 by Shula and Ted Marchibroda. Dungy owns a 108-45 mark since the start of the 1999 season (30-18 at Tampa Bay; 78-27 with Colts), and he is the NFL's winningest coach during that span. He has directed 10 of his 12 teams into the playoffs, while leading Tampa Bay (1999) and the Colts (2003, 2006) to the conference championship game, and his 2006 Colts squad won Super Bowl XLI. Dungy took Tampa Bay to four playoff appearances during his tenure as field general. From 2002-07, Dungy has directed the Colts to 10-6, 12-4, 12-4, 14-2, 12-4 and 13-3 records, becoming the only coach in club history to produce 10 victories and playoff berths in the first six seasons with the team. In 2007, Dungy helped produce the 17th 10 -victory season in franchise history, and he is one of five Colts head coaches to earn double-digit victory totals (6, Dungy; 4, Shula; 3, Marchibroda; 2, Don McCafferty; 2, Jim Mora). Dungy has nine career double-digit victory seasons (10-6, 1997; 11-5, 1999; 10-6, 2000 with Tampa Bay; 10-6, 2002; 12-4, 2003; 12-4, 2004; 14-2, 2005; 12-4, 2006; 13-3, 2007 with Colts), and he was the first coach to defeat all 32 NFL teams. Under Dungy, Indianapolis has six consecutive 10 -victory seasons (2002-07), tying the third-longest streak in NFL history (16, San Francisco, 1983-98; 7, Dallas, 1975-81; 6, Dallas, 1968-73; 6, Miami 1970-75; 6, LA Rams, 1973-78; 6, Dallas, 1991-96; 6, Colts, 2002-07). The Colts have produced a 107-46 regular-season record since 1999, a victory total that leads the NFL. The Colts are the only team to qualify for post-season play eight times in the last nine seasons. Indianapolis has won the AFC South five consecutive seasons and has owned or shared the division lead in 95 of 112 weeks of AFC South existence. The Colts were wire-to-wire divisional leaders from 2005-07. Under Dungy during the regular season, the Colts are 40-12 at home and 38-15 on the road. Dungy (1999-07) has earned nine consecutive playoff appearances (1999-01 at Tampa Bay; 2002-07 with Colts), tying Tom Landry (9, Dallas, 1975-83) for the most consecutive playoff appearances by NFL coaches since 1970. Indianapolis (14-2, 2005; 12-4, 2003, 2004 and 2006; 13-3, 2007) has become the only team to earn 12 victories in five consecutive seasons, snapping the league mark it had shared with Dallas (1992-95). The Colts own a 75-25 record (counting the playoffs) since the start of the 2003 season and are 61-20 since 2004. Dungy held a 54-42 record as head coach with Tampa Bay, qualifying for the playoffs four times in six seasons. Dungy produced some of the NFL's stingiest defenses during his years at Tampa Bay. His units ranked no lower than 11th during his stay and ranked 6th or higher in four of his last five years. His 2007 Colts unit ranked 3rd in the NFL and 1st in scoring defense. Dungy also served 1981-88 with Pittsburgh, including 1984-88 as defensive coordinator. After serving 1989-91 as DB Coach at Kansas City, Dungy was the defensive coordinator at Minnesota from 1992-95. During his years in Minnesota, the Vikings intercepted an NFL-high 95 passes and made three playoff appearances. The Chiefs made two playoff appearances during Dungy's tenure. At Pittsburgh in 1984, he became the NFL's youngest coordinator (age 28). In five seasons as Pittsburgh's coordinator, the Steelers averaged 24 interceptions and 37 takeaways, while scoring 20 touchdowns. Dungy entered the coaching ranks in 1980 at his alma mater, Minnesota, where he was a quarterback (1973-76). He made the Steelers as a free agent in 1977 and was a member of the Super Bowl XIII title team, then was traded to San Francisco in 1979. Dungy is a native of Jackson, Mich.
GARY KUBIAK became the second head coach in Texans history on January 26, 2006. Kubiak directed the Texans to 6-10 and 8-8 records in 2006 and 2007. Kubiak joined Houston after serving eleven seasons as offensive coordinator with Denver. Kubiak was with Denver for Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII titles, while totaling six championship appearances with the Broncos, three each as a player and coach. Kubiak began his coaching career in 1992 at Texas A&M. He joined San Francisco as QB Coach in 1994 before joining Denver. Kubiak was a QB at Texas A&M from 1979-82. He is a native of Houston.
COLTS/TEXANS SERIES NOTES
The Colts and Texans are meeting for the 14th time, with Indianapolis owning a 12-1 series edge, including this year's first meeting in Reliant Stadium on October 5. Scoring 21 points in a 2:10 span of the final quarter, Indianapolis produced a stirring 31-27 victory at Houston. Indianapolis scored 10 first-quarter points before seeing Houston tally 27 unanswered points in taking a 17-point lead into the final minutes. QB-Peyton Manning (25-34-247, 2 TDs/1 int.) sandwiched 7t and 5t scoring passes to TE-Tom Santi and WR-Reggie Wayne (7-97) around LB-Gary Brackett's 68t fumble return as the Colts earned the win. The first scoring pass came with 4:04 remaining, and the final one came with 1:54 to go as Indianapolis became the first NFL team to erase a 17-point deficit in a game's final five minutes to win in regulation. The final touchdown was set up by DE-Robert Mathis' sack-fumble recovery at the Houston 20. DB-Melvin Bullitt intercepted a pass at the club's 22 with :42 remaining as the three late takeaways spurred the comeback. RB-Joseph Addai was 17-71, 1 TD rushing. Indianapolis won both 2007 meetings, 30-24 in Houston on September 23 and 38-15 in the RCA Dome on December 23. Fueled by a 21-point second quarter, Indianapolis produced a 38-15 victory in last year's second meeting. The Colts scored 35 points in the middle two periods. Manning (28-35-311, 3 TDs) directed an offense that produced 458 net yards. Addai tallied on a 2t rush, then TE-Dallas Clark (6-60, 2 TDs; 6t, 11t) and Wayne (10-143, 1 TD; 7t) helped produce the win. The Colts tallied three interceptions and controlled the ball for 35:45. In last year's game in Houston, overcoming a scoring kickoff return to start a game it would never trail again, the Colts posted a 30-24 win. Down 7-0 after 21 seconds, the Colts scored in every quarter afterwards. Manning (20-29-273, 1 TD) led an offense that gained 362 net yards and produced points off two defensive takeaways. Manning hit Clark (4-58, 1 TD; 2t) on a scoring pass, and Addai (22-72, 2 TDs; 4t, 8t) tallied two rushing scores. Indianapolis pushed a 14-10 halftime lead to 27-10 after three quarters. The teams split the series in 2006, with each team winning at home. Indianapolis posted a 43-24 win on September 17, while the Texans produced a 27-24 win on December 24 at Reliant Stadium. In 2005's battles the Colts took a 38-20 win at Houston on October 23 and a 31-17 win in the RCA Dome on November 13. Head Coach Tony Dungy became the 35th head coach in NFL history to earn 100 career victories with the victory in Houston.
BEST NFL RECORDS DURING 1999-2008 REGULAR SEASONS
COLTS ARE NFL'S WINNINGEST TEAM FROM 1999-2008: The Colts stand as the NFL's winningest team since the start of the 1999 season. The Colts own a 107-46 record during that span. Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy was 30-18 with Tampa Bay from 1999-2001. He is 78-27 with the Colts, and his 108 wins during that span are the most in the NFL.
