Indianapolis Colts Trivia
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57 free Indianapolis Colts trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
This Indianapolis Colts trivia quiz spans both cities in the franchise's story: the Baltimore years of Weeb Ewbank, Johnny Unitas and the 1958 'Greatest Game Ever Played', the Super Bowl III shock and the Super Bowl V win, Robert Irsay's swap for the team, and the Mayflower vans that slipped out of Maryland one night in March 1984. Then comes Indianapolis: Eric Dickerson, the Harbaugh Hail Mary, Bill Polian drafting Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James, Tony Dungy and Super Bowl XLI, the 2011 collapse that led to Andrew Luck, his 2019 retirement, Deflategate, Jim Irsay's guitars, and the handover to Carlie Irsay-Gordon — plus horseshoes, Blue the mascot, the RCA Dome and Lucas Oil Stadium. Questions run from easy to hard with the difficulty shown on each one. Every answer has been checked against a primary reference and each question carries its citation.
30 of 57 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which city did the Colts play before moving to Indianapolis in 1984?
Baltimore
Baltimore lost the Colts in March 1984 after owner Robert Irsay failed to win public money for a new stadium; the team's marching band played on in the city until the Ravens arrived in 1996.
Q 02Which moving company's vans famously carried the Colts out of town overnight in March 1984?
Mayflower Transit
Mayflower Transit's vans were loaded overnight because Maryland lawmakers were about to pass a law letting the city seize the team by eminent domain; Indianapolis held a welcome rally days later.
Q 03Which quarterback, once cut by the Steelers and playing semi-pro for $6 a game, led the Colts to 1958 and 1959 titles?
Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas got his chance in 1956 when starter George Shaw broke his leg, then threw a touchdown pass in 47 straight games, a record that stood for more than 50 years.
Q 04The 1958 NFL Championship, 'the Greatest Game Ever Played', was the first decided how?
In sudden-death overtime
In sudden-death overtime, with the score tied 17-17, Alan Ameche's one-yard run won it 23-17 for the Colts; the televised finish is credited with popularising pro football.
Q 05Which coach led the Colts to their 1958 and 1959 titles and then beat them with the Jets in Super Bowl III?
Weeb Ewbank
Weeb Ewbank was replaced by Don Shula after the 1962 season, then beat Shula's heavily favoured Colts with the Jets; he is the only coach to win both NFL and AFL titles.
Q 06The Colts won Super Bowl V 16–13 on a last-second field goal by which kicker?
Jim O'Brien
Jim O'Brien, a rookie, kicked the 32-yard winner with seconds left, giving the Colts their only lead in a game so error-strewn it was dubbed the 'Blunder Bowl'.
Q 07As of 2026, Super Bowl V remains the only Super Bowl with what distinction?
Its MVP played for the losing team
Its MVP played for the losing team: linebacker Chuck Howley intercepted two passes and forced a fumble in the 16-13 defeat, becoming the first non-quarterback to win the award.
Q 08In 1972 Robert Irsay acquired the Colts by swapping franchises with Carroll Rosenbloom, who took over which team?
The Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams were bought by Robert Irsay in 1972 and traded straight to Rosenbloom for the Colts, the team Irsay moved to Indianapolis twelve years later.
Q 09Which Stanford quarterback refused to play for the Colts after going first overall in 1983 and forced a trade to Denver?
John Elway
John Elway, drafted first overall by the Colts in April 1983, threatened to play baseball for the Yankees instead and was traded to Denver within a week for Chris Hinton, Mark Herrmann and a 1984 first-round pick.
Q 10Which future Hall of Fame running back did the Colts acquire by trade in 1987?
Eric Dickerson
Eric Dickerson arrived mid-season in a blockbuster three-team trade and ran for 1,011 yards in nine games as the Colts won the AFC East, their first playoff trip since 1977.
Q 11Which quarterback, the first overall pick of the 1990 draft, led the Colts through their 1–15 season in 1991?
Jeff George
Jeff George cost the Colts two starters and a first-round pick in a trade up with Atlanta; four years later they traded him back to the same club for a pick that became a Hall of Fame receiver.
Q 12The 1995 Colts came within a Hail Mary of Super Bowl XXX, losing the AFC Championship Game to which team?
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers won 20-16 on 14 January 1996 when Jim Harbaugh's last-play heave bounced off Aaron Bailey in the end zone; the Colts had just won their first playoff games since moving to Indianapolis.
Q 13Which executive drafted Peyton Manning first overall in 1998 and built the Colts' Super Bowl XLI team?
Q 21The 2005 Colts started 13–0, but whose missed 46-yard field goal sealed their 21–18 home playoff loss?
Mike Vanderjagt
Mike Vanderjagt, who would retire as the most accurate kicker in NFL history, pushed the tying kick wide right in the final seconds; the Colts did not re-sign him.
Q 22The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV 31–17 to which team after a 14–0 regular season start?
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints won 31-17 in Miami on 7 February 2010 after Sean Payton's surprise onside kick opened the second half; Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return sealed it.
Q 23Which first-year head coach led the 2009 Colts to a 14–0 start?
Jim Caldwell
Bill Polian
Bill Polian had earlier built the Buffalo team that reached four straight Super Bowls; the Colts fired him and his son Chris after the 2-14 season of 2011.
Q 14Peyton Manning played his college football at which school?
Tennessee
Tennessee had Peyton Manning as its starter for four years: projected as the top pick in the draft a year early, he stayed for his senior season and finished second in the Heisman vote.
Q 15Which Colts receiver set the single-season record with 143 catches in 2002?
Marvin Harrison
Marvin Harrison, drafted with a pick the Colts got by trading away a former first overall quarterback, caught 143 passes in 2002, 20 more than the previous record.
Q 16Which running back did the Colts draft fourth overall in 1999 to complete their offensive triplets?
Edgerrin James
Edgerrin James, taken from Miami ahead of Ricky Williams, led the NFL in rushing in 1999 and 2000, the first two seasons after the Colts traded away their previous star back.
Q 17Tony Dungy took over the Colts in 2002 after being fired as head coach of which team?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tony Dungy was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January 2002 after six seasons and four playoff trips; the Bucs won the Super Bowl the next season under Jon Gruden, and Dungy coached the Colts until 2008.
Q 18Who coached the opposing team against Tony Dungy's Colts in Super Bowl XLI?
Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith, once an assistant on Dungy's staff, reached the Super Bowl hours before his mentor did, so Dungy's win made him the first African American head coach to lift the trophy.
Q 19Which team did the Colts beat 29–17 in Super Bowl XLI, the franchise's first title in Indianapolis?
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears took the lead when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but in the first rain-soaked Super Bowl the Colts won 29-17 and Peyton Manning was named MVP.
Q 20Whose final-minute touchdown capped the Colts' comeback from 21–3 down to beat the Patriots 38–34 in January 2007?
Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai, a rookie, ran in from three yards with a minute left; Marlin Jackson then intercepted Tom Brady to seal the biggest comeback an AFC Championship Game had seen.
Jim Caldwell, promoted when Tony Dungy retired, won his first 14 games; with the top seed secured the Colts rested their starters and lost the last two.
Q 24Who made eight starts at quarterback for the 2-14 Colts in 2011 while Manning was out?
Curtis Painter
Curtis Painter, a 2009 sixth-round pick from Purdue, went 0-8 as the starter before Dan Orlovsky took over; the 2-14 finish brought the first overall pick and, in March 2012, Manning's release.
Q 25Which Stanford quarterback did the Colts take first overall in 2012 to replace Peyton Manning?
Andrew Luck
Andrew Luck, taken first overall in April 2012, led the Colts from 2-14 to 11-5 and the playoffs as a rookie, then beat Peyton Manning's unbeaten Broncos 39-33 in October 2013.
Q 26In the 2013 wild-card round the Colts erased a 28-point deficit to beat which team 45–44?
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs led 38-10 early in the third quarter; the Colts' quarterback even scooped up a teammate's fumble and scored in the second-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history.
Q 27The Colts' loss to New England in the 2014 AFC Championship Game became infamous under what name?
Deflategate
Deflategate began when Colts staff flagged an intercepted ball as soft during New England's 45-7 win on 18 January 2015; the NFL later suspended Tom Brady four games and fined the Patriots $1 million.
Q 28What reason did the Colts' franchise quarterback give for retiring in August 2019 at 29?
The endless cycle of injury and rehab
The endless cycle of injury and rehab included a lacerated kidney in 2015 and shoulder surgery that cost him all of 2017; he said it had taken the joy out of the game.
Q 29Which head coach withdrew from the Colts job in 2018 hours after being announced, returning to the Patriots?
Josh McDaniels
The Colts announced Josh McDaniels as head coach on 6 February 2018 and he backed out that evening to stay as Patriots offensive coordinator; Eagles coordinator Frank Reich was hired on 11 February.
Q 30Which two Colts rookies were both named first-team All-Pro in 2018?
Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard
Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard both made it at the first attempt; Leonard, then known as Darius, led the NFL in tackles yet was left out of that season's Pro Bowl.