60 free Indianapolis Colts trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 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 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which city did the Colts play before moving to Indianapolis in 1984?
Baltimore
The name came from a fan contest and the city's horse-breeding and racing heritage; Indianapolis kept it despite having no such tradition.
Q 02Which moving company's vans famously carried the Colts out of Maryland overnight on March 29, 1984?
Mayflower Transit
The trucks were dispatched before the Maryland legislature could pass a bill letting the city seize the team by eminent domain; even the marching band's gear nearly went.
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
He got his Colts tryout in 1956 by tagging along with a Bloomfield Rams teammate; his 47-game touchdown-pass streak stood for half a century.
Q 04The 1958 NFL Championship, 'the Greatest Game Ever Played', was the first decided how?
In sudden-death overtime
Alan Ameche's one-yard plunge ended it in front of an estimated 45 million TV viewers, a moment often credited with making the NFL a national obsession.
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
The 18-point-favourite Colts lost 16–7 after Joe Namath's famous guarantee; Namath was MVP without throwing a touchdown.
Q 06How many points were the Colts favoured by when they lost Super Bowl III to the Jets?
18
It was the first Super Bowl win for the upstart AFL and remains one of the great upsets in American sport.
Q 07The Colts won Super Bowl V 16–13 on a last-second field goal by which kicker?
Jim O'Brien
The turnover-strewn 'Blunder Bowl' is the only Super Bowl whose MVP came from the losing side, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley.
Q 08Super Bowl V is unique for what?
Its MVP played for the losing team
Chuck Howley intercepted two passes for Dallas; he was also the first non-quarterback to win the award.
Q 09In 1972 Carroll Rosenbloom traded the entire Colts franchise to Robert Irsay in exchange for what?
The Los Angeles Rams
It remains the only straight swap of NFL franchises; Unitas was traded to San Diego after the following season.
Q 10Which Stanford quarterback refused to play for the Colts after going first overall in 1983 and forced a trade to Denver?
John Elway
He used the leverage of a New York Yankees baseball contract; the Colts had gone 0–8–1 in the strike-shortened 1982 season to earn the pick.
Q 11Which future Hall of Fame running back did the Colts acquire by trade in 1987?
Eric Dickerson
The three-team deal with the Rams and Bills brought the reigning rushing champion; the Colts went 9–6 and won the AFC East.
Q 12The Colts' 1991 team went 1–15, one point away from what?
The first 0–16 season
The 1981 defence had already given up an NFL-record 533 points; both marks led to coaching changes.
Q 13The 1995 Colts came within a Hail Mary of Super Bowl XXX, losing the AFC Championship Game to which team?
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jim Harbaugh's final heave was batted around the end zone as time expired; it was the franchise's first playoff win in Indianapolis.
Q 21Which team did the Colts beat 29–17 in Super Bowl XLI, the franchise's first title in Indianapolis?
Chicago Bears
Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in the first Super Bowl played in rain, but Manning was named MVP.
Q 22In the 2006 AFC Championship Game the Colts came back from what deficit to beat the Patriots 38–34?
21–3
It was their first AFC title game since 2003 and finally beat Tom Brady when it mattered; Super Bowl XLI followed two weeks later.
Q 23The 2005 Colts started 13–0 and finished with what record, the franchise's best in a 16-game season?
14–2
They still lost their first playoff game, to Pittsburgh; Manning and Harrison broke the record for QB-receiver touchdowns that year.
Q 14Which GM, hired in 1997, drafted Peyton Manning first overall and built the Super Bowl XLI team?
Bill Polian
He was fired after the 2–14 season of 2011, ending a 14-year tenure, weeks before Manning was released.
Q 15Peyton Manning played his college football at which school?
Tennessee
He was the son of Saints legend Archie Manning; as a rookie he threw a league-high 28 interceptions but 26 touchdowns.
Q 16Peyton Manning holds the NFL record for most MVP awards. How many did he win?
Five
Four came with the Colts and a fifth with Denver in 2013; he also holds the record for 4,000-yard passing seasons.
Q 17Which Colts receiver set the single-season record with 143 catches in 2002?
Marvin Harrison
He and Manning became the most prolific touchdown tandem in history; Michael Thomas finally broke the mark with 149 in 2019.
Q 18Which running back did the Colts draft fourth overall in 1999 to complete their offensive triplets?
Edgerrin James
He was picked fourth overall out of Miami and won the rushing title in each of his first two seasons.
Q 19Tony Dungy took over the Colts in 2002 after being fired as head coach of which team?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
He retired after 2008; the Colts finished the 2000s with the most regular-season wins of any team, 115.
Q 20Who coached the Bears against Tony Dungy's Colts in Super Bowl XLI?
Lovie Smith
Smith had been Dungy's assistant in Tampa; the two friends made it the first Super Bowl with two Black head coaches.
Q 24The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV 31–17 to which team after a 14–0 regular season start?
New Orleans Saints
Jim Caldwell's team rested starters at 14–0 and finished 14–2; an onside kick to open the second half turned the game.
Q 25The Colts had the most regular-season wins of any NFL team in the 2000s decade. How many?
115
That worked out to a .719 winning percentage from 2000 to 2009, ahead of even the Patriots.
Q 26Who made eight starts at quarterback for the 2-14 Colts in 2011 while Manning was out?
Curtis Painter
Kerry Collins started the season but was hurt in Week 3; Painter took over, lost all eight starts and was benched for Dan Orlovsky. The collapse earned the first overall pick and, in March 2012, Manning's release.
Q 27Which Stanford quarterback did the Colts take first overall in 2012 to replace Peyton Manning?
Andrew Luck
He led an 11–5 turnaround while his head coach fought leukaemia, and beat Manning's undefeated Broncos in 2013.
Q 28In the 2013 wild-card round the Colts beat Kansas City 45–44 after trailing by how much?
By 28
They outscored the Chiefs 35–13 in the second half in what was then the second-biggest comeback in playoff history.
Q 29The Colts' loss to New England in the 2014 AFC Championship Game became infamous under what name?
Deflategate
The Patriots were accused of under-inflating footballs; the Colts had already lost 59–24 to them in 2012 and 42–20 that regular season.
Q 30What reason did the Colts' franchise quarterback give for retiring in August 2019 at 29?
The endless cycle of injury and rehab
He had missed all of 2017 with a shoulder injury and been Comeback Player of the Year in 2018; the news broke during a preseason game.