Colts Announce Pre-Season and Regular Season Schedule

Even though we're not 100% sure who will be taking snaps this season, we do know it won't be any of the QB's on the Colts roster last year. If things work out right in the draft, Stanford's Andrew Luck will be leading the Colts this season.

“We are looking forward to a very competitive schedule, especially an always tough AFC South slate,” said Head Coach Chuck Pagano. “The first few weeks of offseason workouts have been spirited and we are working extremely hard to meet our offseason goals. This team continues to gel and build chemistry with each passing day and we will continue to labor at a high level.”

Indianapolis will open the season on the road for the third consecutive year when the Colts battle the Chicago Bears on Sunday, September 9. The teams will meet for the second time since Indianapolis won Super Bowl XLI in February of 2007. The Colts are 22-18 against Chicago in the all-time regular season series and hold an 11-9 mark in road contests. Indianapolis won its last road trip to Soldier Field by a 41-10 margin in 2004.

The Colts will host the Minnesota Vikings in their home opener on Sunday, September 16. Indianapolis leads the all-time series with a 14-7-1 record and has won its last three games against Minnesota heading into a Week 2 contest. The Vikings will make their first regular season appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium as the Colts hold a perfect 10-0 home mark (including playoffs) against their NFC counterpart.

Indianapolis opens its AFC South Division slate with a Week 3 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars at home on Sunday, September 23. The Colts will look to redeem themselves from a 2011 series sweep at the hands of Jacksonville, the first by the Jaguars in series history. Indianapolis leads the all-time series with a 15-7 mark and has won three of its last five home contests against Jacksonville. In the 2011 regular season finale at Everbank Field, wide receiver Austin Collie generated a season-high nine receptions for 96 yards in a losing effort.

Following a Week 4 bye, the Colts will remain at home for their third consecutive game to host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, October 7. The Packers, champions of Super Bowl XLV, make their first regular season appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium and first regular season trip to Indianapolis since 2004. The teams have rotated victories in the last six contests dating back to 1988. Green Bay was victories in the last meeting with a 34-14 win at Lambeau Field in 2008. The all-time series is tied with a 20-20-1 record as the Colts will look to build on their 12-8-1 all-time home mark.

The Colts return to the road in Week 6 to battle the New York Jets on Sunday, October 14. The teams will meet for the first time since 2006 as Indianapolis holds a 21-12 regular season road record and 41-26 all-time regular season mark. The game also represents the first since an AFC Wild Card contest in January of 2011 where New York kicked a last second field goal and escaped Lucas Oil Stadium with a 17-16 victory.

In Week 7, Indianapolis will host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 21. The Colts and Browns will meet for the second consecutive season as Cleveland won at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2011, 27-19. Prior to last season’s loss, Indianapolis compiled a string of five consecutive wins dating back to 1999, the Browns’ return to the NFL. The Colts are 5-9 at home against their AFC North Division foe as Cleveland leads the all-time series with a 14-12 mark. In the home opener last season (Week 2), Indianapolis witness a strong performance from defensive end Dwight Freeney who logged two tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in the loss.

The Colts will battle the Tennessee Titans in Week 8 at LP Field on Sunday, October 28. Indianapolis holds a 21-13 all-time regular season series record against the Titans and has won six of the last seven contests dating back to 2008. Last year, the teams split the series, each defending their home turf.

Indianapolis opens November with a home contest against the Miami Dolphins in Week 9 on Sunday, November 4. Miami will make its first ever appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium as the teams meet for the first time since 2009. The Colts look to continue a three-game winning streak dating back to 2003, as Indianapolis won each of those contests by a one-possession margin. The Dolphins lead the series with a 44-24 record and a 23-11 mark in games played in Indianapolis.

The Colts will make their lone nationally televised appearance of the season with a Thursday Night NFL Network meeting at Jacksonville in Week 10 on November 8. Indianapolis holds a 7-4 record in games played at Jacksonville, but has dropped its last two contests in 2010 and 2011.

Week 11 features a road contest against the New England Patriots on Sunday, November 18. The teams will meet in the regular season for the 10th consecutive year. Counting the playoffs, the game will be the 13th contest between the teams dating back to 2003 and the third straight season with the game behind held at Gillette Stadium. No other team has faced Indianapolis more than the Patriots as New England carries a 44-28 all-time regular season record. In the last eight regular season games the teams have played to a 4-4 series split. In a Week 13 meeting last year, the Colts trailed the Patriots by a 31-3 margin in the third quarter before rallying for 21 unanswered points. Indianapolis failed to recover a late onside kick as New England ran the clock out to seal a late victory. The Colts generated a season-high 353 passing yards in the contest.

Indianapolis returns home for a Week 12 meeting against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, November 25. The matchup against Buffalo will mark the 67th all-time meeting between the teams with the Bills carrying a 35-30-1 series advantage. Buffalo will be making its first trip to Lucas Oil Stadium since the venue opened in 2008. The Colts have been successful at home against their AFC counterpart, recording a 17-14-1 all-time mark. Indianapolis has won its last four home games against the Bills dating back to 1999 and has won seven of its last nine contests in the regular season.

The Colts will battle the Detroit Lions in a Week 13 matchup to open the month of December (Sunday, Dec. 2). Indianapolis has won its last three contests against the Lions dating back to 2000 and brings a 20-18-2 series advantage into the game. The last time the teams battled in Detroit, the Colts claimed a 41-9 victory en route to a 12-4 regular season record. The Lions will be looking to continue their momentum from the 2011 campaign where they made their first playoff appearance since 1999.

Indianapolis will finish its regular season series with division rival, Tennessee, in Week 14 on Sunday, December 9. The Colts are 13-6 at home against Tennessee and have not lost in Indianapolis since a 2007 meeting at the RCA Dome. In a Week 15 contest at Lucas Oil Stadium last season, running back Donald Brown set a career-high with 161 yards on 16 carries (10.1 avg.) while contributing with an 80-yard touchdown run, which tied for the longest rush in franchise history (Tom Matte, 10/12/64).

In Week 15, Indianapolis and Houston will meet for the first time during the regular season on Sunday, December 16 at Reliant Stadium. The Colts lead the series with a 17-3 record over its AFC South Division foe. The teams have split the regular season series for the past two years. In the 2011 season opener, Houston cruised to a 34-7 victory while the Colts countered with a 19-16 win in Week 16 on NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football. In that game, wide receiver Reggie Wayne caught the game-winning touchdown with 19 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. He also led all receivers with 106 yards.

The Colts will make their final road trip of the season in Week 16 with their first visit to Kansas City since 2004 on Sunday, December 23. Indianapolis will look to improve on its 10-8 all-time series record. The Colts have won three of the last four games against the Chiefs, which includes an AFC Wild Card victory in January of 2007. Including two playoff contests (1996 and 2004), Indianapolis is 5-1 in its last six games played in Kansas City.

The regular season concludes at Lucas Oil Stadium with a home contest against Houston on Sunday, December 30. The Colts are a perfect 10-0 in games played against the Texans in Indianapolis. The Colts have outscored Houston at home by a 312-171 margin.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 2012 SCHEDULE

PRESEASON

Sunday, August 12 ST. LOUIS RAMS 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, August 19 at Pittsburgh Steelers 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 25 at Washington Redskins 3:00 p.m.

Thursday, August 30 CINCINNATI BENGALS 6:00 p.m.

REGULAR SEASON

Sunday, September 9 at Chicago Bears 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, September 16 MINNESOTA VIKINGS 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, September 23 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, September 30 Open Date

Sunday, October 7 GREEN BAY PACKERS 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 14 at New York Jets 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 21 CLEVELAND BROWNS 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, October 28 at Tennessee Titans 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 4 MIAMI DOLPHINS 12:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 8 at Jacksonville Jaguars 7:20 p.m.

Sunday, November 18* at New England Patriots 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 25* BUFFALO BILLS 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 2* at Detroit Lions 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 9* TENNESSEE TITANS 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 16* at Houston Texans 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 23* at Kansas City Chiefs 12:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 30* HOUSTON TEXANS 12:00 p.m.

HOME GAMES IN BOLDFACE CAPS

All times local to Evansville.  Pre Game Show begins one hour earlier on 103GBF

*Kickoff time subject to change