An epic, and tragic, season

The Colts flirted with perfection for so long, then everything went wrong | John Dawson

For the Indianapolis Colts, it must have felt like this day would never come. Sometimes teams as dominant as the Colts don't need 16 games to prove they're playoff material. The Colts started the 2005 season with 13 straight wins, and by mid-December the national sports media had begun their yearly comparison of the season's last undefeated team to the famous 1972 Miami Dolphins, which survived that year undefeated.

Then, for the team that flirted with perfection for so long, everything went wrong. First, they lost at home in an uninspiring game against San Diego on Dec. 18. The Colts weren't happy, but seemed relieved to avoid talk of an undefeated season. "If it brings us back for the last two weeks with more resolve, maybe some good will come of it," head coach Tony Dungy waxed after the game.

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January 14, 2006, Vol. 21, No. 2

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