Colts–Patriots rivalry

The Colts–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. As the Colts play in the AFC South and the Patriots are in the AFC East, the two teams do not play every year; instead, they play at least once every three years and at least once every six seasons at each team's home stadium due to the NFL's rotating division schedules during which their divisions are paired up, sometimes more often if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions or meet in the playoffs.

It is considered one of the most famous rivalries in the NFL from the 2000s due to the teams posting numerous winning seasons during the decades as well as it being the height of the rivalry between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, even though the rivalry began in 1970 when the AFL and NFL merged. While the Patriots were the unquestioned lords of the NFL during the 2000s, the Colts were one of the few teams that could reasonably challenge the Patriots, especially with their higher winning percentage and 2006 season Super Bowl victory. The two teams have combined for seven Super Bowl victories (six by the Patriots) and eleven AFC Championships (nine by the Patriots) since 2001. The Colts and Patriots were AFC East division rivals from 1970 to 2001 (dating prior to the Colts' move from Baltimore to Indianapolis), but their intensified enmity was not prevalent until Indianapolis was moved into the newly formed AFC South following the 2001 season as part of the NFL's realignment. The Patriots lead the overall series 53–31. The Patriots hold a lead in points scored, 2,088 to 1,577 for the Colts. In 2020, CBS ranked this rivalry as the No. 1 NFL rivalry of the 2000s.

The modern matchup spanning the period of 2001–2011 was usually headlined as a contest between quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, who together won six NFL MVP awards in eight years (2003–10; four by Manning). In September 2001 Brady received his first start against the Colts after an injury to then-starter Drew Bledsoe, and proceeded to defeat the Colts in his first six games against them in the next years, including the 2003 AFC Championship Game and a 2004 AFC Divisional playoff game. The 2004 Divisional game was notable as the Patriots held a record holding the Colts offense to 3 points on snowy cold night in Foxborough. The Colts won the next three matches, notching two regular season victories and a win in the 2006 AFC Championship Game on the way to their win in Super Bowl XLI. Since then, the Patriots have won ten out of the next fourteen games from 2007 to 2023. The quarterback angle of the rivalry changed in 2012 following Manning's release from the team, and with the surge to success of Colts rookie Andrew Luck. The rivalry gained momentum again in February 2018, when Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who had agreed to become the head coach of the Colts, went back on his word and decided to stay on as a coordinator in New England. The Patriots beat the Colts every single game in the 2010s, going 8–0 (including 2–0 in the postseason in 2013 & 2014). The streak ended in 2021 in a 27–17 Colts victory.