The other day we looked at teams that have the Indianapolis Colts' number for whatever reason. Why not flip the script and look at the teams who the Colts have dominated against? Here are the five teams the Colts have the best record against in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference.
5. Tennessee Titans
- Record: 37-21
- Winning Percentage: .638
It's not super common for division rivals to appear on these lists since the teams play so often and weird things can happen in divisional games. Yet, here the Titans are on the Colts' list of teams who they have the best record against. In 59 games, the Colts have gone 37-21 against their AFC South foes, good for a winning percentage of .638.
Peyton Manning dominated the Titans during his time as a Colt, going 13-5 against them, and from 2003 to 2006, didn't lose a game to them. Andrew Luck also dominated the Titans, never losing a game against them and finishing his career vs. Tennessee with a perfect 11-0 record.
Beginning in 2020, the tides turned in this rivalry. The Titans rolled off five straight wins but the Colts broke that streak in 2023 and swept Tennessee. The last match-up was a 31 to 28 Colts win in early December 2023. With these two teams playing so often, the winning percentage will shift more than the teams that the Colts have controlled in the NFC.
4. Washington Commanders
- Record: 21-11
- Winning Percentage: .656
Speaking of NFC, the Colts have handled the Commanders franchise with ease whenever they've played them, sitting with a winning percentage of .656. The Colts have gone 21-11 against Washington with a lot of the destruction coming in the 1960s. The then-Baltimore Colts won nine straight games against the Washington franchise, a streak that began in 1960 and ran for the entire decade.
The most recent match-up between these two teams favored Washington, who won 17 to 16 in 2022. Before that game, Indy had won four straight games against the Commanders, including a blowout 49 to 27 victory in 2014.
3, Minnesota Vikings
- Record: 17-8-1
- Winning Percentage: .673
Sticking in the NFC, the Colts have had success against the Vikings, posting a winning percentage of .673 over them with a 17-8-1 record. As was the case with Washington, the Colts had the Vikings' number in the 1960s where they won five straight games against them from 1964 to 1967. They recorded a six-game win streak against Minnesota that began in 2000 and ended in 2022 when the Vikings eked out a 39 to 36 victory.
That 2022 loss to the Vikings was the most recent match-up between these two and while the Vikings prevailed in that one, it's been all Colts in the rest of the head-to-head series.
2. Houston Texans
- Record: 32-11-1
- Winning Percentage: .739
Remember earlier when I said it was uncommon to see a division rival appear on these type of lists? Well, the Colts have been absolutely dominant against not one but two division rivals, as they've handled the Texans with ease in their 45 meetings. Indianapolis is 32-11-1 against the Texans with a winning percentage of .739.
The Texans entered the NFL as an expansion team in 2002 and it took them until 2006 to record a win against the Peyton Manning-led Colts. Manning went 16-2 against the Texans as the Colts quarterback.
The Texans' longest winning streak vs. Indy was three games, which spanned for the entire 2015 season and then one game in 2016. Of course, the Texans don't have a huge sample size and they were pulverized by Manning for the first decade of their existence so it's not shocking to see that they're this high on the list of teams the Colts have owned.
1. Atlanta Falcons
- Record: 15-3
- Winning Percentage: .833
The team that the Colts have had the most success against is the Falcons, who they own a .833 winning percentage against. The two teams have only played 18 times with the Colts holding a 15-3 advantage in those meetings.
This series began with a 10-0 run by the Colts with the Falcons not recording their first win against the Colts franchise until 1998, Manning's rookie year. The Falcons' next win against Indy came in 2011 and they do own the most recent win in the match-up, which was a 29 to 14 victory in the 2023 season.
Don't let that game fool you, however, this series has been all Colts.