The Indianapolis Colts finished the 2012 regular season with an 11-5 record, earning an AFC Wild Card berth in the postseason. The 11-win total was a nine-win improvement from last year, tying the Colts for the third-largest one-year turnaround in NFL history.
The Colts saw plenty of new faces this year with a first-year General Manager in Ryan Grigson, first-year Head Coach in Chuck Pagano, a new coaching staff and an abundance of rookies playing active roles on the roster throughout the season.
The young players took complete advantage of their early opportunity and made strong contributions to the team. The Colts rookie class combined for the most scrimmage yards (3,108) of any team’s rookie class since the 1970 merger. Quarterback
The veterans continued their high level of play too, as wide receiver
Although the team saw a great deal of success this year, the entire Colts organization was struck with adversity in Week 4 when Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia, forcing him to be away from the team as he underwent treatment for the following 12 weeks. The Colts rallied around him though and did not miss a beat in his absence. Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians assumed interim head coaching duties during that time and led the Colts to nine victories and a playoff berth until Pagano returned on December 24 to coach the final game of the regular season and the AFC Wild Card Game the next week.
To read the full release, click here.