| Team: | Indianapolis Colts |
| Year: | 1988 |
| Record: | 9–7 |
| Division Place: | 2nd AFC East |
| Coach: | Ron Meyer |
| General Manager: | Jim Irsay |
| Owner: | Robert Irsay |
| Stadium: | Hoosier Dome |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | C Ray Donaldson T Chris Hinton RB Eric Dickerson |
| Ap All-Pros: | RB Eric Dickerson (1st team) C Ray Donaldson (2nd team) T Chris Hinton (2nd team) K Dean Biasucci (2nd team) |
| Shortnavlink: | Colts seasons |
The 1988 season was the 36th season for the Indianapolis Colts in the National Football League (NFL) and fifth in Indianapolis. The team finished the year with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, and tied for second in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots. However, the Colts finished ahead of New England based on better record against common opponents (7–5 to Patriots' 6–6). At the start of the season, Ron Meyer demoted quarterback Gary Hogeboom to back up, and promoted Jack Trudeau to starter, which prompted Hogeboom to demand that he be either traded or released.[1]
See main article: article and 1988 NFL Draft.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 4 | Houston Oilers | L 14–17 | 0–1 | Hoosier Dome | 57,251 | ||
| 2 | September 11 | Chicago Bears | L 13–17 | 0–2 | Hoosier Dome | 60,503 | ||
| 3 | at Cleveland Browns | L 17–23 | 0–3 | Cleveland Stadium | 75,148 | |||
| 4 | September 25 | Miami Dolphins | W 15–13 | 1–3 | Hoosier Dome | 59,638 | ||
| 5 | October 2 | at New England Patriots | L 17–21 | 1–4 | Sullivan Stadium | 58,050 | ||
| 6 | October 9 | at Buffalo Bills | L 23–24 | 1–5 | Rich Stadium | 76,018 | ||
| 7 | October 16 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 35–31 | 2–5 | Hoosier Dome | 53,135 | ||
| 8 | October 23 | at San Diego Chargers | W 16–0 | 3–5 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 37,722 | ||
| 9 | Denver Broncos | W 55–23 | 4–5 | Hoosier Dome | 60,544 | |||
| 10 | November 6 | New York Jets | W 38–14 | 5–5 | Hoosier Dome | 59,233 | ||
| 11 | November 13 | at Green Bay Packers | W 20–13 | 6–5 | Lambeau Field | 53,492 | ||
| 12 | November 20 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 3–12 | 6–6 | Metrodome | 58,342 | ||
| 13 | November 27 | New England Patriots | W 24–21 | 7–6 | Hoosier Dome | 58,157 | ||
| 14 | December 4 | at Miami Dolphins | W 31–28 | 8–6 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 45,236 | ||
| 15 | at New York Jets | L 16–34 | 8–7 | The Meadowlands | 46,284 | |||
| 16 | December 18 | Buffalo Bills | W 17–14 | 9–7 | Hoosier Dome | 59,908 | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||