Chad Bratzke

Professional career Bratzke was selected in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL Draft. Over the course of his career, he spent ten seasons in the NFL, splitting his time evenly between the New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts. He joined the Colts as an unrestricted free agent on March 1, 1999.

Bratzke recorded 48 of his 56.5 career sacks from 1998 onward. During his career, he posted 11 games with multiple sacks. His 12-sack performance in the 1999 season ranks among the seven double-digit sack seasons by an individual player in franchise history, alongside Dwight Freeney (13.0 in 2002), Johnie Cooks (11.5 in 1984), Vernon Maxwell (11.0 in 1983), Jon Hand (10.0 in 1989), Tony Bennett (10.5 in 1995), and Dan Footman (10.5 in 1997). He also recorded two three-sack games with the Colts, against Washington on December 19, 1999, and Denver on January 6, 2002.

Bratzke recorded four consecutive seasons with at least 80 tackles between 1998 and 2001, posting totals of 80, 81, 93, and 80, respectively, before finishing the 2002 season with 70 tackles. In 2002, he started all 16 games for a defense that ranked seventh in the NFL in points allowed and eighth overall. It marked the third time in four seasons with the franchise that he started every game in a single year.

He opened the 2002 season strongly, recording two sacks and five quarterback pressures in the first two games at Jacksonville and against Miami. That year, Bratzke totaled 70 tackles (49 solo), six sacks, 30 quarterback pressures, five forced fumbles, three batted passes, one pass defended, and one fumble recovery. He ranked second on the team in quarterback pressures and seventh in tackles, recording four or more tackles in 13 games.

His notable performances included six tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble at Jacksonville, followed by four solo tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble against Miami. He later added a sack against Baltimore in Week 6 and registered a sack and a forced fumble versus Dallas in Week 11. In Week 15 against Cleveland, he made his first career start at defensive tackle, recording six tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and two quarterback pressures, including a key goal-line stop that helped the team rally from a 16-point deficit. He closed the season with six tackles, four of them solo, against New York in Week 16.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds TD Lng FF FR Yds TD 1994 NYG 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1995 NYG 6 0 5 2 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1996 NYG 16 16 52 43 9 5.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1997 NYG 10 10 35 23 12 3.5 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1998 NYG 16 16 79 57 22 11.0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1999 IND 16 16 48 34 14 12.0 0 0 0 0 3 1 3 0 2000 IND 16 16 64 46 18 7.5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2001 IND 15 15 60 45 15 8.5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2002 IND 16 16 45 34 11 6.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2003 IND 16 3 25 16 9 3.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 129 108 413 300 113 56.5 0 0 0 0 8 9 3 0

Playoffs Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck Int Yds TD Lng FF FR Yds TD 1999 IND 1 1 4 4 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2000 IND 1 1 4 4 0 0.0 1 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 2002 IND 1 1 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2003 IND 3 0 7 4 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 17 14 3 0.0 1 4 0 4 0 0 0 0

Personal life Bratzke and his family moved to Florida when he was seven, and while there he attended Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Florida. He has made sizable donations to Eastern Kentucky University to build the Student Athlete Academic Success Center. He is currently heavily involved with CLF (Childhood Leukemia Foundation) and Joy's House. He has made several appearances on Colts 2000 Care-A-Van tours.