1976 Baltimore Colts season

The 1976 Baltimore Colts season was the 24th season for the team in the National Football League. Led by second-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with a record of 11 wins and 3 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots.[1] Baltimore won the AFC East title based on a better division record (7–1 to Patriots' 6–2).

1976 Baltimore Colts season
Head coachTed Marchibroda
General managerJoe Thomas
OwnerRobert Irsay
Home fieldMemorial Stadium
Results
Record11–3
Division placeT-1st AFC East
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 14–40
Pro BowlersT George Kunz
QB Bert Jones
WR Roger Carr
RB Lydell Mitchell
DE John Dutton
K Toni Linhart

Marchibroda, the reigning NFL coach of the year, resigned a week before the regular season opener, due to a power struggle with general manager Joe Thomas and owner Robert Irsay.[2] Baltimore had won its first two preseason games, then dropped the final four.[2] Several Colts assistant coaches threatened to leave the team, and quarterback Bert Jones publicly came to his coach’s defense.[3] Thomas and Irsay quickly made amends with the coach before the season started.[4][5][6][7] (Thomas would be fired by the team shortly after the season.)

The Colts offense was dominant in 1976: they led the league in scoring with 417 points (29.7 per game). Jones was named league MVP after passing for a league-best 3,104 yards, 9.27 yards-per-attempt, and a passer rating of 102.5, second best in the NFL. Running back Lydell Mitchell also had a spectactular year, rushing for 1,200 yards,[8] and catching 60 passes. Wide receiver Roger Carr proved to be a valuable deep threat in the passing game, leading the league 1,112 receiving yards and 25.9 yards per reception.[9] All three offensive players made the Pro Bowl team.

Personnel

Staff/Coaches
1976 Baltimore Colts staff
Front Office

Coaching Staff

Offensive Coaches

 Defensive Coaches

Special Teams Coaches

  • Special Teams – George Boutselis

Final roster
1976 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season
Main article: 1976 NFL season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance
1 September 12 at New England Patriots W 27–13 1–0 Schaefer Stadium
43,512
2 September 19 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–27 2–0 Memorial Stadium
50,374
3 September 26 at Dallas Cowboys L 27–30 2–1 Texas Stadium
64,237
4 October 3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 42–17 3–1 Memorial Stadium
40,053
5 October 10 Miami Dolphins W 28–14 4–1 Memorial Stadium
58,832
6 October 17 at Buffalo Bills W 31–13 5–1 Rich Stadium
71,009
7 October 24 at New York Jets W 20–0 6–1 Shea Stadium
59,576
8 November 1 Houston Oilers W 38–14 7–1 Memorial Stadium
60,020
9 November 7 at San Diego Chargers W 37–21 8–1 San Diego Stadium
42,827
10 November 14 New England Patriots L 14–21 8–2 Memorial Stadium
58,226
11 November 22 at Miami Dolphins W 17–16 9–2 Orange Bowl
62,104
12 November 28 New York Jets W 33–16 10–2 Memorial Stadium
44,023
13 December 4 at St. Louis Cardinals L 17–24 10–3 Busch Memorial Stadium
48,282
14 December 12 Buffalo Bills W 58–20 11–3 Memorial Stadium
50,451

Game summaries

Week 6
1 234Total
• Colts 3 14014 31
Bills 3 1000 13
  • Date: October 17
  • Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C) • Wind 8 mph (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)

[10]

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts(2) 11 3 0 .786 7–1 11–1 417 246 W1
New England Patriots(4) 11 3 0 .786 6–2 10–2 376 236 W6
Miami Dolphins 6 8 0 .429 5–3 6–6 263 264 L1
New York Jets 3 11 0 .214 2–6 3–9 169 383 L4
Buffalo Bills 2 12 0 .143 0–8 2–10 245 363 L10

Postseason
Main article: 1976–77 NFL playoffs

The team returned to the playoffs as a No. 2 seed and hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round. The Colts fell behind 26–7 at the half, and lost 40–14.[11] This game is better remembered for the post-game crash of a private plane into an unoccupied section of Memorial Stadium.[12][13][14][15]

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Venue Attendance
Divisional December 19 Pittsburgh Steelers (3) L 14–40 Memorial Stadium
60,020

See also

References
  1. "A romp in Baltimore sets up playoff scene". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 13, 1976. p. 18.
  2. "Marchibroda quits Colts". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. September 6, 1976. p. 1, part 2.
  3. "Colts claim front office ruined team". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. September 7, 1976. p. 1, part 2.
  4. "Marchibroda back; Colts' standoff over". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 8, 1976. p. 23.
  5. "Marchibroda is back with Colts". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. September 8, 1976. p. 1, part 2.
  6. Lea, Bud (September 8, 1976). "Irsay bows to pressure". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  7. Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.306, Martin’s Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
  8. fourth-best in the NFL, second-best in the NFC behind O.J. Simpson
  9. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1976 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards
  10. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  11. "Pittsburgh's easy victory averts tragedy". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. December 20, 1976. p. 13, part 2.
  12. "A year in sports". Sports Illustrated. (photo). February 17, 1977. p. 47.
  13. "Rout was a blessing when plane crashed". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. December 20, 1976. p. 1B.
  14. "Touch Down". Milwaukee Journal. (Washington Star Service). December 20, 1976. p. 13, part 2.
  15. "Small plane crashes into stand minutes after 60,000 leave". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 20, 1976. p. 1.
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