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 coach	Ted Marchibroda
General manager	Joe Thomas
Owner	Robert Irsay
Home field	Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	T-1st AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (Steelers) 14–40
Pro Bowlers	T 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 President and Treasurer – Robert Irsay General Manager – Joe Thomas Assistant General Manager – Ernie Accorsi Coaching Staff Head Coach – Ted Marchibroda Offensive Coaches Receivers – Pete McCulley Offensive Line – Whitey Dovell		Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Maxie Baughan Defensive Line – Jerry Smith Defensive Backfield – Frank Lauterbur Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – George Boutselis

Final roster

1976 Baltimore Colts roster

	Quarterbacks  7 Bert Jones 12 Bill Troup Running backs 48 Roosevelt Leaks FB 34 Ron Lee 23 Don McCauley 26 Lydell Mitchell Wide receivers 81 Roger Carr 35 Glenn Doughty 80 Marshall Johnson 86 Freddie Scott 88 Ricky Thompson Tight ends 87 Raymond Chester		Offensive linemen 50 Forrest Blue C 66 Elmer Collett G 62 Ken Huff G 75 George Kunz T 57 Ken Mendenhall C 61 Robert Pratt G 64 David Taylor T 67 Bob Van Duyne G Defensive linemen 63 Mike Barnes DT 72 Fred Cook DE 78 John Dutton DE 76 Joe Ehrmann DT 74 Ken Novak DT		Linebackers 55 Dan Dickel MLB 58 Derrel Luce OLB 54 Sanders Shiver OLB 56 Ed Simonini MLB 53 Stan White OLB Defensive backs 47 Tim Baylor FS 40 Bruce Laird SS/KR 42 Lloyd Mumphord CB 31 Nelson Munsey CB 25 Ray Oldham SS 20 Jackie Wallace SS Special teams  2 Toni Linhart K 49 David Lee P		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

• Monday night (November 1, 22), Saturday (December 4)

Game summaries

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total • Colts 3 14 0 14 31 Bills 3 10 0 0 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)

Scoring summary 1 BUF George Jakowenko 32 yard field goal Bills 3–0 1 BAL Toni Linhart 21 yard field goal Tie 3–3 2 BAL Don McCauley 2 yard run (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 10–3 2 BUF George Jakowenko 44 yard field goal Colts 10–6 2 BUF O.J. Simpson 33 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (George Jakowenko kick) Bills 13–10 2 BAL Lydell Mitchell 6 yard run (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 17–13 4 BAL Glenn Doughty 9 yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 24–13 4 BAL Don McCauley 3 yard pass from Bert Jones (Toni Linhart kick) Colts 31–13

[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

• History of the Indianapolis Colts
• Indianapolis Colts seasons
• Colts–Patriots rivalry

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.