| 1976 Baltimore Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Robert Irsay |
| General manager | Joe Thomas |
| Head coach | Ted Marchibroda |
| Home field | Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–3 |
| Division place | T-1st AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Steelers) 14–40 |
| Pro Bowlers | T George Kunz QB Bert Jones WR Roger Carr RB Lydell Mitchell DE John Dutton K Toni Linhart |
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).
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 spectacular 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 with 1,112 receiving yards and 25.9 yards per reception. [9] All three offensive players made the Pro Bowl team.
| Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | Mike Curtis | Linebacker | Seattle Seahawks |
| 0 | 0 | Bill Olds | Fullback | Seattle Seahawks |
| 0 | 0 | Dave Pear | Defensive tackle | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 1976 Baltimore Colts draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Ken Novak | Defensive tackle | Purdue | |
| 3 | 81 | Ed Simonini | Linebacker | Texas A&M | |
| 3 | 90 | Ron Lee | Running back | West Virginia | |
| 5 | 134 | Sanders Shiver | Linebacker | Carson–Newman | |
| 5 | 143 | Mike Kirkland | Quarterback | Arkansas | Played for Colts in 1978 |
| 8 | 228 | Ricky Thompson | Wide receiver | Baylor | |
| 9 | 258 | Stu Levenick | Tackle | Illinois | |
| 10 | 283 | Tim Baylor | Defensive back | Morgan State | |
| 11 | 310 | Rick Gibney | Defensive tackle | Georgia Tech | |
| 12 | 340 | Frank Stavroff | Placekicker | Indiana | |
| 14 | 394 | Jeremiah Cummings | Defensive end | Albany State | |
| 15 | 424 | Gary Alexander | Tackle | Clemson | |
| 16 | 449 | Mike Fuhrman | Tight end | Memphis State | |
| 16 | 451 | Steve Ludwig | Center | Miami (FL) | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
| 1976 Baltimore Colts staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE) | Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
| Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
| Reserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 31 | at Cleveland Browns | W 21–0 | Lincoln, Nebraska | 20,304 |
| 2 | August 6 | Washington Redskins | W 20–3 | Memorial Stadium | 35,575 |
| 3 | August 14 | at Chicago Bears | L 14–25 | Soldier Field | 54,338 |
| 4 | August 20 | New Orleans Saints | L 20–26 (OT) | Memorial Stadium | 38,879 |
| 5 | August 28 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 7–21 | Atlanta Stadium | 24,986 |
| 6 | September 2 | at Detroit Lions | L 9–24 | Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium | 54,217 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 12 | at New England Patriots | W 27–13 | 1–0 | Schaefer Stadium | 43,512 | Link |
| 2 | September 19 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 28–27 | 2–0 | Memorial Stadium | 50,374 | Link |
| 3 | September 26 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 27–30 | 2–1 | Texas Stadium | 64,237 | Link |
| 4 | October 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 42–17 | 3–1 | Memorial Stadium | 40,053 | Link |
| 5 | October 10 | Miami Dolphins | W 28–14 | 4–1 | Memorial Stadium | 58,832 | Link |
| 6 | October 17 | at Buffalo Bills | W 31–13 | 5–1 | Rich Stadium | 71,009 | Link |
| 7 | October 24 | at New York Jets | W 20–0 | 6–1 | Shea Stadium | 59,576 | Link |
| 8 | November 1 | Houston Oilers | W 38–14 | 7–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,020 | Link |
| 9 | November 7 | at San Diego Chargers | W 37–21 | 8–1 | San Diego Stadium | 42,827 | Link |
| 10 | November 14 | New England Patriots | L 14–21 | 8–2 | Memorial Stadium | 58,226 | Link |
| 11 | November 22 | at Miami Dolphins | W 17–16 | 9–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 62,104 | Link |
| 12 | November 28 | New York Jets | W 33–16 | 10–2 | Memorial Stadium | 44,023 | Link |
| 13 | December 4 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 17–24 | 10–3 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 48,282 | Link |
| 14 | December 12 | Buffalo Bills | W 58–20 | 11–3 | Memorial Stadium | 50,451 | Link |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| 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 |
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 | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 19 | Pittsburgh Steelers (3) | L 14–40 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,020 | Link |
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| Division championships (16) | |
| Conference championships (7) | |
| League championships (5) | |
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