1978 Baltimore Colts season

Last updated

1978 Baltimore Colts season
Owner Robert Irsay
General manager Dick Szymanski
Head coach Ted Marchibroda
Home field Memorial Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division placeT-4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers None

The 1978 Baltimore Colts season was the 26th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Under fourth-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with 5 wins and 11 losses, tied for fourth in the AFC East division with the Buffalo Bills. Baltimore lost the tiebreaker to Buffalo based on head-to-head series (0–2). This was the first time under Marchibroda that Baltimore did not make the postseason.

Contents

The Colts' minus-181 point differential was easily the NFL's worst, 50 points behind the next worst team, the San Francisco 49ers.

With quarterback Bert Jones out for several weeks with a shoulder injury and quickly losing both starting offensive tackles for the year through injury, Baltimore started the season in catastrophic fashion, losing their first two games by a combined score of 80–0. [1] The Colts' first win of the season, in week three over New England on Monday Night Football , is one of the biggest regular season upsets in NFL history. The Patriots were favored by an overwhelming 17½ points, but the Colts scored 27 points in the fourth quarter, including a 90-yard kickoff return by running back Joe Washington with under a minute left to take the lead for good. [2] [3] [4] In the game, Washington became the first player to throw a touchdown, catch a pass for a touchdown, and return a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game. [5]

Offseason

NFL draft

1978 Baltimore Colts draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
125 Reese McCall   Tight end Auburn
252 Mike Woods   Linebacker Cincinnati
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1978 Baltimore Colts staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special Teams – George Boutselis



Roster

1978 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserved


Rookies in italics

Source: [6]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 4at Dallas Cowboys L 0–380–1 Texas Stadium 64,224
2September 10 Miami Dolphins L 0–420–2 Memorial Stadium 47,730
3September 18at New England Patriots W 34–271–2 Schaefer Stadium 57,284
4September 24at Buffalo Bills L 17–241–3 Rich Stadium 55,270
5October 1 Philadelphia Eagles L 14–171–4Memorial Stadium50,314
6October 8at St. Louis Cardinals W 30–172–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,479
7October 15 New York Jets L 10–332–5Memorial Stadium45,563
8October 22 Denver Broncos W 7–63–5Memorial Stadium54,057
9October 29at Miami Dolphins L 8–263–6 Miami Orange Bowl 53,524
10November 6 Washington Redskins W 21–174–6Memorial Stadium57,631
11November 12at Seattle Seahawks W 17–145–6 Kingdome 61,905
12November 19 Cleveland Browns L 24–455–7Memorial Stadium45,341
13November 26 New England Patriots L 14–355–8Memorial Stadium42,828
14December 3at New York Jets L 17–305–9 Shea Stadium 50,248
15December 9at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–355–10 Three Rivers Stadium 41,957
16December 17 Buffalo Bills L 14–215–11Memorial Stadium25,415
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Results

Week 3

Week Three: Baltimore Colts (0–2) at New England Patriots (1–1)
Quarter1234Total
Colts 0702734
Patriots 6701427

at Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts

Game information

Standings

1978 AFC East standings
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
New England Patriots (2)1150.6886–29–3358286L1
Miami Dolphins (4)1150.6885–38–4372254W3
New York Jets 880.5006–27–5359364L2
Buffalo Bills 5110.3132–64–10302354W1
Baltimore Colts 5110.3131–73–9240421L5

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Pats have big chance to gain division start". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. September 18, 1978. p. 24.
  2. ↑ "It was Washington's night, Pats' nightmare, 34-27". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 19, 1978. p. 3C.
  3. ↑ May, Peter (September 19, 1978). "Patriots' 'D' takes fourth quarter off". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). UPI. p. 20.
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single game, from 1940 to 2012, in the Regular Season, team won game, requiring Underdog By >= 0, sorted by descending Underdog By.
  5. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Baltimore Colts 34 at New England Patriots 27, Monday, September 18, 1978
  6. ↑ "1978 Baltimore Colts starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
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