1978 Baltimore Colts season | |
---|---|
Owner | Robert Irsay |
General manager | Dick Szymanski |
Head coach | Ted Marchibroda |
Home field | Memorial Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 5–11 |
Division place | T-4th AFC East |
Playoff finish | Did 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.
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
[edit]NFL draft
[edit]1978 Baltimore Colts draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | Reese McCall | Tight end | Auburn | |
2 | 52 | Mike Woods | Linebacker | Cincinnati | |
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Personnel
[edit]Staff
[edit]
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
Roster
[edit]- Source:[6]
Regular season
[edit]Schedule
[edit]Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 4 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 0–38 | 0–1 | Texas Stadium | 64,224 | |
2 | September 10 | Miami Dolphins | L 0–42 | 0–2 | Memorial Stadium | 47,730 | |
3 | September 18 | at New England Patriots | W 34–27 | 1–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 57,284 | |
4 | September 24 | at Buffalo Bills | L 17–24 | 1–3 | Rich Stadium | 55,270 | |
5 | October 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–17 | 1–4 | Memorial Stadium | 50,314 | |
6 | October 8 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 30–17 | 2–4 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 47,479 | |
7 | October 15 | New York Jets | L 10–33 | 2–5 | Memorial Stadium | 45,563 | |
8 | October 22 | Denver Broncos | W 7–6 | 3–5 | Memorial Stadium | 54,057 | |
9 | October 29 | at Miami Dolphins | L 8–26 | 3–6 | Miami Orange Bowl | 53,524 | |
10 | November 6 | Washington Redskins | W 21–17 | 4–6 | Memorial Stadium | 57,631 | |
11 | November 12 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 17–14 | 5–6 | Kingdome | 61,905 | |
12 | November 19 | Cleveland Browns | L 24–45 | 5–7 | Memorial Stadium | 45,341 | |
13 | November 26 | New England Patriots | L 14–35 | 5–8 | Memorial Stadium | 42,828 | |
14 | December 3 | at New York Jets | L 17–30 | 5–9 | Shea Stadium | 50,248 | |
15 | December 9 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–35 | 5–10 | Three Rivers Stadium | 41,957 | |
16 | December 17 | Buffalo Bills | L 14–21 | 5–11 | Memorial Stadium | 25,415 | |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Results
[edit]Week 3
[edit]Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colts | 0 | 7 | 0 | 27 | 34 |
Patriots | 6 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 27 |
at Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
- Date: September 18
- Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C)
- TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Standings
[edit]1978 AFC East standings | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
New England Patriots(2) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 358 | 286 | L1 |
Miami Dolphins(4) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 372 | 254 | W3 |
New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 6–2 | 7–5 | 359 | 364 | L2 |
Buffalo Bills | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–10 | 302 | 354 | W1 |
Baltimore Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–7 | 3–9 | 240 | 421 | L5 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Pats have big chance to gain division start". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. September 18, 1978. p. 24.
- ^ "It was Washington's night, Pats' nightmare, 34-27". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 19, 1978. p. 3C.
- ^ May, Peter (September 19, 1978). "Patriots' 'D' takes fourth quarter off". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). UPI. p. 20.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Baltimore Colts 34 at New England Patriots 27, Monday, September 18, 1978
- ^ "1978 Baltimore Colts starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
External links
[edit]- "1978 - Eagles at Colts (Week 5)," CBS via YouTube.com, June 16, 2024. (Video.)