1976 Baltimore Colts season
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NFL team 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).
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.
Offseason
1976 expansion draft
| style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle" | Round | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle" | Overall | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle" | Name | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle" | Position | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle" | 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 |
Draft
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Personnel
Staff/Coaches
| 1976 Baltimore Colts staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
Final roster
Preseason
| style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| 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 |
Regular season
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Schedule
| style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| 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 | Template:Dow tooltip | 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 | Template:Dow tooltip | 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 | Template:Dow tooltip | 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. | |||||||
Standings
Template:1976 AFC East standings
Postseason
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| style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Round | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance | style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 19 | Pittsburgh Steelers (3) | L 14–40 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,020 | Link |
See also
References
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- ↑ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.306, Martin’s Press, August 1994, Template:ISBN
- ↑ fourth-best in the NFL, second-best in the NFC behind O. J. Simpson
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1976 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards
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