1978 Baltimore Colts season

1978 Baltimore Colts season
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
	← 1977; Colts seasons; 1979 →;

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

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1978 Baltimore Colts draft
1	25	Reese McCall	Tight end	Auburn
2	52	Mike Woods	Linebacker	Cincinnati
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

**1978 Baltimore Colts staff**
	Front office President and Treasurer – Robert Irsay General Manager – Dick Szymanski Assistant General Manager – Ernie Accorsi Head coaches Head Coach – Ted Marchibroda Offensive coaches Receivers – Dick Bielski Offensive Line – Whitey Dovell			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Maxie Baughan Defensive Line – Ed Khayat Defensive Backfield – Ralph Hawkins Special teams coaches Special Teams – George Boutselis

Roster

**1978 Baltimore Colts roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 7 Bert Jones 15 Mike Kirkland 12 Bill Troup Running backs (RB) 36 Don Hardeman FB 48 Roosevelt Leaks FB 34 Ron Lee 23 Don McCauley 20 Joe Washington Wide receivers (WR) 84 Randy Burke 81 Roger Carr 35 Glenn Doughty 80 Marshall Johnson 45 Mike Siani Tight ends (TE) 83 Mack Alston 86 Reese McCall		Offensive linemen (OL) 60 Ron Baker G 50 Forrest Blue C 69 Wade Griffin T 62 Ken Huff G 57 Ken Mendenhall C 79 Don Morrison T 61 Robert Pratt G 67 Bob Van Duyne T Defensive linemen (DL) 63 Mike Barnes DT 72 Fred Cook DE 78 John Dutton DE 76 Joe Ehrmann DT 66 Greg Marshall DT 88 Herb Orvis DT 71 Mike Ozdowski DE 74 Dave Rowe DT		Linebackers (LB) 58 Derrel Luce OLB 52 Tom MacLeod OLB 55 Stu O'Dell OLB 51 Calvin O'Neal MLB 54 Sanders Shiver OLB 56 Ed Simonini MLB 53 Stan White OLB Defensive backs (DB) 47 Tim Baylor S 44 Lyle Blackwood S 28 Dwight Harrison 40 Bruce Laird SS 42 Lloyd Mumphord CB/FS 30 Doug Nettles CB 25 Ray Oldham CB 43 Norm Thompson CB Special teams 49 David Lee P 2 Toni Linhart K		Reserve -- Monte Anthony RB (IR) 75 George Kunz T (IR) Rookies in italics

Source:^[6]

Regular season

Schedule

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

Week 3

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

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

First quarter

NE – Andy Johnson 1-yard run (kick failed). Patriots 6–0. Drive:

Second quarter

BAL – Don McCauley 3-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 7–6. Drive:
NE – Stanley Morgan 62-yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick). Patriots 13–7. Drive:

Fourth quarter

BAL – Roger Carr 54-yard pass from Joe Washington (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 14–13. Drive:
BAL – Joe Washington 23-yard pass from Bill Troup (kick failed). Colts 20–13. Drive:
BAL – Roger Carr 67-yard pass from Bill Troup (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 27–13. Drive:
NE – Steve Grogan 4-yard run (John Smith kick), 3:17. Colts 27–20. Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards.
NE – Sam Cunningham 1-yard run (John Smith kick), 1:33. Tie 27–27. Drive:
BAL – Joe Washington 90-yard kickoff return (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 34–27.

Top passers

BAL – Bill Troup – 10/15, 221 yards, 2 TD, INT
NE – Steve Grogan – 11/33, 229 yards, TD, 3 INT

Top rushers

BAL – Joe Washington – 16 rushes, 53 yards
NE – Andy Johnson – 27 rushes, 109 yards, TD

Top receivers

BAL – Roger Carr – 6 receptions, 187 yards, 2 TD
NE – Stanley Morgan – 3 receptions, 125 yards, TD

Standings

1978 AFC East standings
view talk edit	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

References

^ "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

"1978 - Eagles at Colts (Week 5)," CBS via YouTube.com, June 16, 2024. (Video.)

[bgch-1] "Pats have big chance to gain division start". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. September 18, 1978. p. 24.

[pnmare-2] "It was Washington's night, Pats' nightmare, 34-27". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 19, 1978. p. 3C.

[fqteof-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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v t e Indianapolis Colts
Founded in 1953 Played in Baltimore (1953–1983) Based and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana
Franchise	History in Baltimore relocation to Indianapolis All-time roster Quarterbacks Coaches Seasons Draft First-round draft picks Ring of Honor
Stadiums	Memorial Stadium RCA Dome Lucas Oil Stadium
Culture	Carroll Rosenbloom Robert Irsay Jim Irsay 12th Man AAFC Colts Baltimore Colts Marching Band Blue Cheerleaders Elway to Marino Parks and Recreation
Lore	Dayton Triangles The Greatest Game Ever Played 1970 AFC Championship Game Ghost to the Post Move to Indianapolis Immaculate Deflection Immaculate Redemption/The Tackle Deflategate Colts Catastrophe Snowvertime Minneapolis Miracle II
Rivalries	Houston Texans Jacksonville Jaguars New England Patriots Brady–Manning rivalry Tennessee Titans
Division championships (16)	1968 1970 1975 1976 1977 1987 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2013 2014
Conference championships (7)	1958 1959 1964 1968 1970 2006 2009
League championships (5)	1958 1959 1968 1970 (V) 2006 (XLI)
Retired numbers	18 19 22 24 70 77 82 89
Media	Broadcasters WFNI-AM Bob Lamey Jim Sorgi
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: South Division
Category

v t e Indianapolis Colts seasons
Played in Baltimore (1953–1983)
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance