1978 Baltimore Colts season

26th season in franchise history August 2023 March 2026 Baltimore Colts 1978 5–11 T-4th AFC East Ted Marchibroda Dick Szymanski Robert Irsay Memorial Stadium Did not qualify None Colts seasons 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=teBGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bvgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1473%2C3018028 The Day New London, Connecticut Associated Press Pats have big chance to gain division start September 18, 1978 24 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=x_lVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5332%2C5540911 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press It was Washington's night, Pats' nightmare, 34-27 September 19, 1978 3Chttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JRNSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FTUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5690%2C3990986 Nashua Telegraph New Hampshire UPI May Peter Patriots' 'D' takes fourth quarter off September 19, 1978 20Pro-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. 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.Pro-Football-Reference.com: Baltimore Colts 34 at New England Patriots 27, Monday, September 18, 1978 Offseason NFL draft 1978 NFL draft 1978 Baltimore Colts 1 25 Reese McCall Tight end Auburn yes no 2 52 Mike Woods Linebacker Cincinnati yes no no Undrafted free agents + 1978 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBill BanksLinebackerPenn StateLou BonatoGuardRichmondBen LazaroTackleVillanovaMike SochkoPunterMarylandDana StandeferQuarterbackFranklin CollegeHenry WhiteRunning backColgate Personnel Staff 1978 Baltimore Colts President and Treasurer – Robert Irsay General Manager – Dick Szymanski Assistant General Manager – Ernie Accorsi Head Coach – Ted Marchibroda Receivers – Dick Bielski Offensive Line – Whitey Dovell Defensive Coordinator – Maxie Baughan Defensive Line – Ed Khayat Defensive Backfield – Ralph Hawkins Special Teams – George Boutselis Roster 1978 Baltimore Colts  7 Bert Jones 15 Mike Kirkland American football 12 Bill Troup 36 Don Hardeman 48 Roosevelt Leaks 34 Ron Lee American football 23 Don McCauley 20 Joe Washington 84 Randy Burke 81 Roger Carr 35 Glenn Doughty 80 Marshall Johnson 45 Mike Siani American football 83 Mack Alston 86 Reese McCall y 60 Ron Baker American football G 69 Wade Griffin T 62 Ken Huff G 57 Ken Mendenhall C 79 Don Morrison American football T 61 Robert Pratt American football G 59 Geoff Reece C 67 Bob Van Duyne T 72 Fred Cook American football DE 78 John Dutton defensive lineman DE 76 Joe Ehrmann DT 66 Greg Marshall defensive lineman y DT 71 Mike Ozdowski DE 74 Dave Rowe American football DT 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 linebacker OLB 47 Tim Baylor FS 44 Lyle Blackwood FS 28 Dwight Harrison CB 40 Bruce Laird American football SS 42 Lloyd Mumphord CB 30 Doug Nettles CB 43 Norm Thompson American football CB 49 David Lee punter P  2 Toni Linhart K 38 Monte Anthony y RB IR 63 Mike Barnes American football, born 1950 DT IR 50 Forrest Blue C IR 21 Frank Dark cornerback y CB IR 73 Ron Fernandes DE IR 75 George Kunz T IR 88 Herb Orvis DT IR 64 David Taylor American football T IR 59 Mike Woods American football y LB IR Source:https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/clt/1978_roster.htm 1978 Baltimore Colts starters and roster Pro-Football-Reference.com November 20, 2014 Regular season Schedule 1978 NFL season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4, 1978 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, 1978 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, 1978 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 16–24 5–9 Shea Stadium 50,248 15 December 9, 1978 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 1978 New England Patriots season Colts–Patriots rivalry Baltimore Colts 1978 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Three: Baltimore Colts (0–2) at New England Patriots (1–1) September 18 Monday 9:00 p.m. EST Colts 0 7 0 27 Patriots 6 7 0 14 Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts 58 F C ABC Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith Pro-Football-Reference.com 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 See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry References 2 External links "1978 - Eagles at Colts (Week 5)," CBS via YouTube.com, June 16, 2024. (Video.) Baltimore Colts Category:Baltimore Colts seasons Baltimore Colts