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. 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.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. 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
Undrafted free agents
+ 1978 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBill BanksLinebackerPenn StateLou BonatoGuardRichmondBen LazaroTackleVillanovaMike SochkoPunterMarylandDana StandeferQuarterbackFranklin CollegeHenry WhiteRunning backColgate
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 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 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 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 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
Standings
See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry
References
External links
"1978 - Eagles at Colts (Week 5)," CBS via YouTube.com, June 16, 2024. (Video.)