1976 Baltimore Colts: Bert Jones, the MVP Season, & A Ceiling They Couldn’t Break
The 1976 Baltimore Colts came into the season looking to prove the magic of a year earlier hadn’t been a fluke. In ’75, the Colts shocked the NFL in their first year under head coach Ted Marchibroda, by winning their final nine games and dethroning Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins in the AFC East that the Colts occupied until 2002. In 1976, Baltimore validated that rise, winning another division crown.
AN EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE LEADS THE WAY
Bert Jones was the biggest reason for the Colts’ success. The quarterback completed 60 percent of his passes, averaged 9.0 yards per attempt and finished with an interception rate of 2.6 percent. In an era of the NFL when throwing the ball was considerably harder than it is today, every one of those stats put him in the top three of starting quarterbacks. Jones also threw 24 touchdown passes and his 3,104 passing yards led the league. He won the MVP award.
Baltimore got offensive balance from a terrific all-around running back in Lydell Mitchell. He ran for 1,200 yards in a schedule that was then just 14 games. Mitchell also caught 60 passes, leading the team in receptions.
Jones had a field-stretching receiver in Roger Carr, whose 43 catches went for an eye-popping 25.9 yard-per-catch. Glenn Doughty caught 40 balls of his own and running back Don McCauley added 34 more. The offensive line was anchored by Pro Bowl right tackle George Kunz. And the Colts finished second in the NFL for points scored.
The defense was a little more pedestrian. They had a good front line. John Dutton was a Pro Bowl defensive end, with 13 sacks. Fred Cook at the other end and Joe Ehrmann coming up the middle each had 11 sacks of their own. But the back seven was a little weaker. The Colt defense was good enough to win, but at 13th in a 28-team league for points allowed, it was an average unit collectively.
A TOUGH EARLY SCHEDULE
Baltimore opened the season at New England. The Colts trailed 6-3 in the second quarter. Jones then found Doughty on a touchdown passes from 12 and 6 yards and Baltimore moved ahead 17-6 by halftime. Jones finished 17/23 for 190 yards. But the most important stat was that Jones made no mistakes, while the Colts intercepted Patriot quarterback Steve Grogan four times, three by free safety Jackie Wallace. Baltimore won 27-13 against a team that would end up being a surprise contender.
They came home to face the Cincinnati Bengals. Jones hit Carr with a 68-yard touchdown strike. That set the stage for a back-and-forth game. Mitchell ran for 106 yards. Jones finished 14/29 for 301 yards and the Colts got the last word with a fourth-quarter touchdown in a 28-27 win. The Bengals were another team that would prove to be a contender—in fact, by December, this Week 2 result would loom large in the playoff race.
Baltimore was on the wrong end of another great game against a high-quality opponent a week later in Dallas. Playing in the late afternoon TV window, the Colts outrushed the Cowboys 184-92, Jones threw for 237 yards and Baltimore led 24-20 in the fourth quarter. But Jones was also a little erratic, going 13/31, while counterpart Roger Staubach was sharp. This time, the opponent got the last word, and Baltimore lost 30-27.
Even so, playing a schedule against three teams that would finish the regular season with a combined record of 32-10, the Colts had more than held their own.
FEASTING ON CUPCAKES
As the schedule got softer, Baltimore started piling up the Ws. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in their first year of existence and the Colts helped the Bucs along the way to what ended as a winless season. Baltimore outrushed Tampa Bay 238-76, led 24-3 by halftime and coasted to a 42-17 home win.
After several years of excellence, Miami was struggling this season and the Colts were a (-6) favorite at home. Jones went 11/14 for 177 yards, with tight end Raymond Chester catching five balls for 106 yards. Baltimore won 28-14.
They went on to Buffalo. Even though the Bills had O.J. Simpson in the backfield, they were enduring a terrible season. It was closer than the Colts would have liked after three quarters, as Baltimore clung to a 17-13 lead. But Jones went 13/22 for 207 yards, and he tossed a couple of short TD passes in the fourth quarter to pull away to a 31-13 win.
The Colts were a hefty 19-point favorite when they went to old Shea Stadium to play another bad divisional foe in the New York Jets. Jones hit Carr with a 41-yard touchdown pass to start the scoring in the first quarter. Leading 13-0 in the fourth quarter, Jones and Carr bookended their day by hooking up on a 79-yard strike. Baltimore closed the 20-0 shutout win.
A Monday Night road trip to face the subpar Houston Oilers let the Colts showcase themselves for the national audience in what was then the only prime-time game the NFL had each week. Mitchell ran for 136 yards, keying a 268-83 edge in rush yardage. Jones went 19/28 for 197 yards and no mistakes. Baltimore cruised in a 38-14 rout.
The Colts traveled west to play another bad team in San Diego and again piled up numbers. Jones went 18/25 for 275 yards. Mitchell carried 17 times for 91 yards and caught eight passes for 125 yards. Carr had a pair of TD catches. Baltimore rolled, 37-21.
A COSTLY HOME LOSS
At 8-1, the Colts were riding high. The Patriots were 6-3 and coming into old Memorial Stadium in mid-November. Baltimore could all but salt away the AFC East in a game they were a (-11) favorite.
But the afternoon didn’t go as planned. Jones couldn’t get time to throw and was sacked five times. He went 10/25 for 132 yards. Baltimore was outrushed, 205-107. In a game where all the scoring went down in the first half, the Colts lost 21-14.
The loss put Baltimore a game behind of the Oakland Raiders in the race for the #1 seed in the AFC. But there was another potential problem.
There was only one wild-card available in a three-division format in the NFL world of 1976. The Colts still led the Patriots by one game and had the tiebreaker based on division record. Baltimore was two games ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were chasing the Cincinnati Bengals. With four games to play, the odds were certainly in the Colts favor, but even making the postseason wasn’t guaranteed yet.
REGAINING CONTROL
Baltimore traveled to Miami for Monday Night Football. The Colts were able to control the line of scrimmage, winning rush yardage 163-87. Jones had a good game, going 13/20 for 234 yards. But he was again sacked five times and counterpart Bob Griese had a big game. The Colts clung to a 17-10 lead in the fourth quarter when the Dolphins scored what appeared to be the game-tying touchdown…until the extra point was missed. Baltimore escaped South Beach with a 17-16 win.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the Colts hosted the Jets. Jones opened up in the second quarter, throwing touchdown passes to McCauley, Mitchell and Carr. Baltimore was up 27-9 by halftime and closed out a 33-16 win.
Elsewhere in the league, New England was keeping pace and was still a game out. Pittsburgh had knocked off Cincinnati. That tightening division race worked in the Colts’ favor—they were now a game ahead of the Bengals and had the head-to-head tiebreaker.
CLINCHING THE PLAYOFFS; THEN THE AFC EAST
Baltimore went to St. Louis, where the Cardinals were fighting to stay in playoff contention. On an early Saturday afternoon, Baltimore was outrushed 107-62, lost four fumbles and couldn’t stop the St. Louis passing game. Jones did what he could, going 13/23 for 241 yards, but it wasn’t enough to avert a 24-17 loss.
On Sunday, the Patriots won, meaning the AFC East race would extend to the final week, even though the Colts still controlled their fate. Better news took place on Monday Night—the Bengals lost to the Raiders. It dropped Cincinnati into second place behind Pittsburgh and clinched a playoff spot for Baltimore.
There was still something to play for in the finale against Buffalo. Winning the AFC East would bring the 2-seed and a home playoff game. With a 10-3 lead in the second quarter, Jones found Doughty on a seven-yard TD pass. The game went to halftime at 20-6.
In the third quarter, Jones put the finishing touches on his MVP campaign by hitting Carr with a 36-yard touchdown pass and Chester from 26 yards. The rout was on and even with O.J. rushing for 171 yards, the Colts cruised to a 58-20 win. They were 11-3 and AFC East champs for the second straight year.
DIVISIONAL ROUND DISASTER
This was also the second straight year Baltimore would play Pittsburgh in the Divisional Round. The Colts had been competitive against the Steelers for three quarters a year ago before ultimately falling to a team that won its second straight Super Bowl. With Baltimore earning the right to play this game at home, there was hope for a better fate.
But oddsmakers were skeptical—with Pittsburgh on a nine-game winning streak and playing dominant defense, the Colts were a (+3.5) underdog on their homefield. And even that proved to be optimistic.
Playing on early Sunday afternoon, Baltimore immediately gave up a 76-yard touchdown pass. Jones threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Carr in the first quarter, and the Colts were still within 9-7. But Baltimore was getting destroyed in the trenches. They were outrushed 225-71 and Jones was sacked five times. The second quarter was a disaster. The Colts trailed 26-7 by halftime and suffered an embarrassing 40-14 loss.
The day was marred by a bizarre event—moments after the game ended, a private plane crashed into the upper deck of Memorial Stadium. The positive thing to come out of this rout was that all the fans had left early so amazingly, no one was injured and even the pilot would ultimately be okay.
THE LAST PUSH BEFORE THE SLIDE
Baltimore continued to enjoy success in 1977, winning a third straight AFC East title. But the problem of getting past the great teams at the top of the AFC in the 1970s again loomed, when they lost a classic Divisional Round game to Oakland. In 1978, Jones was injured and the Colts began a decline that ended up in their eventual relocation to Indianapolis for the 1984 season.