# 1977 Baltimore Colts season

The 1977 Baltimore Colts season was the 25th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with 10 wins and 4 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the Miami Dolphins. The Colts had the tiebreaker over Miami based on better conference record (9–3 to 8–4), and the Dolphins missed the playoffs.
This was the final playoff appearance for the Colts as a Baltimore-based franchise. They would not make the playoffs again, or have a winning season, until ten years later in 1987, by which time the team moved to Indianapolis. As well, it would be the franchise's last playoff appearance in a non-strike year until 1995, and the team's last 10-win season until 1999, Peyton Manning's 2nd season. A Baltimore-based NFL team would not make the playoffs until the Ravens in 2000, winners of Super Bowl XXXV.

## Offseason

Colts' owner Robert Irsay fired general manager Joe Thomas in January 1977, due to a power struggle he was having with head coach Ted Marchibroda. The new general manager was former Colts center Dick Szymanski, who was the personnel director and a former scout.

### NFL draft

1977 Baltimore Colts draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 26 | Randy Burke | Wide receiver | Kentucky | |
| 2 | 53 | Mike Ozdowski | Defensive end | Virginia | |
| 6 | 168 | Calvin O'Neal | Linebacker | Michigan | Would play for the Colts in 1978. |
| 7 | 193 | Blanchard Carter | Offensive tackle | UNLV | Would play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 8 | 220 | Ken Helms | Offensive tackle | Georgia | |
| 9 | 247 | Glen Capriola | Running back | Boston College | |
| 10 | 277 | Ron Baker | Guard | Oklahoma State | |
| 11 | 304 | Brian Ruff | Linebacker | The Citadel | |
| 12 | 331 | Bill Deutsch | Running back | North Dakota | |
| Made roster ||||||

## Personnel
### Roster

    Source:

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 18 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 29–14 | 1–0 | Kingdome | 58,991 |
| 2 | September 25 | at New York Jets | W 20–12 | 2–0 | Giants Stadium | 43,439 |
| 3 | October 2 | Buffalo Bills | W 17–14 | 3–0 | Memorial Stadium | 49,247 |
| 4 | October 9 | Miami Dolphins | W 45–28 | 4–0 | Memorial Stadium | 57,829 |
| 5 | October 16 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–6 | 5–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 63,076 |
| 6 | October 23 | at New England Patriots | L 3–17 | 5–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,958 |
| 7 | October 30 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 31–21 | 6–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,225 |
| 8 | November 7 | Washington Redskins | W 10–3 | 7–1 | Memorial Stadium | 57,740 |
| 9 | November 13 | at Buffalo Bills | W 31–13 | 8–1 | Rich Stadium | 39,444 |
| 10 | November 20 | New York Jets | W 33–12 | 9–1 | Memorial Stadium | 50,957 |
| 11 | November 27 | at Denver Broncos | L 13–27 | 9–2 | Mile High Stadium | 74,939 |
| 12 | December 5 | at Miami Dolphins | L 6–17 | 9–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 68,977 |
| 13 | December 11 | Detroit Lions | L 10–13 | 9–4 | Memorial Stadium | 45,124 |
| 14 | December 18 | New England Patriots | W 30–24 | 10–4 | Memorial Stadium | 42,250 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Colts | 7 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 29 |
| Seahawks | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
* Lydell Mitchell 32 Rush, 114 Yds

#### Week 2 at Jets

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
| Jets | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
* Date: September 25
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 55 °F or 12.8 °C
* Game attendance: 43,439
Game information :
First quarter
BAL – Roosevelt Leaks 6-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 7–0. Drive:
Second quarter
BAL – Don McCauley 2-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 14–0. Drive:
NYJ – Pat Leahy 25-yard field goal. Colts 14–3. Drive:
Third quarter
BAL – Don McCauley 1-yard run (Toni Linhart kick). Colts 21–3. Drive:
Fourth quarter
NYJ – Safety, David Lee ran out of end zone. Colts 21–5.
NYJ – Charlie White 1-yard run (Pat Leahy kick). Colts 21–12. Drive:
Top passers
BAL – Bert Jones – 9/15, 78 yards, INT
NYJ – Richard Todd – 13/22, 140 yards, 2 INT
Top rushers
BAL – Lydell Mitchell – 26 rushes, 68 yards
NYJ – Charlie White – 12 rushes, 36 yards, TD
Top receivers
BAL – Don McCauley – 5 receptions, 40 yards
NYJ – Clark Gaines – 6 receptions, 47 yards :

#### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bills | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Colts | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dolphins | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| • Colts | 10 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 45 |

#### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Colts | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| Chiefs | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

#### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| • Patriots | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 17 |

#### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| • Colts | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Colts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

#### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Colts | 10 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Bills | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |

#### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| • Colts | 6 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 33 |

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| • Broncos | 7 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 27 |

#### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • Dolphins | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

#### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Lions | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
| Colts | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots | 0 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| • Colts | 0 | 3 | 13 | 14 | 30 |

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Baltimore Colts$^{(2)}$ | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 295 | 221 | W1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 313 | 197 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 4–4 | 7–5 | 278 | 217 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 2–10 | 191 | 300 | L2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 2–10 | 160 | 313 | L1 |

## Playoffs

Baltimore made it to the AFC playoffs as a No. 2 seed and hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Oakland Raiders in the divisional round. The Colts held a 31–28 lead with time running out, when the famous “Ghost to the Post” play to tight end Dave Casper advanced the Raiders to the Baltimore 14-yard line, where Errol Mann kicked the tying field goal to send the contest into overtime. After the first overtime went scoreless, Casper caught a 10-yard touchdown pass 43 seconds into the period to win the game for the Raiders.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Divisional | December 24 | Oakland Raiders (4) | L 31–37$^{2OT}$ | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,763 |

### Divisional

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| • Raiders | 7 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 37 |
| Colts | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 31 |