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
Undrafted free agents
+ 1977 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeBrian SikorskiQuarterbackVillanova
Personnel Staff
Roster
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 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 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: at Seattle Seahawks
Week 2 at Jets
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Standings
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 L 31–37 0–1 Memorial Stadium 60,763
Divisional
See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry
References
External links
John Facenda (narrator), "The 1977 Baltimore Colts Season: Return to Glory," NFL Films via YouTube.com, June 24, 2019 (Video.)