| 1975 Baltimore Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Robert Irsay |
| General manager | Joe Thomas |
| Head coach | Ted Marchibroda |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–4 |
| Division place | T-1stAFC East |
| Playoffs | LostDivisional Playoffs (atSteelers) 10–28 |
| Pro Bowlers | TGeorge Kunz RBLydell Mitchell DEJohn Dutton |
The 1975Baltimore Colts season was the 23rd season for the team in theNational Football League. Under first-year head coachTed Marchibroda, the Colts finished the1975 season with 10 wins and 4 losses, and tied for first in theAFC East division withthe Miami Dolphins; Baltimore won the division tiebreaker based on a head-to-head sweep of Miami — the first sweep of the Dolphins in their six years under head coachDon Shula.[1][2]
The Colts won their opener, lost four straight, then swept their final nine games and narrowly edged the Dolphins for the division title.[2] The turnaround season became forever known by Colts fans afterward asThe Miracle on 33rd Street.
This was the first of three consecutive AFC East titles for the Colts. Hired in January, Marchibroda was previously theoffensive coordinator for theWashington Redskins under head coachGeorge Allen.[3] The 1975 Colts coaching staff included 23-year-old assistantBill Belichick, his first association with an NFL team and first coaching position.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ken Huff | G | North Carolina | |
| 3 | 53 | Mike Washington | CB | Alabama | |
| 56 | Dave Pear | DT | Washington | ||
| 4 | 80 | Marshall Johnson | WR | Houston | |
| 93 | Paul Linford | DT | BYU | ||
| 5 | 105 | Roosevelt Leaks | RB | Texas | |
| 6 | 131 | Don Westbrook | WR | Nebraska | |
| 7 | 157 | Kim Jones | RB | Colorado State | |
| 160 | Steve Joachim | QB | Temple | ||
| 168 | Derrel Luce | LB | Baylor | ||
| 8 | 184 | John Bushong | DE | Western Kentucky | |
| 187 | Greg Denboer | TE | Michigan | ||
| 192 | Mario Cage | RB | Northwestern Louisiana | ||
| 9 | 209 | Royce McKinney | DB | Kentucky State | |
| 10 | 236 | Phil Waganheim | P | Maryland | |
| 11 | 261 | David Hazel | WR | Ohio State | |
| 12 | 288 | Brad Storm | LB | Iowa State | |
| 13 | 313 | John Roman | G | Idaho State | |
| 14 | 340 | Mike Smith | C | SMU | |
| 15 | 365 | John Goodie | RB | Langston | |
| 16 | 392 | Bill Malouf | QB | Ole Miss | |
| 399 | Mike Evavold | DT | MacAlester | ||
| 416 | Robert Smith | DB | Maryland | ||
| 17 | 417 | David McKnight | LB | Georgia | |
| 426 | Mike Bengard | DE | Northwestern (Iowa) | ||
| 440 | Frank Russel | WR | Maryland |
| 1975 Baltimore Colts staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB) Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Reserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21 | atChicago Bears | W 35–7 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 54,152 | Recap |
| 2 | September 28 | Oakland Raiders | L 20–31 | 1–1 | Memorial Stadium | 40,657 | Recap |
| 3 | October 5 | atLos Angeles Rams | L 13–24 | 1–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 62,491 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | Buffalo Bills | L 31–38 | 1–3 | Memorial Stadium | 43,907 | Recap |
| 5 | October 19 | atNew England Patriots | L 10–21 | 1–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 51,417 | Recap |
| 6 | October 26 | atNew York Jets | W 45–28 | 2–4 | Shea Stadium | 55,137 | Recap |
| 7 | November 2 | Cleveland Browns | W 21–7 | 3–4 | Memorial Stadium | 35,235 | Recap |
| 8 | November 9 | atBuffalo Bills | W 42–35 | 4–4 | Rich Stadium | 77,320 | Recap |
| 9 | November 16 | New York Jets | W 52–19 | 5–4 | Memorial Stadium | 52,097 | Recap |
| 10 | November 23 | atMiami Dolphins | W 33–17 | 6–4 | Orange Bowl | 61,986 | Recap |
| 11 | November 30 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 28–14 | 7–4 | Memorial Stadium | 42,122 | Recap |
| 12 | December 7 | atNew York Giants | W 21–0 | 8–4 | Shea Stadium | 49,863 | Recap |
| 13 | December 14 | Miami Dolphins | W 10–7OT | 9–4 | Memorial Stadium | 59,398 | Recap |
| 14 | December 21 | New England Patriots | W 34–21 | 10–4 | Memorial Stadium | 48,678 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Baltimore Colts(3) | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–3 | 395 | 269 | W9 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 7–4 | 357 | 222 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 5–3 | 7–4 | 420 | 355 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 3–8 | 258 | 433 | L2 |
| New England Patriots | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 1–7 | 2–9 | 258 | 358 | L6 |
The team made it to theplayoffs as a No. 3 seed and traveled toPittsburgh to play theSteelers in the divisional round. Tied at seven at the half, Pittsburgh outscored the Colts 21–3 in the second half. The Steelers defense forced four turnovers and held the Colts to 154 total yards of offense in their 28–10 win.[4][5][6]
| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 27 | atPittsburgh Steelers (1) | L 10–28 | Three Rivers Stadium | 49,053 | Recap |
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| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Division championships (16) | |
| Conference championships (7) | |
| League championships (5) | |
| Retired numbers | |
| Media | |
| Current league affiliations |
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