The 1976 Baltimore Colts season was the 24th season for the team in the National Football League. Led by second-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished with a record of 11 wins and 3 losses, tied for first in the AFC East division with the New England Patriots.[1] Baltimore won the AFC East title based on a better division record (7–1 to Patriots' 6–2).
Marchibroda, the reigning NFL coach of the year, resigned a week before the regular season opener, due to a power struggle with general manager Joe Thomas and owner Robert Irsay.[2] Baltimore had won its first two preseason games, then dropped the final four.[2] Several Colts assistant coaches threatened to leave the team, and quarterback Bert Jones publicly came to his coach's defense.[3] Thomas and Irsay quickly made amends with the coach before the season started.[4][5][6][7] (Thomas would be fired by the team shortly after the season.)
The Colts’ offense was dominant in 1976: they led the league in scoring with 417 points (29.7 per game). Jones was named league MVP after passing for a league-best 3,104 yards, 9.27 yards-per-attempt, and a passer rating of 102.5, second best in the NFL. Running back Lydell Mitchell also had a spectacular year, rushing for 1,200 yards,[8] and catching 60 passes. Wide receiver Roger Carr proved to be a valuable deep threat in the passing game, leading the league with 1,112 receiving yards and 25.9 yards per reception.[9] All three offensive players made the Pro Bowl team.
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The team returned to the playoffs as a No. 2 seed and hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round. The Colts fell behind 26–7 at the half, and lost 40–14.[11] This game is better remembered for the post-game crash of a private plane into an unoccupied section of Memorial Stadium.[12][13][14][15]