| Team: | Baltimore Colts |
| Year: | 1975 |
| Record: | 10–4 |
| Division Place: | T-1st AFC East |
| Coach: | Ted Marchibroda |
| Owner: | Robert Irsay |
| General Manager: | Joe Thomas |
| Stadium: | Memorial Stadium |
| Playoffs: | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 10–28 |
| Pro Bowlers: | T George Kunz RB Lydell Mitchell DE John Dutton |
| Shortnavlink: | Colts seasons |
The 1975 Baltimore Colts season was the 23rd season for the team in the National Football League. Under first-year head coach Ted Marchibroda, the Colts finished the 1975 season with 10 wins and 4 losses, and tied for first in the AFC East division with the 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 coach Don 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 as The Miracle on 33rd Street.
This was the first of three consecutive AFC East titles for the Colts. Hired in January, Marchibroda was previously the offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins under head coach George Allen.[3] The 1975 Colts coaching staff included 23-year-old assistant Bill Belichick, his first association with an NFL team and first coaching position.
See main article: 1975 NFL draft.
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ken Huff | G | North Carolina | ||
| align=center rowspan="2" | 3 | 53 | Mike Washington | CB | Alabama | |
| 56 | Dave Pear | DT | Washington | |||
| align=center rowspan="2" | 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 | |||
| align=center rowspan="3" | 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 | ||
| align=center rowspan="3" | 16 | 392 | Bill Malouf | QB | Ole Miss | |
| 399 | Mike Evavold | DT | MacAlester | |||
| 416 | Robert Smith | DB | Maryland | |||
| align=center rowspan="3" | 17 | 417 | David McKnight | LB | Georgia | |
| 426 | Mike Bengard | DE | Northwestern (Iowa) | |||
| 440 | Frank Russel | WR | Maryland |
See main article: 1975 NFL season.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21 | at Chicago 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 | at Los 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 | at New England Patriots | L 10–21 | 1–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 51,417 | Recap | |
| 6 | October 26 | at New 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 | at Buffalo 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 | at Miami 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 | at New York Giants | W 21–0 | 8–4 | Shea Stadium | 49,863 | Recap | |
| 13 | December 14 | Miami Dolphins | W 10–7 | 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 in bold text. | ||||||||
See main article: 1975–76 NFL playoffs. The team made it to the playoffs as a No. 3 seed and traveled to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers 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]