1968 Baltimore Colts season

NFL draft

Main article: 1968 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

Roster

• Timmy Brown

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings

First quarter

• BAL — Terry Cole 1-yard rush (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 7–0 Second quarter
• BAL — Willie Richardson 39-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 14–0
• BAL — Tom Mitchell 18-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 21–0
• MIN — Fred Cox 43-yard field goal. Colts 21–3 Third quarter
• MIN — Fred Cox 36-yard field goal. Colts 21–6 Fourth quarter
• MIN — Fred Cox 31-yard field goal. Colts 21–9 Top passers
• BAL — Earl Morrall — 17/24, 259 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
• MIN — Gary Cuozzo — 12/18, 141 yards Top rushers
• BAL — Terry Cole — 20 rushes, 71 yards, TD
• MIN — Clinton Jones — 10 rushes, 53 yards Top receivers
• BAL — Willie Richardson — 6 receptions, 150 yards, TD
• MIN — John Beasley — 6 receptions, 79 yards This would be the last occasion the Colts hosted the Vikings in the regular season until 2000 in Indianapolis. The intervening gap — following the playoff meeting between the same teams at the same venue — of 31 seasons constitutes the second-longest gap without one team visiting another in NFL history.

Standings

Post-season

The team made it to the playoffs as winners of the Coastal division and hosted the Minnesota Vikings of the Central division for the Western Conference title. The Colts took a 21–0 lead and went on to win 24–14. They then traveled to Cleveland to take on the Browns in the NFL Championship Game. Baltimore's only loss of the season came at home to the Browns in October, falling 20–30. In late December, the Colts defense was on top of their game as they shut out the Browns 34–0 to gain their third NFL title. The 1968 Colts were being touted as "the greatest football team in history."

In Super Bowl III, the Colts took on the heavy underdog New York Jets led by quarterback Joe Namath, with the Colts favored by points. Before the game, former NFL star and coach Norm Van Brocklin ridiculed the AFL, saying "This will be Namath's first professional football game." Three days before the game, Namath was being heckled in Miami and he responded by saying: "We’re going to win Sunday. I guarantee it." The Jets beat the Colts 16–7 in one of the biggest upsets in American sports history.

Perhaps the biggest effect of the Colts' loss is that the predominant sentiment that the AFL was not strong enough to merge with the NFL was firmly squelched.

Conference Playoff: vs. Minnesota Vikings

• No scoring plays Second quarter
• BAL — Tom Mitchell 3-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 7–0 Third quarter
• BAL – John Mackey 49-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 14–0
• BAL — Mike Curtis 60-yard defensive fumble return (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 21–0 Fourth quarter
• MIN — Billy Martin 1-yard pass from Joe Kapp (Fred Cox kick). Colts 21–7
• BAL — Lou Michaels 33-yard field goal. Colts 24–7
• MIN — Bill Brown 7-yard pass from Joe Kapp (Fred Cox kick). Colts 24–14|stats=Top passers
• BAL — Earl Morrall — 13/22, 280 yards, 2 TD, INT
• MIN — Joe Kapp — 26/44, 287 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers
• BAL — Tom Matte — 14 rushes, 31 yards
• MIN — Joe Kapp — 10 rushes, 52 yards Top receivers
• BAL — Willie Richardson — 6 receptions, 148 yards
• MIN — Gene Washington — 5 receptions, 95 yards}}Following upon their last regular-season visit to the Colts for 32 years, the Vikings would visit the Colts for the last time in a competition game until 2000 in their first-ever postseason appearance.

Awards

• Earl Morrall: AP NFL MVP
• Don Shula: AP NFL Coach of the Year

Notes

References

References

1. "Baltimore Colts" in Al Silverman (ed.), ''Pro Football Almanac, 1969.'' New York: McFadden-Bartell Corp., 1969, pp. 60-61.
2. Strickler, George. (January 13, 1969). "Jets score Super upset over Colts". Chicago Tribune.
3. "The Baltimore Colts 1968 NFL Championship Ring That Wasn't « Sports-Rings.com – Blog".
4. "Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore Colts — November 24th, 1968".
5. Urena, Ivan. (2014). "Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present". [[McFarland & Company]].
6. Bledsoe, Terry. (December 23, 1968). "Kapp, the tough Viking, finds Colts even tougher". Milwaukee Journal.
7. (October 21, 1968). "Browns prove Colts are human". Toledo Blade.
8. (October 21, 1968). "Browns hand Colts first loss". Milwaukee Sentinel.
9. Strickler, George. (December 30, 1968). "Colts crush Browns for NFL title". Chicago Tribune.
10. Scholl, Bill. (December 30, 1968). "Colts gain revenge, wallop Browns, 34–0, to win National League crown". Youngstown Vindicator.
11. Hannen, John. (January 30, 1968). "Colts' Matte returned home to KO Cleveland". Toledo Blade.
12. Strickler, George. (January 10, 1969). "Colts soar to 21-point favorites". Chicago Tribune.
13. (January 12, 1969). "Jets' Namath carries hopes for AFL prestige today". Spokesman-Review.
14. (January 11, 1969). "Quarterbacks Super Bowl topics". Spokesman-Review.
15. Dorman, Larry. (January 15, 1989). "A guarantee of greatness". Reading Eagle.
16. Zinser, Lynn. (May 25, 2012). "Pregame Talk Is Cheap, but This Vow Resonates". The New York Times.
17. Funk, Ben. (January 13, 1969). "Jets make believers out of Colts, NFL". Eugene Register-Guard.
18. "Divisional Round — Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore Colts — December 22nd, 1968".