1977: Raiders Overcome Colts in OT of AFC Divisional Playoff

The AFC Divisional playoff game on December 24, 1977 featured the Oakland Raiders, defending NFL champions, against the Baltimore Colts, three-time AFC East title-winners who had not been able to make it past the first round in the previous two postseasons.

The Raiders, coached by John Madden, finished second in the AFC West with an 11-3 record that, while it put them behind the upstart Denver Broncos, still qualified for the playoffs as a wild card entry. While there was a gnawing feeling that Oakland was beginning to slip, the club was still formidable. The offense was more run-oriented, and FB Mark van Eeghen placed at the top of the AFC with 1273 yards while the team as a whole also led the conference in ground-gaining. With QB Ken “The Snake” Stabler (pictured above), wide receivers Cliff Branch and Fred Biletnikoff, and TE Dave Casper, the Raiders could still pass effectively.

Baltimore, under Head Coach Ted Marchibroda, had won nine of the first ten games before a late three-game losing streak nearly cost the club the division title. But the Colts finished 10-4 (beating out Miami, also 10-4 and out of the playoffs, due to a better record in the conference) and featured an explosive offense directed by QB Bert Jones, who ranked second in the NFL with 2686 passing yards, and all-purpose HB Lydell Mitchell, who ran for 1159 yards and caught a league-leading 71 passes. The defense featured a good line that recorded 47 sacks and included DT Mike Barnes and DE John Dutton.

There was a sellout crowd of 59,925 fans at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium for the Christmas Eve contest. Both teams played cautiously in the first half. Oakland HB Clarence Davis ran for a 30-yard touchdown in the first quarter on the team’s fourth possession. Colts SS Bruce Laird tied the game in the second quarter with a 61-yard interception return. Just prior to the end of the half and following a Jones pass to WR Freddie Scott for 27 yards, Toni Linhart kicked a 36-yard field goal to give Baltimore a 10-7 advantage at the intermission.

The Raiders regained the lead on their first possession of the third quarter as Stabler, following a 40-yard pass play to Branch, followed up with an eight-yard touchdown throw to Casper to cap a five-play, 70-yard drive. But the Colts came right back as WR Marshall Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards for a TD and 17-14 lead for the home team.

Laird intercepted Stabler for the second time, but the Colts couldn’t mount anything and were forced to punt. Raiders LB Ted Hendricks blocked David Lee’s kick, which was recovered by LB Jeff Barnes, and Oakland turned it to immediate advantage as Stabler again threw to Casper for a touchdown, this time covering 10 yards. The score was 21-17 in favor of the Raiders after three quarters.


Early in the fourth quarter, the Colts drove 79 yards to the Oakland one, helped along by Jones passes of 20 yards to WR Glenn Doughty and 21 yards to Mitchell, plus a pass interference call on rookie CB Lester Hayes in the end zone. The Raiders defense stiffened and stopped three straight running attempts, but on fourth down RB Ron Lee finally plunged in for a touchdown (the first of the game by the Colts offense; pictured at left) and, with the successful PAT, Baltimore was back in front at 24-21.

Oakland came back again, starting with HB Carl Garrett’s 44-yard kickoff return to midfield. Stabler threw to van Eeghen for 23 yards and then a pass interference call in the end zone moved the ball to the one yard line. From there, RB Pete Banaszak plunged over for the TD. But less than two minutes later, the Colts again took the lead in the back-and-forth game as Jones threw passes of 16 yards to Lee and 30 to ex-Raiders TE Raymond Chester. Lee, following a 14-yard carry, ran 13 yards for his second touchdown of the game and a 31-28 score.

Coming down to the last two minutes in regulation, Stabler threw a pass that Casper had to adjust his route to get to and, making an outstanding basket catch, gained 42 yards to the Baltimore 14. Three running plays failed to net a first down, and with 29 seconds remaining Errol Mann booted a 22-yard field goal to tie the score at 31-31.

The game went into overtime, and neither team was able to score in the first OT period, although Mann attempted a 48-yard field goal that was blocked. Oakland’s defense reasserted itself and, in three possessions in overtime, the Colts never advanced beyond their own 40.

Finally, the Raiders put together a 58-yard drive in which they converted two third downs along the way. One of them came on a diving catch by Branch in a third-and-19 situation following a sack as Stabler completed five of six throws. Stabler, facing a second-and-seven situation, connected with Casper for the third time with a game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass at 43 seconds into the second period of sudden death. Oakland came out the winner by a score of 37-31. It was the third-longest game in NFL history up to that time.

The Raiders outgained the Colts, 491 yards to 301, but also turned the ball over four times, to none suffered by Baltimore. But while the Colts rushed for 187 yards (to 167 for Oakland), the Raiders defense held Baltimore’s potent passing attack to just 114 yards, sacking Bert Jones six times.


Ken Stabler completed 21 of 40 passes for 345 yards with three touchdowns against two interceptions (both by Bruce Laird). The 34-year-old veteran Fred Biletnikoff led the Raiders with 7 catches for 88 yards while Cliff Branch gained 113 yards on his 6 receptions. Of course, all four of Dave Casper’s catches were big ones, with the three TDs and the long reception that set up the game-tying field goal in the fourth quarter; he gained 70 yards (Casper pictured at right). Mark van Eeghen paced the running attack with 76 yards on 19 attempts.

Bert Jones (pictured at bottom) had a rough day against the rugged Raider defense as he completed just 12 of 26 passes for 164 yards with no touchdowns, although he also had none intercepted. Lydell Mitchell led the Colts with 67 rushing yards on 23 carries and also caught three passes for 39 yards. Freddie Scott gained 45 yards on his two receptions.

“My line gave me plenty of time," Jones said afterward. "But so often there was nobody to get the ball to. They covered us perfectly.”

“I don't know if it was the toughest game I've ever been in but it was a frustrating one,” Dave Casper summed up. “We'd go ahead and then they'd go ahead. It seemed like it would go on that way forever.”

As for playing for the touchdown in overtime rather than a field goal, John Madden said, “It was second down and I figured we'd go for the touchdown. If that failed, I was going to put Pete Banaszak in for the third down, and if we didn't score or get the first down on that, we'd kick a field goal.”

Oakland went on to lose the AFC Championship game to Denver by a 20-17 score. With significant injuries striking down Bert Jones, who had played so well during the three-year stretch from 1975-77, the Colts collapsed in 1978. The loss to the Raiders proved to be the franchise’s last postseason appearance in Baltimore – by the time the Colts next appeared in a playoff game ten years later, following the 1987 season, they were located in Indianapolis.

1975: Bert Jones & Colts Overwhelm Jets & Joe Namath

The Baltimore Colts had fallen on hard times since winning the Super Bowl following the 1970 season. Outstanding players like QB Johnny Unitas, HB Tom Matte, TE John Mackey, WR Jimmy Orr, DT Billy Ray Smith, DE Bubba Smith, and safety Jerry Logan were gone. Joe Thomas had been brought in as general manager in order to deconstruct and rebuild, and the rebuilding was moving along far too slowly for Colts fans used to winning. The club had gone 11-31 from 1972-74, and was off to a 1-4 start in 1975 under new Head Coach Ted Marchibroda as they traveled to New York to take on the Jets at Shea Stadium on October 26.

The Jets had fallen on hard times as well. Since winning the AFL title in 1968 and upending the Colts in the Super Bowl, and then making it to the postseason again in ’69, New York had only twice done as well as .500 (including their 7-7 tally in ’74). Weeb Ewbank, the head coach and GM who had built the team into a winner, retired following the ’73 season, and was succeeded by Charley Winner. Franchise QB Joe Namath had suffered through injury-riddled years in 1970, ’71, and ’73, but when healthy he was still productive. He had played out his option and flirted with the World Football League, but Broadway Joe was back for an 11th season at age 32. The club was 2-3 thus far in 1975.

HB Carl Garrett fumbled on each of New York’s first two possessions, thus helping to put the Jets behind by two touchdowns early on. Garrett fumbled initially on the first play from scrimmage, and three plays later Colts QB Bert Jones (pictured above) ran for a 15-yard TD with just over a minute run off the clock. On the fourth play of the next possession, Garrett lost the ball again to set up a two-yard touchdown run by Baltimore RB Don McCauley five plays afterward. The score remained 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second period, the Jets got on the board as Namath tossed a 42-yard touchdown pass to WR Jerome Barkum. However, Jones brought the Colts right back and, on a play in which he scrambled to buy time, hit rookie WR Marshall Johnson with a 15-yard TD pass (it was Johnson’s first NFL catch as well as score).

On the next possession, Namath hit WR Eddie Bell for a 22-yard gain. A pass interference penalty on Colts CB Nelson Munsey gave New York a first down on the one yard line, and Namath threw a short TD pass to Barkum.

With just 24 seconds left in the half, Jones passed the Colts into scoring position and on the last play Toni Linhart booted a 36-yard field goal. Baltimore went into halftime with a 24-14 lead.

In the third quarter, the Colts extended the lead to 31-14 when Jones connected with Johnson again for a 68-yard touchdown. Not to be outdone in the big-play department, the Jets responded with a 91-yard pass play from Namath to TE Rich Caster to the New York one yard line (it was the longest play from scrimmage in the franchise’s history). From there, FB John Riggins fumbled into the end zone where TE Willie Brister recovered for a TD. The Colts led by 31-21 after three quarters.

Namath threw his only interception early in the fourth quarter, and it was a costly one as Colts safety Jackie Wallace returned it 38 yards for a TD and 38-21 lead that essentially sealed the game. Namath threw one more TD pass, of 22 yards to Bell. But later the Jets failed to get a first down on fourth-and-one at their own 20 and the Colts put the final nail in the coffin as RB Lydell Mitchell ran for a touchdown from there. The final score was a decisive 45-28 in favor of Baltimore.

The Colts gained 400 total yards to 341 for the Jets, who were undone by the three key turnovers while Baltimore suffered none. A gritty performance by Joe Namath was wasted – while he completed 19 of 28 passes for 333 yards with three touchdowns and the one interception, he was sacked seven times for 74 yards.

The Jets gained just 82 yards on 28 rushes, as Carl Garrett led the club with 33 yards on 10 carries (which hardly made up for the two early fumbles). John Riggins, who was held to 23 yards on 11 attempts, led the team with 6 catches, for 66 yards. Rich Caster gained 115 yards on three catches while Jerome Barkum added 71 yards on four receptions with two TDs.


Third-year QB Bert Jones gave notice of his steady improvement as he completed 17 of 25 passes for 209 yards with two touchdowns against no interceptions; he also ran for 27 yards on three carries that included a TD. Marshall Johnson (pictured at left) caught three passes for 105 yards and the two scores, while WR Glenn Doughty grabbed 5 for 44 yards and Don McCauley four for 22.

The Colts ran all over the Jets, gaining 212 yards. Lydell Mitchell led the way with 98 yards on 14 attempts and the one TD.

“I threw the ball perfectly today,” said Bert Jones afterward. “The offensive line is the key. It's enabled me to do a lot of things that I want to do. It gives me all sorts of opportunities to throw what I want...and today I did it.” As to Namath, he added, “Joe is the best there is. In fact, I think he's the best there ever was.”

For his part, Namath said, “I was impressed with their front four,” Referring specifically to DE Fred Cook and DT Mike Barnes, he added, “I thought two of them were part of my backfield.”

“We got in a hole early, but the defense has to rise to the occasion, doesn't it?” said a disgusted Coach Charley Winner. “When you have your backs to the wall you have to stop them once in a while and make them settle for a field goal at least. We just simply didn't stop anyone.”

The two teams moved in markedly different directions over the remainder of the year. Baltimore didn’t lose again for the rest of the regular season, a total of nine straight, to win the AFC East with a 10-4 record. The Colts lost to Pittsburgh in the Divisional playoff round. Meanwhile, the Jets won only once more to go 3-11 and tie for last in the division with the Patriots. Charley Winner was dismissed and replaced by Ken Shipp before it was all over.

For Bert Jones, it was a breakout season as he responded well to ex-quarterback Marchibroda’s coaching and the solidifying of the offensive line. He passed for 2483 yards with 18 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions; his 2.3 % interception percentage ranked as the lowest in the NFL. His completion percentage of 59.0 ranked third.

Joe Namath (pictured below) threw for 2286 yards and 15 touchdowns. While his 14.6 yards per completion topped the NFL, so did his 28 interceptions. The weaknesses of the team around him, exposed by the Colts, were too much to overcome.

Marshall Johnson caught just one more pass in 1975 and totaled only five for his three-year NFL career, all with the Colts. He was primarily used as a kick returner in the end.