Dumb Decisions: The STUPIDEST Punt EVER | Lions @ Colts (1977)

If you thought the infamous Colts fake punt from their 2015 game against the Patriots was the worst special teams play that the team ever ran... oh no. Not even close. In a 1977 game against the Detroit Lions, the Baltimore Colts had the game won. All they had to do was take an intentional safety, and they would win the game and have sole possession of first place in the AFC East. Instead, Ted Marchibroda makes an absolutely dumb decision. This is a breakdown of that play
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#nfl #colts #nflthrowback
Players on the 1977 Colts:
Bert Jones
Mike Kirkland
Bill Troup
Roosevelt Leaks
Ron Lee
Don McCauley
Lydell Mitchell
Howard Stevens
Roger Carr
Glenn Doughty
Perry Griggs
Marshall Johnson
Howard Satterwhite
Freddie Scott
Ricky Thompson
Mack Alston
Raymond Chester
Jimmie Kennedy
Forrest Blue
Elmer Collett
Wade Griffin
Ken Huff
George Kunz
Ken Mendenhall
Robert Pratt
David Taylor
Bob Van Duyne
Mike Barnes
Fred Cook
John Dutton
Joe Ehrmann
Ron Fernandes
Greg Johnson
Ken Novak
Dan Dickel
Derrel Luce
Tom MacLeod
Sanders Shiver
Ed Simonini
Stan White
Tim Baylor
Lyle Blackwood
Bruce Laird
Lloyd Mumphord
Nelson Munsey
Doug Nettles
Ray Oldham
Norm Thompson
Toni Linhart
David Lee
Ted Marchibroda (coach)

[@Plasmawarrior]

My old football coach actually practiced taking a safety when you're up by 3 or more and make sure that time ran out if you had to.

[@chadwickwhite6107]

I blame Robert Irsay for ALL of THIS!!!

[@orangewomanbad693]

When your gut instinct tells you this play won't work. Your gut is smarter than a head coach.

[@rjsweda]

congratulations on your anouncemnt & thanks for fun videos!

[@ricenglish4556]

Leonard Thompson, who blocked the punt, went on to become a fine Receiver for the Lions. His blinding 4.3 speed made him a threat on everything.

[@Fireyninjadog]

Bill belichick was on the Lions Coaching staff in 1976 and 1977. His first nfl job? 1975, with the colts

[@toddy2914]

Another thing here is... the offense is 100% free to commit penalties while giving up an intentional safety. Simply grab - hold - tackle the defensive player in front of you, and thus massively reduce the chances of some fluke thing going wrong (such as the retreating player stumbling and being caught). This is pretty advanced stuff for the 1970s though. And in the Colts defense, at least they didn't run a Sam Wyche sweep run!

[@briankohl7431]

I am surprised that the Lions didn't do this. It seems so like them.

[@richardsiemion5903]

I was surprised too but sometimes we get the good end of a dumb play. Like Atlanta’s accidental TD a few years ago.

[@davidlafleche1142]

I was just gonna say...! The LIONS actually WON a game because of a stupid decision?

[@briankohl7431]

@@davidlafleche1142 we finished with a winning record and we didn't make the dumb play in this video. I am going out to buy lottery tickets. 😀

[@davidlafleche1142]

@@briankohl7431 That's what I'm saying! SOMEBODY ELSE did it!

[@briankohl7431]

@@davidlafleche1142 Us Lions fans are so damn jaded but maybe next year.

[@matthewconnors1011]

There is a reason it's called a safety.

[@themedianman9712]

I scrolled down to make this comment. You saved me the time. Actually no, this comment is longer. But yeah...that was the funny part of the video to me.

[@Jason_Maier]

Ah Toni Linhart missing a chip shot field goal .... and being cut later after a contract extension (I've seen that video). But of course, that one time he was an pinch hitter for the injured Pat Leahy ... and missed two PAT's (one of a very few to do so in one game) in a game the Jets lost 14-12.

[@mjdntn]

I remember watching this as a kid back in Michigan. I remember how shocked and ecstatic we were when it happened.

[@stephaniegormley9982]

The Lions later thanked Marchibroda. After Baltimore fired him, the Lions hired him as an offensive coordinator. He was also a Detroit native.

[@Bacalao2929]

And was the player the Steelers kept while cutting Johnny U

[@andrewyoung2796]

We'll take the wind -- Wayne Fontes

[@jerryalexander8803]

The Lions choosing to take the wind in overtime in a game against the bears instead of choosing to receive the ball has be one of the dumbest decisions

[@MikelineTV]

More like the stupidest interception prior to the punt blocked for a TD

[@CTubeMan]

If the Colts had taken the safety and no further scoring happened the final would’ve been 10-8. I looked up to see if that would have been a Scorigami. What I discovered was that two years later there actually was a 10-8 score, which was achieved when the winning team took a safety at the end of the game. The team that took the safety was...wait for it...the Baltimore Colts! FTR, they played the Jets that day.

[@SteelerFanInRI]

I LOVE Scorigami!

[@gregorycyr9272]

I remember that Jets-Colts game.Watched it from Binghamton NY.Colts fan here.

[@daviddechamplain5718]

At least they learned something...

[@rslitman]

A final score with an 8 is more common these days with the 2-point conversion, although a team that had been trailing 10-0 before the TD likely wouldn't go for 2. Still, it could happen if the weather conditions make a kicked conversion difficult. A team being shut out by a wider margin, however, could indeed conceivably go for 2 after their first TD.

[@ronbowlingjr6122]

I know why. The Colts loss eliminated the possibility of a three way tie between the Patriots Dolphins and Colts in which the Patriots held the tiebreaker. I think Marchibroda held a grudge against Chuck Fairbanks of the patriots so by losing the game the Colts still had a chance to win the division however the Patriots would have to beat the Colts the next week and hope the Dolphins lost to the Bills which didn't happen

[@astrostar49]

Oh you should do a video on how in the final season of 1984, the Buccaneers did everything in their power to try and get the newly eclipsed scrimmage yardage record for running back James Wilder. Eric Dickerson broke OJ Simpson's mark a couple of days prior, and against the Jets in the final regular season game, the Buccaneers went to absurd lengths to try and help Wilder. This didn't work, and the Jets were so ticked off, that the following year when they happened to play each other again, the Jets ran up the score in a 62-28 thrashing. Bucs head coach Tom McKay was also fined 10k by the league!

[@SteelerFanInRI]

I hope he sees this; I wanna hear about this story!

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

I've had that on my bucket list for a while. The bad news is I can't find any footage from that game. The moment I'm able to find footage, we're doing that for sure

[@eugenedenbrook322]

I actually remember that. Seems to me, they pretty much ran Wilder into the ground over a couple seasons.

[@astrostar49]

@@eugenedenbrook322 Yeah it's a shame. I think he could have easily had a HOF career if he played on a team like the 49ers, Redskins, or Dolphins instead of languishing with Tampa.

[@bobcarp1239]

When was the last time you saw a number 49 punt....?

[@ryans6969]

I saw the title and assumed it was the lions who punted

[@SteelerFanInRI]

Me too lol; I never expect a Dumb Decisions involving the Lions to not be about them 🤣

[@zachshipstead5247]

I was shocked to learn it wasn't the lions

[@phoggknight6714]

@@SteelerFanInRI The sad irony is, both teams were better off losing. The lowly Lions had nothing to gain and would have positioned themselves better in the draft. Baltimore benefitted themselves by eliminating New England in the odd tiebreaker situation with the Dolphins and Patriots. The only dumb decision was the Lions accepting this Trojan horse.

[@jayschafer1760]

@@phoggknight6714 It's rare that the Lions are more than 4 or 5 games into a season where they aren't better off losing and tanking for draft position. If you haven't yet heard the, "Well, I guess we'll get a good draft pick this year," refrain from Lions fans by the time Halloween costumes are being advertised, something is probably wrong.

[@rslitman]

I saw an intentional safety near the end of a late 1970s Monday night game between Washington and Dallas, although it was on a scrimmage play, not a punt. With Washington leading 9-3, their QB Joe Theismann ran out of the end zone for a final score of 9-5.

[@kyle1910]

One weird effect from this game was that NE no longer controlled their own destiny. If the Colts had held on then NE would have won the AFC Esst just by beating BAL the next week. But with this result NE needed a win at Baltimore plus MIA to lose or tie at home to a 3-win Buffalo team the day before.

[@danielschmude]

The blocked punt ended up benefiting the Colts, because it knocked New England (their next opponent who they had to beat) out of playoff contention. Baltimore (9-3) started their home games at an odd time, 2 PM. New England (8-4) and Miami (9-3) started at 1 PM. So, by 4 PM (the middle of the third quarter), the Colts knew that New England had beaten Miami, rendering the rest of the Detroit game meaningless for the Colts. But it was meaningful for New England, because they needed the Colts to beat the Lions in order to stay in realistic contention for the AFC East title. Miami had an easy week 14 game, and New England would win a 3-way tiebreaker, but Miami would win a 2-way tiebreaker with New England, and Baltimore would win a 2-way tiebreaker with Miami. So, by losing to Detroit, the Colts eliminated the possibility of a 3-way tie, thereby knocking New England out of realistic contention. New England was pissed off though, and they took their frustrations out on the Colts in that week 14 game for about 2-1/2 quarters. They were leading 21-3 when Bert Jones began to engineer a big comeback. It was 24-23 New England with about 3-1/2 minutes left in the game when Jones fumbled on the New England 5 yard line. But the refs made a horrible call and ruled Jones down. That ought to be the subject of a "Worst Call Ever" episode of JaguarGator9. The Colts went on to win the game (30-24) and the division via a 2-way tiebreaker with Miami.

[@lucaskincanyon7393]

Here’s something cool. The giants made the playoffs over the Packers based on strength of victory in 2006. Thought that was pretty cool.

[@johnrnellis]

One issue not covered is off the free kick the Lions could call a fair catch and be allowed a free kick from the fair catch spot. Assume the punt travels 40 yards. Lions could tee the ball up and attempt a 60 yard fg. Long shot, but a possibility.

[@diaz5292]

Woot woot for the Lions!! This improbable victory would catapult the Lions franchise to 4+ decades of mediocrity and garbage football...😂🤣😅🤣😂🤣😅😀👍

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Do a video on the ineptitude of Matt Millen

[@ronbowlingjr6122]

I believe Ted Marchibroda did it to get the Patriots out of the playoffs because it eliminated the possibility of a three way tie for the division in which the Patriots held the tiebreaker if Miami New England and Baltimore all finished 10-4. With Baltimore losing the Patriots were now in trouble of elimination because it meant they would have to beat the Colts and hope Miami lost to Buffalo which didn't happen

[@naveedquadeer3752]

One caveat to this being a dumb decision is if the punter were to be tackled prior to getting into the end zone. It might be first and goal Detroit if that happens. As fast as that punt rush came in that is very likely to have happened, since he was punting from the 10 yard line. The punter would going forward in order to catch the ball, then do a 180, and have to accelerate to the end zone. The punt rush would be coming in full speed and may have been able to make the tackle before getting to the end zone

[@earlostrohs3543]

You need a series called "Bad Bears: The Mark Trestman Era". Take a LOA from your job to research it.

[@ronsmac]

Ultimately the play didn’t matter. They had to beat New England the next week win or lose in week 13.

[@brianevans6328]

Except for the rare occurrence of a tie game. Had the game against the Pats ended in a tie Miami wins the division. Had the Colts won against the Lions and tied the Pats then the Colts win the division.

[@ronsmac]

@@brianevans6328 I’ll give you that but considering there wasn’t a single tie in 1976 or 1977 , everyone here in Baltimore was confident that week 14 was for all the marbles.

[@levikatriel]

This partially relieves what the bengals did 10 years later

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, but, the Bengals, never, win, anything, so, a, once-proud, franchise doing it looks far, worse, in retrospect, it does.

[@earheadsix4119]

Do you remember in ‘75 on a Monday night where the raiders could have eliminated the Steelers from playoff contention by losing to Cincy? They stomped the Bengals that night and said we want the Steelers.

[@joemckim1183]

That's because the Bengals don't have an indoor practice facility.

[@chadwickwhite6107]

@@matthewdaley746 That is SIMPLY NOT TRUE!!!! From 1990 to 2020 the Cincinnati Bengals have been TIDY BOWL Champions!!!!!!

[@matthewdaley746]

@chadwickwhite6107 I stand corrected, but, is it really a, "win," if there's no competition, it doesn't seem that is really accurate.

[@jasonsmith5428]

What he does....he does for CHIVALRY!!! Sincerely you rule! NFL Trivia Nut Bliss!

[@joeylawn36111]

IMO this is actually worse than the time the Giants ran the ball, fumbled, and the Eagles Herm Edwards recovered and returned for a TD.

[@stevenbauer4799]

That colts team with jones, carr, chester, lydell, doughty, etc. had some offensive talent. Too bad it was short lived in a'76-'77 era when steelers and raiders ruled the afc. Colts couldn't get by either of them. Three losses to pitt, oak, including two at home. Steelers whooped them one year big time, a 40-14 rout at mem. stadium in '76 playoffs.

[@nasetvideos]

Yeah, that decision moist certainly goes down as a truly "dumb decision", and it really wasn't that difficult to figure out, too. Of course, this probably doesn't even factor into anything if the Colts' player knocks the ball down instead of intercepting it on 4th and 30....but ultimately, Marchibroda was a solid coach and this lack of thought with 10 seconds to go really made no sense. Great analysis of the 99.8% chance of winning stat, too. You have to wonder sometimes if every NFL team should have just one guy to be the "logical stats" person feeding information to the head coach.

[@scottsands1634]

I think since it was a non conference non divisional game, losing that game meant nothing. The next game was win and get in lose go home regardless of the Lions game. Wouldn't have been surprised if they lost it on purpose because a 3 way tie made the Patriots odd man out!

[@davidrivera9743]

I think of stupid punts the one that comes to mind is the DeSean Jackson walk off punt return.

[@SteelerFanInRI]

The decision to punt was sound, but the execution was poor; Matt Dodge had to kick it out of bounds. Instead, he kicked a line drive right to Jackson. Remember watching Coughlin afterwards grab Dodge, and even though you couldn't hear him, you could read his lips going "WHAT DID I TELL YOU TO DO?! I TOLD YOU TO KICK IT OUT OF BOUNDS!" multiple times while Dodge looked super uncomfortable and did everything he could to avoid making eye contact with Coughlin.

[@erickennedy5993]

Giants should not punt to Jackson at all

[@rjsweda]

i remember this game, pats could have won tie breaker in last week only if colts won this game, geez

[@jimdog6014]

I'm a little late to the party, so I don't know if it has been brought up. The very year before the Rams punter Rusty Jackson took an intentional safety to seal a victory against the Cowboys in the 1976 divisional playoffs.

[@davidlafleche1142]

The Patriots did that to the Broncos a few years ago.

[@waltoncummins719]

Didn't Don Shula utterly dumb found the comentators around the era when he did this? I can't remember the year, but I know you have a video on it.

[@OfficialJaguarGator9]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZvPpWqverdqb5Y

[@coryshannon3815]

It's kind of funny, but the recievers coach for the Lions that year was on the Colts coaching staff in 1975. His name: Bill Belichick. We may be able to assume this occured because of Belichick's voodoo.😳

[@johncate9541]

And Belichick won a game after taking an intentional safety--while behind--late in a game many years later. He was backed up inside the 5 and down by one on the scoreboard, so he took the safety to get field position for the punt. They hit a great punt, made a defensive stand, got it back inside of two minutes, and then Tom Brady did what Tom Brady does.

[@teen_laqueefa]

@@johncate9541 yea, I despise the man's genius, hope Cincinnati can run a little bit like those Patriots

[@vdubproductions2646]

This was the beginning of the decline of the Colts post Unitas era

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, and, while, everybody talks about, "Ghost, To, The, Post," it, only, happened, because, the Raiders took the Colts too, lightly, and, the Colts, very, stupidly, played, not, to, lose.

[@cnhendricks]

@@matthewdaley746 Nobody takes a playoff team that won a division too lightly. Try again.

[@matthewdaley746]

@cnhendricks Yeah, no, if your team, somehow, wasn't, the, Dolphins, and/or, Steelers, John Madden didn't take you, seriously, that's why he, only, won, one, SB.

[@eugenedenbrook322]

Mainly because Bert Jones hurt his elbow, Irsay the Elder pretended it was in his head (sound familiar?), and, well, Irsay continued to own the Colts. His son has actually done better than the old man.

[@matthewdaley746]

@@eugenedenbrook322 Not, that, difficult, seriously.

[@johncatalano7185]

Yet another reason why the Colts left for Indianapolis and an ahole like Art Modell move the Browns to Baltimore......

[@stevensmith7439]

Losing the game benefited the Colts. They were still tied with the Dolphins going into Week 14, and held the tiebreaker if they both won (which they did). If they had won against the Lions, but lost in Week 14 to New England, there would have been a three-way tie, which would have favored New England. Losing to Detroit meant that New England was effectively eliminated, since beating Baltimore in Week 14 would have left them in a tie with Miami, and the Dolphins would have won that tiebreaker. Not a dumb decision !!!

[@phoggknight6714]

Well said Steven. It was actually a brilliant decision by Marchibroda and The Colts. They intentionally lost this game, screwing over the Patriots, rendering their week 14 showdown with the Colts meaningless. I remember watching this game on TV in Detroit, a few weeks before my 10th birthday. Sadly, it was one of my greatest memories in my 50 years as a Lions fan, beating an elite team like that on the final play, and I just recently found out, some 40 years later that it was a complete fraud. To me, this is a black eye to the NFL, and bigger scandal than spygate and deflate gate, and the Patriots were the real victims. Ironically Bill Belichick had no problem with the result, being a 25 year old assistant with the Lions,

[@stevensmith7439]

This is the account from The NY Times right after the game, where it was clear the Colts playing 4-D chess was evident: www.nytimes.com/1977/12/13/archives/patriots-caught-in-a-playoff-bind.html

[@RobertJohnson-hq6jq]

Please do a video on Dave Hampton of the 1973 Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons went above and beyond trying to get him to 1,000 yards rushing on the last game of the season. It worked and then it didn't. Here is a snippet from Wikipedia that explains what I mean: In his first year with the team, Hampton surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing yard mark during the Falcons' final game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. As part of a planned celebration for the Falcons' first 1,000-yard rushing season, the game was paused as Hampton was presented with a trophy and the game ball for his accomplishment. However, he was tackled for a six-yard loss on the following play and ended the season with 995 yards. The video of the play where he lost the 6 yards is hilarious.

[@SteelerFanInRI]

It was 1972 that Hampton went over 1000 and then back under; he was close in 1973, but was three yards shy. Talk about bad luck lol. Hilarious to me that they stopped the game just to give him a trophy for an accomplishment he ended up not achieving after all 🤣

[@teen_laqueefa]

Check out secret base 7 part History of the Atlanta Falcons

[@josephhouk6703]

Taking the safety even happened in the Super Bowl, fer cryin' out loud. SB 47, Ravens punter Sam Koch ran it out of the end zone, and gave the Niners only four seconds to return the free kick.

[@earheadsix4119]

But by losing the game the Patriots were ostensibly eliminated from the playoffs. Regardless, to win the division the Colts still had to beat NE at home in week 14 to win the division. The Miami outcome was irrelevant. Baltimore controlled it’s own destiny. But by losing New England could not make the playoffs if Miami won, which they did on the Saturday before this game.

[@howie14w]

Exactly. The Colts were indeed limping into the playoffs. If the season ended with a three way tie between the Colts, Dolphins, and Pats, the Colts lost the division. By losing to Detroit and creating the three way tie a week early, they created a situation when a Miami win the following Saturday would eliminate the Pats completely. And Miami was playing someone really bad, The Bills.. That came to pass and the Colts then had to win a game against the Pats that no longer had any meaning to NE. And they almost didn’t. A controversial no fumble call on a sack of Jones set up the Colts winning TD 30-24. The Colts probably threw the Lions game.

[@earheadsix4119]

@@howie14w I remember that call. In the grasp. Or forward progress was stopped. Either way, that last drive by the Colts was still clutch. Ripped the hearts right out of the Pats. They still had time but they were done. Which then setup up one of the great games in nfl history. Ghost to the post. I’ll say this too, Jones always played all out and gave everything he had in every play. This probably shortened his career as injury took its toll.

[@howie14w]

@@earheadsix4119 After Jones had his shoulder injury the next summer, they played the Redskins on MNF in November. Jones struggled early and the Skins led. Finally, Jones started warming up on the sideline between series, throwing the ball and grimacing and flexing his arm. He came in with arm dangling loosely at his side, then starting throwing bullets all over the field. The Colts won and I would pass my Redskin fan friends all week at college and just hang my right arm limp at my side as they passed.

[@earheadsix4119]

@@howie14w I remember that. A damaged Jones still gave the Colts a better chance than a healthy Troup. Do you remember that Monday night game in NE in the rain? Joe Washington was unstoppable that night.

[@howie14w]

@@earheadsix4119 Yes. I was upset when we picked up Joe and got rid of Lydell, but Joe was electric.

[@blazer79]

Not as bad a decision as people believe. Had the Colts won, the Patriots would have won the division the following week in Baltimore. With the loss, the Patriots were basically eliminated from the playoffs. The Patriots were not thinking the Bills would win in Miami on the final Saturday of the season.

[@hitoshijohnson]

What yard line were they on? Can your punter outrun a punt block specialist to the goal line? At most you kill 5 seconds with the possibility of turning it over inside the 10 up 4. It's easy to point the finger at coaching, but any play can go wrong with bad execution. I'm sorry but it's the right call.

[@randyhanson4973]

I'm not sure that the punter makes it to the end zone before he's tackled. Detroit had no one deep. If the punt gets off the game is over. The punter needs to one step the punt

[@natemartin9354]

I'm with you. I don't think the decision to punt here is remotely as stupid as he's making it out to be. I'm not convinced "taking a safety" here is the 100% fool proof play.

[@randyhanson4973]

@@natemartin9354 I agree. All that punter needs to do is get the punt off and the game is over. It should be impossible to block a 1-step punt

[@drewdederer8965]

One factor you'd have to consider with the free kick (especially given the conditions). IF the free kick is high and short (say inside of midfield). The best play for the receivers is to take the fair catch and attempt a free kick. The safety puts this into play.

[@dwagon41]

Bingo - the one major flaw in his argument.

[@dondajulah4168]

A free kick from the 20 should travel AT LEAST 50 yards in the air which would put the ball on the opponents 30 yard line. Even a shank would travel 30 yards putting the ball at midfield for a 67 yard attempt which would be considered impossible

[@dondajulah4168]

And what “conditions” are you referring to that would affect a free punt that would not affect a field goal attempt?

[@drewdederer8965]

@@dondajulah4168 Wind in your face for one. It's not likely, but you have to keep it in mind. Also, what if you get a tack-on penalty while taking the intentional safety? And have to punt from the 10? Or they Janakowski? It's not likely, but I'd definitely at least think about it.

[@dondajulah4168]

@@drewdederer8965 Wind does not appear to have been a significant factor as the punter had averaged 41 yards per kick in the game (the entire game other than the last 56 seconds is on YT so you can see the weather conditions of the game for yourself). More importantly, all of the factors that you mention that would apply to a free kick apply to the punt on fourth down as well but with the additional factor that you are facing 11 angry defenders vs a free kick where you can kick the ball at your leisure. Not sure what kind of "tack on" penalty you have in mind, but that again is more likely on a punt play than a free kick. Keep in mind that there were 15 seconds on the clock when the ball was snapped on 4th down so you are talking about at least one offensive play by the Lions even if the punt gets off.

[@michaell874]

Even when teams set up in the punt formation nowadays with the plan to take the safety, I don’t understand why they even replace the punter with a wide receiver, since a wide receiver has better hands, is able to run faster and with better ability with the football in their hands, and have better instincts than punters have.

[@PapaVanTwee5]

Element of surprise, I guess.

[@dondajulah4168]

@@PapaVanTwee5 that makes no sense

[@PapaVanTwee5]

@@dondajulah4168 If you line up with a punter, you can punt, or you can plan to take the safety. If you put in a "hands" player like a wide receiver, they will know something is up.

[@dondajulah4168]

@@PapaVanTwee5 So what? The point is that they have no ability to do anything about it. Or what would you suggest that the defense would do to counter that move?

[@PapaVanTwee5]

@@dondajulah4168 If they tip their hand and run someone other than a punter, they can bring the returner in for a bigger rush, for example.

[@bobwallace9814]

What was the spread on the game? In that era, the mob had their hands into everything.

[@CTubeMan]

I’m seeing people post here saying that the Colts helped themselves by losing this game. I don’t see how, since a win over the Patriots the next week would give them the division championship anyway. It’s more like the Colts losing to the Lions hurt the Patriots, since Miami’s win over Buffalo the next week prior to the Patriots-Colts game eliminated the Pats from the playoffs.

[@earheadsix4119]

If the Colts beat the Lions they would have been in first place by themselves. New England could only make the playoffs by winning the division. To win the division they would have to end the season in a 3 way tie. By losing to Detroit, the three teams were already in a three way tie. By beating Baltimore or losing the patriots were eliminated as a chance for a three way tie was out the window. In theory they would have had 0 to play for. In reality they gave the colts all they could handle that day.

[@CTubeMan]

I looked back at the expanded standings that year. It seems to me that even if the Colts hung on to beat the Lions the Patriots would have still needed the Dolphins to lose to the Bills the next week for the Patriots to have any chance at winning the division. The Dolphins finished with a 6-2 division record after beating the Bills. If the Patriots beat the Colts both would have been 5-3. So the Dolphins still needed to lose to Buffalo anyway. OJG9, you made two videos about tiebreakers of the 1970s. Who would have won the division if the Colts, Dolphins, and Patriots each finished 10-4?

[@earheadsix4119]

@@CTubeMan week 14. If the Lions had been beaten would have had the Colts at 10-3 with the Dolphins and Patriots behind at 9-4. Leaving the door open to a 3 way tie. By losing the Patriots were effectively eliminated. Honestly. It’s how it was.

[@earheadsix4119]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHekpnaDmdqjacU

[@CTubeMan]

@@earheadsix4119 I forgot one key detail of the three-way tiebreaker, a detail that shows the Patriots would win in that scenario. The Patriots had the best record in head-to-head games between the three teams (Patriots 3-1, Dolphins 2-2, Colts 1-3). Gotta love the NFL tiebreaker system. 😡 We also have to assume the Colts could play 3D chess in knowing they were better off losing to the Lions. Their owner at the time was Robert Irsay.

[@squealingsalamander6546]

Nice new Intro layout

[@brandonsmith7787]

Here's the kick blocked by Lynn Thompson touchdown Lions win

[@imilliemedina666]

Ypur premise is erroneous. The statement about 99% chance of no return for touchdown fails to consider that football is not a game of probabilities like dice.

[@nickbradfordsr80]

*Fun fact:* Bill Belichick was a gofer/slappy/assistant to an assistant's assistant, on this Colts team 💯

[@dondajulah4168]

The one thing not being considered in calling this one of the stupidest plays in NFL history is that making this move risks the health of the punter. This is 1977, not 2021 and those 11 Detroit defenders would have been doing EVERYTHING legal and illegal in the way of inflicting harm on the punter as he made his way back to the end zone. They would not have dealt kindly with him dancing around in the back of the end zone to run out the clock and maybe even if he had managed to step out of the back of the end zone. That would certainly have been in the head of the punter had the coach asked him to go for the safety and may have caused him to drop the ball or to trip or screw it up in some way. Especially back then, a lot of the punters were not really athletic so asking him to take a snap, turn and run backwards on a shitty field and run around the back of the end zone while 11 huge men loaded for bear are chasing you is something a coach might consider before making that call. He also might be thinking about what he is going to do if his punter gets pummeled by a bunch of angry Lion defenders taking out their frustrations on him and now he needs to find a new punter in the middle of December. And if you cannot manage to get a punt off without being blocked when that is all you need to do to win the game, do you really even deserve to win the game? All these are things you may want to consider before making such a harsh judgement.

[@dwagon41]

Jerry DePoyster reference! Go Pokes!

[@andrewpadaetz5549]

There's also a JG9 video on the 1973 Dolphins-Steelers game and the criticism before the play from the famous MNF Cosell-Gifford-Meredith trio as to what in the world was Don Shula doing.

[@dentonyoung4314]

If you haven't done a video of it already, you should do a video of the blocked punt in the week 13, 1967 game between the Rams and Packers. The Rams (9-1-2) need the game badly. They trail the Colts (10-0-2) by one game in the Coastal Division: one of Baltimore's two ties was against LA. The Colts and Rams will be meeting in week 14, the final week of the season: IF the Rams can get past the Packers in this game and then beat Baltimore the next week, LA would tie Baltimore at 11-1-2 and have the tiebreaker head to head (1-0-1), winning the division. In a back-and-forth game featuring multiple lead changes and a 100-yard kickoff return for a TD by GB's Travis Williams, GB is up 24-20 with just over a minute left, and have to punt on fourth-and-long from about midfield. Tony Guillory blocks the punt, the Rams' Claude Crabb returns it to the 5, and a Roman Gabriel TD pass wins it 27-24. The Rams do beat Baltimore the next week and win the Coastal Division before falling to GB in the playoffs.

[@OBESPRING1982]

1976 NFC divisional playoff at Texas Stadium. Rusty Jackson spiked the ball after stepping out of the side of the end zone. LA RAMS 14 Dallas 12

[@billobrien5140]

Leonard Thompson of the Lions was a talented player who the Lions never figured out how to utilize effectively. He could run the ball and was a good receiver but the Lie downs coaching staff didn't know what to do with him.

[@scottybbadd]

Pat McAfee explained that the ball was never supposed to be snapped. It was a ploy to draw the Patriots offsides. If they didn't jump or get caught with too many players, the were supposed to let the play clock run out and take the penalty.

[@stevenbauer4799]

Usually the lions are on the bone head calls list. see: m morningwig in 2001 game vs. bears win the ot toss then proceed to give the ball to the bears to start ot in which they promptly kick a fg (before the both teams must possess the ball unless a td is scored first rule). m m after the game said they gave bears the ball because of wind conditions at soldier field. Or Jim Schwartz during a thanksgiving day game 2012 vs. texans throwing a challenge flag on a non challengeable play. total bone heads. And the real story is the colts needed to lose that game to basically eliminate the pats from winning the division. Pats were eliminated in final week when phins beat the bills preventing a three way tie for the division which keeps colts form winning afc east. Then colts get ghosted in the playoffs. Bert jones gets injured next season and colts never see playoffs again in baltimore becoming irrelevant as well.

[@matthewdaley746]

John Madden's Raiders made a career, out, of taking teams too, lightly, except, for, the, Dolphins, and, Steelers, the Colts handed them this Game, the Broncos got even, they did.

[@OBESPRING1982]

With an eleven man rush, you could execute a fake. Throw the ball over the heads of the rushers and it would be a better call than trying to get the punt off.

[@BrendonChase2012]

Hey, 10,000 subs tomorrow!

[@nicktaylor2657]

It was the 70s Everyone was high

[@Boomhower89]

🇺🇸👍🏼

[@ClassicStreetIron]

The obvious question that wasn't asked, "How much did Ted have on the game?"

[@phoggknight6714]

The Colts' playoffs chances improved by them losing that game. See my other post. Beating Detroit meant that the Patriots, their final week opponent, could have won their division with a win over Baltimore. Throwing the game eliminated New England. That was some really dirty stuff. Makes me wonder if Lions' assistant coach Bill Belichick had his hands in this.

[@DB-er-Handle2019]

Do the joe pisarcik play!!!!!

[@notcoachfou7841]

This isn't the U of M, MSU game. Fail.

[@stevensmith7439]

Moreover, the notion of Winning-by-Losing wasn’t new for Baltimore. In 1971, the Colts had a 1/2 game lead over Miami going into the final Sunday, where they were scheduled to play 5-8 New England at home. A win would give them the division title, but under the playoff format then used, that meant a trip to the AFC West champs, Kansas City, which had the best record in football. Losing meant the wild card, but that meant a date in Cleveland, a team which had struggled to reach .500 most of the season. The Colts lost their finale, and ended up having an easy time with the Browns on the first round of the playoffs.

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, but, The, Football Gods, frowned, on, their treachery, and, they wound, up, losing, to the Dolphins, so, much, for, trying to pull the wool, over, the eyes of chance.

[@stevensmith7439]

@@matthewdaley746 Indeed they did; the Colts were too clever by half

[@matthewdaley746]

@@stevensmith7439 OTOH, had they, actually, reached, the, SB, they would have, again, had to play the Cowboys, who, outlost, them just the year, prior, so, who knows.

[@Namath1000]

@@matthewdaley746 As I recall, they got routed by the Dolphins -- I'm thinking 21-0. But WOW! -- I remember all that and all that talk about how they were better off losing.

[@matthewdaley746]

​@Namath1000 Yeah, the Colts went from, two, SBs, in, three, years, to falling short in, the, Playoffs, to moving, out, of town, in less, than, twenty, years.

[@MrRyan-wu4jx]

Every time I see that type of old QB dropback at 2:51 where the QB starts shuffling backward with his throwing arm closest to center only to do a 180 turn to throw I throw up in my mouth a little bit.

[@brandonsmith7787]

I guess that was considered scrambling back then 😅😅

[@deanjo57790]

Taking the safety doesn't put the Colts in as secure of a position as you state. At that point the score would have been 10-8, so the Lions would have only needed a field goal to win, instead of a TD. So, any length of drive you gained by free kicking from further down the field is negated by the fact that they no longer need to get all the way to the end zone. In video you state that an average punt only leave the Lions 50ish yards to get in the end zone, but a free kick most likely makes them go 65-70 yards for a TD. While this is correct, if they had to score a TD, but after the safety, with the score 10-8, they no longer need a TD and a FG would have sufficed. If you figure the Lions placekicker would probably have been fairly accurate from 40-45 yards out, you've knocked down how far they had to drive after the free kick from 65-70 yards, to 35-40 yards, even less than what a decent punt would have left them. So, without knowing whether your punt was going to be blocked, and given the odds of a punt being blocked in the NFL are not that high, the Colts made the right decision. Now, hindsight being 20/20, and knowing that the punt was blocked, it doesn't look that great, but in the moment it was the right call.

[@erickennedy5993]

Can do Mike Shannon kicking it to Devon Hester 3 times and all 3 times Hester ran them back, as a dumb decision . Probably cost Shannon to get fired from Denver

[@matthewdaley746]

No, John Elway's retirement, followed by Terrell Davis getting injured, got him fired, the 2005, Playoff, win, against, the Patriots, bought him some time.

[@erickennedy5993]

@@matthewdaley746 Shannon made playoffs in 00, 01 , 02 and 04 . He could not beat Manning Colts , because Payton owned the Broncos losing to them in 01, 02 and 04. Ravens killed my squad in 00. What got Shannon fired was trusting Jay Cutler. He should kept Jake Plummer.

[@matthewdaley746]

​​@@erickennedy5993 Yeah, he should have been fired when Marvin Harrison got, a, TD, after, he'd been laying, on, the field, untouched, for, nearly, a minute.

[@matthewdaley746]

@JBSptfn Yeah, those, two, SB, Rings, put him, up, on, a pedestal, that he, likely, didn't deserve, eventually, his act, entirely, wore thin, seems, right.

[@ericveneto1593]

How likely is a blocked punt, really?!

[@dondajulah4168]

Six blocked punts in past six years for the Colts so one blocked punt per year on about 60 punts in a 14 game season so about 1 in 60. Double that with Detroit sending the house and you get a 1 in 30 chance. I think the coach may not have trusted the punter to execute getting to the end zone before being tackled or tripping. That field was a mess and it is not natural for a punter (especially in those days) to do something other than kick the ball the way he is paid to do it. If they had gone for the intentional safety and the punter had f’d it up somehow, the video of that would be ingrained in our heads as one of the stupidest moves in NFL history.

[@Vanguard521]

Colts tanked this game. No other reasons.

[@richsheer4905]

Then why would Jones lead them on a fourth quarter touchdown drive?

[@john-hill]

Bro how the hell you know all these topics lol

[@jeremydobbs9308]

I don't think this was that bad a decision. Lee was a top punter and you don't expect a punt to get blocked. Lee also was big and slow. I'm not sure he would have beaten Leonard Thompson to the end zone

[@scottconner7930]

44 Years Ago

[@ericfitzgerald9214]

Yup. What's wrong with that?

[@phoggknight6714]

Title should be changed to: "MOST BRILLIANT SCHREWD, DIABOLICAL DECISION EVER". The Colts benefitted by losing and Marchibroda intentionally threw the game. The following is copied and pasted from www.patsfans.com/articles/patriots/3163/Colts-Were-More-Hated-In-1970s-Than-Now.html. "By losing to Detroit, Baltimore in effect eliminated the Patriots from the playoffs and got them out of an unfavorable tiebreaker situation with Miami. In this scenario, the only way the Patriots could make the playoffs was to win the division by beating Baltimore on the road and Miami lose at home to the 3-10 Buffalo Bills. A Miami win eliminated the Patriots from the playoffs. A Baltimore loss to Detroit literally guaranteed a two-way tie with Miami, a tiebreaker they would win. A three-way tie gave the division to New England. With Oakland locked in as the Wild Card, the AFC East would send only one team to the playoffs."