Baltimore Colts Finished With 11-1-2 Record And Missed Playoffs

Published on January 20th, 2024 2:05 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


It's 1967, and the Baltimore Colts, despite finishing with the best record in the NFL, miss the playoffs.

The Baltimore Colts finished the 1967 NFL regular season with a record of 11-1-2, which was tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the best record in football.

The Colts didn't lose until the final week of the regular season, and this would ultimately cost the team a spot in the playoffs.

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In 1967, there were 16 teams in the NFL - 8 teams in the Eastern Conference, and 8 teams in the Western Conference.

Each conference was split into two divisions.

The winner of each division would advance to the playoffs, while everyone else would go home.

The two best teams in football - the Rams and the Colts - both played in the NFL Coastal division. This meant that only one of the 11-1-2 teams would advance to the playoffs.

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The Rams and Colts had identical 11-1-2 records, and identical 4-1-1 divisional records.

The tie-breaker came in the last game of the season, when the Rams defeated the Colts by a score of 34-10.

Earlier in the season, the two teams had tied 24-24.

The Rams had the edge in points scored over the two games, which meant that they won the tie-breaker and advanced to the playoffs, while the Colts went home.

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The Rams wasted their great season, as they were killed 28-7 by the Packers in the Conference championship game.

The Colts, despite outscoring their opponents by nearly 200 points over the course of 14 games, had to watch the playoffs from home.

The Colts would not leave things to chance the next year, as they would finish the season 13-1-0, easily making the playoffs and winning the NFL Championship, before losing in the Super Bowl.