(1968 Baltimore Colts) A Case For the Best Super Bowl Loser

January 12, 1969. The scoreboard read, “NY Jets 16, Baltimore Colts 7.” The Jets had done the impossible: they had just beaten the mighty Baltimore Colts, a team that many thought to be (up to that time) the best in NFL history.

The Jets were heavy underdogs despite having a 12–3 record, including a 27–23 win over defending AFL champion Oakland in the AFL Championship game. But New York had won only two games easily that year (against Boston and Miami), and they had played only five of fifteen games against teams with winning records.

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The Dominance of the 1968 Baltimore Colts

Baltimore was a different story. Ranked #1 in defense and #2 on offense, the Colts had outscored opposing teams 460–158. The defense had three shutouts and didn’t allow a TD in six games.

That offensive-defensive dominance showed in wins against the Steelers 41–7, 49ers 42–14, Falcons 44–0, Cardinals 27–0, and Giants 26–0. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect season was a 30–20 loss to the Cleveland Browns. But later, Baltimore avenged that defeat by humiliating the Browns, 34–0, in the NFL Championship game.

In addition to the Colts’ strength, many analysts and fans believed the Jets played in an inferior league. The AFL hadn’t faired well in two prior SB match-ups, losing to the Packers both times–Kansas City in Super Bowl I and Oakland in Super Bowl II. Neither game was close.

So how were these Jets able to upset the seemingly unconquerable Colts? Some claimed ‘the fix was on.’ Others thought the Colts were overconfident. And some felt that the Jets didn’t get the credit they deserved.

Whatever the reason, the 1968 Colts aren’t remembered as the best team in NFL history because they didn’t win the Super Bowl. Instead, the prevailing view is that Baltimore lost in one of the biggest upsets in football history.

But redemption would come. Baltimore won the big game two years later as the Jets went 4–10 that year. Don Shula, the Colts head coach in 1968, wasn’t with the team in 1970. Shula coached the Miami Dolphins to a perfect 17–0 season in 1972, the only undefeated season in NFL history.

Other great teams lost the Superbowl. The 1969 Vikings, the 1983 Redskins, and the 2007 Patriots, but for my money, the 1968 Baltimore Colts are the best team ever to lose the Super Bowl.

Mark Morthier is the host of Yesterday’s Sports, a podcast dedicated to reliving memorable sports moments from his childhood days and beyond. He grew up in New Jersey just across from New York City, so many of his episodes revolve around the great sport’s teams of the 70s for the New York area.

He is also an author of No Nonsense, Old School Weight Training (Second Edition): A Guide for People with Limited Time and Running Wild: (Growing Up in the 1970s)