1965 Baltimore Colts season
| 1965 Baltimore Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Owner | Carroll Rosenbloom |
| Home field | Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–3–1 |
| Division place | T-1st NFL Western (playoff) |
| Playoff finish | Lost Western Conf. Playoff (at Packers) 13–10 Won NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Cowboys) 35–3 |
The 1965 Baltimore Colts season was the 13th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1965 season with a record of 10 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie, tied for first in the Western Conference with the Green Bay Packers. Although the Packers won both regular season games over the Colts, no tiebreaking system was in place in 1965, and a playoff game was required to determine the Western Conference champion, who would host the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Browns for the NFL title.
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Because the Colts and Packers finished the regular season with identical 10–3–1 records, a tiebreaker playoff game was needed to decide the Western Conference champion, which delayed the NFL championship game a week, as the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Browns stood idle.
The Western Conference playoff game was played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay the day after Christmas and the Colts led the Packers 10–0 at halftime, with third-string quarterback Tom Matte. The Packers, with back-up quarterback Zeke Bratkowski in for injured Bart Starr, tied it up late in the fourth quarter on a controversial 22-yard field goal. Video replays appeared to show the kicked ball sailing wide of the right upright – which, subsequently, resulted in 1) a re-design of NFL goalposts, and 2) changing the placement of an official directly under each upright on field-goal attempts). The official in question, Jim Tunney (later known as "Dean of NFL Referees"), always maintained that he made the correct call and that the flight of the ball over the goalpost was affected by the wind before it veered to the right. The Packers won the game 13–10 in overtime with a 25-yard field goal. The following week the Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns for the NFL title, their third of five under head coach Vince Lombardi and first of three straight.
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