Age: 25
4th season in pro
football & with Colts
College: LSU
Height: 6’3” Weight: 212
Prelude:
Son of former Cleveland HB
Dub Jones, Bert Jones received his first exposure to pro football as a ball boy
for the Browns. Achieving All-American status as a senior at LSU, he was taken
by the Colts in the first round of the 1973 NFL draft (second overall). Jones
had a rough rookie season with a team in disarray and was involved in a
quarterback controversy as he split time with Marty Domres in ’74. Under new,
offensive-minded Head Coach Ted Marchibroda in 1975, Jones gained the starting
job and broke out with 2483 yards, a 59.0 completion percentage, and 18 TD
passes to just 8 interceptions (for a league-low 2.3 percentage). The team
started slowly but gained momentum in the second half of the season and won the
AFC East with a 10-4 record. An outstanding passer with mobility and strong
leadership skills, Jones appeared to be developing into an elite quarterback.
1976 Season Summary
Appeared in and started all 14
games
[Bracketed numbers indicate
league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 343 [6]
Most attempts, game – 32 vs.
NY Jets 11/28
Completions – 207 [6]
Most completions, game – 22 vs.
NY Jets 11/28
Yards – 3104 [1]
Most yards, game – 301 vs. Cincinnati
Completion percentage – 60.3 [3]
Yards per attempt – 9.0 [3]
TD passes – 24 [2]
Most TD passes, game – 3 vs.
Cincinnati 9/19, at San
Diego 11/7, vs. NY Jets 11/28, vs. Buffalo
Interceptions – 9
Most interceptions, game – 3
vs. Cincinnati
Passer rating – 102.5 [2]
300-yard passing games – 1
200-yard passing games – 8
Rushing
Attempts – 38
Most attempts, game - 7 (for
20 yds.) at Miami
Yards – 214
Most yards, game – 41 yards
(on 5 carries) at Dallas
Yards per attempt – 5.6
TDs – 2
Scoring
TDs – 2
Points – 12
Postseason: 1 G (AFC Divisional
playoff vs. Pittsburgh
Pass attempts – 25
Pass completions – 11
Passing yardage – 144
TD passes – 1
Interceptions – 2
Rushing attempts – 2
Rushing yards – 3
Average gain rushing – 1.5
Rushing TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP, PFWA, NEA
NFL Offensive Player of the
Year: AP
1st team All-NFL:
AP, PFWA, NEA
1st team All-AFC:
AP, UPI
Pro Bowl
Colts went 11-3 to finish
first in the AFC East while leading the NFL in total yards (5236), passing
yards (2933), scoring (417 points), and TDs (51). Lost AFC Divisional playoff
to Pittsburgh Steelers (40-14).
Aftermath:
Jones had another strong
year in 1977, leading the NFL with 224 completions while passing for 2686 yards
and 17 TDs. The Colts won a third straight division title but suffered a tough
overtime loss to the Raiders in the Divisional round of the playoffs. However,
shoulder injuries caused Jones to miss most of the 1978 and ’79 seasons – he
saw action in just seven games and the team collapsed. While he returned in
1980 and passed for a career-high 3134 yards, the Colts were no longer a strong
team and went 7-9. After passing for 3094 yards and 21 touchdowns with a 2-14 club
in ’81, Jones, actively battling the front office, was traded to the Rams but
appeared in just four games due to a major neck injury and retired. For his
injury-shortened career, he passed for 18,190 yards with a healthy 56.1
completion percentage and 124 TDs to 101 interceptions. He also rushed for 1429
yards on 247 carries (5.8 avg.) with a high of 321 in 1975.
--
MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL,
AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper
Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell
Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).
[Updated 2/8/14]
[Updated 2/8/14]
