Matte spent his 12-year pro career with the
Baltimore Colts where he posted career stats of 4,646 rushing yards, 249 receptions for 2,869 yards, 1,367 yards returning kickoffs, and 57 touchdowns (45 rushing, 12 receiving). Late in the 1965 season, Matte also memorably filled in as an emergency quarterback when
Johnny Unitas and
Gary Cuozzo went down with season-ending injuries in consecutive home losses to the
Chicago Bears and
Green Bay Packers, respectively. For the Colts' regular-season finale (a 20–17 win) against the
Los Angeles Rams and the following weekend's one-game playoff at Green Bay (a 13–10 overtime loss), Colts head coach
Don Shula put a list of plays on a wristband that Matte wore. The Colts were the winners of the penultimate NFL title game and advanced to
Super Bowl III. Matte would rush for 116 yards on 11 carries while catching two passes for thirty yards; he set the record for highest per-carry rushing average in a
Super Bowl game with 10.5, with his biggest run being a run of 58 yards that was stopped by his former teammate
Johnny Sample. However, Matte would fail to reach the end zone and a fumble to start the second half only made the Colts more frustrated on their way to a 16–7 loss. The following year was even better, as he rushed for a career high 909 yards on 235 carries with a league-high 11 touchdowns while adding 43 catches for 513 yards for two touchdowns. His total touches, yards from scrimmage (1,422) and touchdowns were all league highs. Matte was injured in the first game of the 1970 season against the
San Diego Chargers and therefore did not play when the Colts returned to
Super Bowl V at the end of that season and beat the
Dallas Cowboys. However, he was awarded a Super Bowl ring. Matte returned for one last fresh run with the 1971 season, playing in all 14 games and rushing for 607 yards on 173 carries for eight touchdowns while catching 29 passes for 239 yards. The Colts made a run at the AFC title game once again. Matte would have his last significant playtime with the game against Cleveland, rushing 16 times for 26 yards while catching three passes for 22 yards as the Colts won 20–3. In the AFC Championship against the
Miami Dolphins, he made just one catch for six yards as the Colts lost 21–0. After spending most of the
1972 season on the
practice squad, he was traded from the Colts to the Chargers for a
1973 eighth-round selection (189th overall–
Ray Oldham) on January 24, 1973. Following Unitas' lead, Matte and many of his Baltimore Colt teammates disowned the franchise after their move to
Indianapolis in
1984. ==Broadcasting career==