1976 Buffalo Bills season
The 1976 Buffalo Bills season was the 17th season for the club and its seventh in the National Football League.
Buffalo's season was troubled from the start, as the team was in a contract dispute with star running back O.J. Simpson. Simpson had been demanding a trade, before finally agreeing to a three-year, $2.5 million contract.[1]
The Bills started the season 2–2, before losing their final ten games of the season. Quarterback Joe Ferguson only started the first seven games before being sidelined for the season with a back injury. Backup quarterback Gary Marangi started Buffalo's final seven games, all losses.
Fullback Jim Braxton injured his knee in the Bills' season opener and was lost for the season. Simpson still led the NFL in rushing in 1976, even without Braxton's blocking.[1]
Bills head coach Lou Saban resigned after the fifth game of the season, with the Bills struggling at 2–3. Offensive line coach Jim Ringo took over, but would not win a game for the rest of the year.
Offseason
Before the 1976 season, Buffalo lost some key players, notably wide receivers Ahmad Rashad and J.D. Hill, and defensive linemen Earl Edwards, Walt Patulski and Pat Toomay.[1]
NFL Draft
Note: 1976 was the final year in which the NFL draft was seventeen rounds; it would be reduced to twelve rounds in 1977.
The Bills' 1976 draft produced four long-time starters with their first four picks. First round pick Mario Clark played for seven seasons with the Bills. Offensive guard Ken Jones played for the Bills for eleven years. Offensive tackle Joe Devlin played every game of his 14-year career with the Bills, playing in all 191 regular-season games until his retirement after the 1989 season.[2] Defensive end Ben Williams played for the Bills for 10 years; he was a Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro for the 1982 season.
Regular season
Schedule
| Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Attendance |
| 1 |
September 13, 1976 |
Miami Dolphins |
L 30–21 |
77,683 |
| 2 |
September 19, 1976 |
Houston Oilers |
L 13–3 |
61,384 |
| 3 |
September 26, 1976 |
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
W 14–9 |
44,505 |
| 4 |
October 3, 1976 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
W 50–17 |
51,909 |
| 5 |
October 10, 1976 |
at New York Jets |
L 17–14 |
59,110 |
| 6 |
October 17, 1976 |
Baltimore Colts |
L 31–13 |
71,009 |
| 7 |
October 24, 1976 |
New England Patriots |
L 26–22 |
45,144 |
| 8 |
October 31, 1976 |
New York Jets |
L 19–14 |
41,285 |
| 9 |
November 7, 1976 |
at New England Patriots |
L 20–10 |
61,157 |
| 10 |
November 15, 1976 |
at Dallas Cowboys |
L 17–10 |
51,799 |
| 11 |
November 21, 1976 |
San Diego Chargers |
L 34–13 |
36,539 |
| 12 |
November 25, 1976 |
at Detroit Lions |
L 27–14 |
66,875 |
| 13 |
December 5, 1976 |
at Miami Dolphins |
L 45–27 |
43,475 |
| 14 |
December 12, 1976 |
at Baltimore Colts |
L 58–20 |
50,451 |
Season summary
Week 3
| |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|
| • Bills |
0 |
7 | 0 | 7 |
14 |
| Buccaneers |
6 |
0 | 0 | 3 |
9 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|---|
|
| Q1 |
| TB | Green 39 yard field goal | TB 3–0 |
|
| Q1 |
| TB | Green 24 yard field goal | TB 6–0 |
|
| Q2 |
| BUF | Chandler 58 yard pass from Ferguson (Ricardo kick) | BUF 7–6 |
|
| Q4 |
| TB | Green 19 yard field goal | TB 9–7 |
|
| Q4 |
| BUF | Gant 15 yard pass from Ferguson (Ricardo kick) | BUF 14–9 |
|
[5]
Week 4
| |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|
| Chiefs |
0 |
10 | 7 | 0 |
17 |
| • Bills |
16 |
7 | 7 | 20 |
50 |
|
|
| Scoring summary |
|---|
|
| 1 |
| BUF | George Jakowenko 30 yard field goal | Bills 3–0 |
|
| 1 |
| BUF | Bob Chandler 1 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (George Jakowenko kick) | Bills 10–0 |
|
| 1 |
| BUF | Bob Chandler 5 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (kick failed) | Bills 16–0 |
|
| 2 |
| KC | Henry Marshall 31 yard pass from Tony Adams (Jan Stenerud kick) | Bills 16–7 |
|
| 2 |
| BUF | Bob Chandler 7 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (George Jakowenko kick) | Bills 23–7 |
|
| 2 |
| KC | Jan Stenerud 33 yard field goal | Bills 23–10 |
|
| 3 |
| BUF | Jeff Kinney 1 yard run (George Jakowenko kick) | Bills 30–10 |
|
| 3 |
| KC | Tommy Reamon 49 yard pass from Tony Adams (Jan Stenerud kick) | Bills 30–17 |
|
| 4 |
| BUF | O.J. Simpson 1 yard run (kick failed) | Bills 36–17 |
|
| 4 |
| BUF | O.J. Simpson 5 yard run (George Jakowenko kick) | Bills 43–17 |
|
| 4 |
| BUF | Tony Greene 101 yard interception return (George Jakowenko kick) | Bills 50–17 |
|
[6]
Standings
Awards and honors
- O.J. Simpson, Thanksgiving Day Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 273 yards vs. Detroit Lions, Nov 25 [7]
First Team All-Pros
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 306, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
- ↑ Databasefootball.com: Joe Devlin
- ↑ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
- ↑ 1982 Pro Bowler
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-06.
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
- ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 377
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Championship seasons in bold |