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1976 Buffalo Bills season

17th season in franchise history

17th season in franchise history

FieldValue
teamBuffalo Bills
year1976
record2–12
division_place5th AFC East
coachLou Saban (resigned)
Jim Ringo (interim)
ownerRalph Wilson
stadiumRich Stadium
playoffsDid not qualify
pro_bowlersG Joe DeLamielleure
RB O. J. Simpson
AP All-prosG Joe DeLamielleure (1st team)
RB O. J. Simpson (1st team)
shortnavlinkBills seasons

Jim Ringo (interim) RB O. J. Simpson | AP All-pros = G Joe DeLamielleure (1st team) RB O. J. Simpson (1st team)

The 1976 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League, and the 17th overall.

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.

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.

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.

The lowest point of the season was when O. J. Simpson was ejected from a game for getting into a fight with New England Patriots defensive end Mel Lunsford. Lunsford was also ejected from the game. Neither player was fined or suspended by the league.

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.

1976 expansion draft

Main article: 1976 NFL expansion draft

Buffalo Billsborder=2}}"RoundBuffalo Billsborder=2}}"OverallBuffalo Billsborder=2}}"NameBuffalo Billsborder=2}}"PositionBuffalo Billsborder=2}}"Expansion team
00Gary HaymanRunning backSeattle Seahawks
00Frank OliverDefensive backTampa Bay Buccaneers
00Pat ToomayDefensive endTampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL draft

Main article: 1976 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. 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.

Personnel

Staff/coaches

1976 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Buffalo Billsyear=1976border=2}}"WeekBuffalo Billsyear=1976border=2}}"DateBuffalo Billsyear=1976border=2}}"OpponentBuffalo Billsyear=1976border=2}}"ResultBuffalo Billsyear=1976border=2}}"RecordBuffalo Billsyear=1976border=2}}"VenueBuffalo Billsyear=1976border=2}}"Attendance1234567891011121314
Miami DolphinsL 21–300–1Rich Stadium77,683
September 19Houston OilersL 3–130–2Rich Stadium61,384
September 26at Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 14–91–2Tampa Stadium44,505
October 3Kansas City ChiefsW 50–172–2Rich Stadium51,909
October 10at New York JetsL 14–172–3Shea Stadium59,110
October 17Baltimore ColtsL 13–312–4Rich Stadium71,009
October 24New England PatriotsL 22–262–5Rich Stadium45,144
October 31New York JetsL 14–192–6Rich Stadium41,285
November 7at New England PatriotsL 10–202–7Schaefer Stadium61,157
at Dallas CowboysL 10–172–8Texas Stadium51,799
November 21San Diego ChargersL 13–342–9Rich Stadium36,539
at Detroit LionsL 14–272–10Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium66,875
December 5at Miami DolphinsL 27–452–11Miami Orange Bowl43,475
December 12at Baltimore ColtsL 20–582–12Memorial Stadium50,451
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 3

Week 4

Week 12

O. J. Simpson rushed for 273 yards, setting a Thanksgiving Day record that still holds as of the end of the 2016 season.

Standings

Awards and honors

  • O. J. Simpson, Thanksgiving Day Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 273 yards vs. Detroit Lions, November 25

References

References

  1. Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich [http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/isbn/0312110731/soft-cover/ The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition], p. 306, Martin's Press, August 1994, {{ISBN. 0-312-11073-1
  2. "Buffalo Bills' O.J. Simpson walks along sidelines after being ejected".
  3. "Simpson Ejected for Fighting".
  4. {{usurped
  5. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197609260tam.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved 2014-Nov-06.
  6. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197610030buf.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, {{ISBN. 0-7611-2480-2, p. 377
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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