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1978 Oakland Raiders season

NFL team season


NFL team season

FieldValue
teamOakland Raiders
year1978
record9–7
division_place2nd AFC West
ownerAl Davis
general managerAl Davis
coachJohn Madden
stadiumOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
playoffsDid not qualify
shortnavlinkRaiders seasons

The 1978 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 19th season, and ninth as an NFL member.

1978 would prove to be an up and down year for the silver and black. Two new offensive line and defensive starts were named in the pre-season and All-Pro player, Monte Jackson, was not listed as a starter. Injuries were seen as a possible concern during the pre-season and during a pre-season game, Jack Tatum paralyzed New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley from the chest down while making a hit. Overall, the Raiders were plagued by one of quarterback Kenny Stabler's worst seasons, tossing 16 TD's, while throwing 30 interceptions. The running game also fell off from seasons past. Even the great wide receiver Cliff Branch, only caught one touchdown. The season started off with a 14–6 loss in Denver. The Raiders would rally to a 5–3 start, then climbed to 8–4. As a result of a last-minute defeat to the Seattle Seahawks 17–16, the Raiders lost twice to a single team in the same season for the first time since 1965. The following week, the Broncos completed their sweep of the Raiders with a 21–6 victory in Oakland, which was followed by a 23–6 defeat in Miami which eliminated Oakland from the playoffs for the first time since 1971. A meaningless 27–20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings kept the Raiders consecutive seasons with a winning record streak alive. This was head coach John Madden's tenth and final season and final game as head coach of the Raiders. He was replaced for the 1979 season by his wide receivers coach, Tom Flores.

NFL draft

Main article: 1978 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

  • Principal Owner/General Manager - Al Davis

  • Minority Co-Owner - Eddie McGah

  • President of the General Partner / General Manager – Al Davis

  • Director of Football Operations - Steve Ortmayer

  • Senior Executive – John Herrera

  • Executive Assistant / Scout - Al LoCasale

  • Head Coach – John Madden

  • Assistant Head Coach / Executive Assistant - Tom Flores

  • Offensive Backs – Lew Erber

  • Receivers Coach – Tom Flores

  • Offensive line – Ollie Spencer

  • Offensive Assistant - Joe Madro

  • Defensive Line – Tom Dahms

  • Linebackers / Assistant Special Teams – Myrel Moore

  • Defensive Backs – Ray Willsey

  • Special Teams Coach – Jim Sweeney

  • Special Teams Coach - Steve Ortmayer

:Source:

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Oakland Raidersyear=1978border=2}}"WeekOakland Raidersyear=1978border=2}}"DateOakland Raidersyear=1978border=2}}"OpponentOakland Raidersyear=1978border=2}}"ResultOakland Raidersyear=1978border=2}}"RecordOakland Raidersyear=1978border=2}}"VenueOakland Raidersyear=1978border=2}}"Attendance12345678910111213141516
September 3at Denver BroncosL 6–140–1Mile High Stadium75,092
September 10at San Diego ChargersW 21–201–1San Diego Stadium51,653
September 17at Green Bay PackersW 28–32–1Lambeau Field55,903
September 24New England PatriotsL 14–212–2Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum52,904
October 1at Chicago BearsW 25–19 (OT)3–2Soldier Field52,848
October 8Houston OilersW 21–174–2Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum52,550
October 15Kansas City ChiefsW 28–65–2Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum50,759
October 22at Seattle SeahawksL 7–275–3Kingdome62,529
October 29San Diego ChargersL 23–275–4Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum52,612
November 5at Kansas City ChiefsW 20–106–4Arrowhead Stadium75,418
November 13at Cincinnati BengalsW 34–217–4Riverfront Stadium51,374
November 19Detroit LionsW 29–178–4Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum44,517
November 26Seattle SeahawksL 16–178–5Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum52,978
December 3Denver BroncosL 6–218–6Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum53,932
December 10at Miami DolphinsL 6–238–7Miami Orange Bowl73,003
December 17Minnesota VikingsW 27–209–7Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum44,643
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2

The Holy Roller

During this game, one of the most famous plays known as the Holy Roller occurred. Kenny Stabler fumbled the ball and Pete Banaszak moved it forward allowing Dave Casper to finish the job for a touchdown. It is one of the most controversial plays in the history of the NFL.

Week 3

Week 6

  • TV Network: NBC
  • Announcers: Curt Gowdy and John Brodie This game started with nearly all Oilers as future Raider Dan Pastorini throw touchdown passes of 58 yards to Mike Renfro and 17 yards to Mike Barber and Toni Fritsch kicked a 35-yard field goal. The only Raiders points in the first 3 quarters was a 4-yard touchdown run by Arthur Whittington. Then with the Oilers leading 17–7 lead and driving deep in Raiders' territory, Oiler running back Earl Campbell ran around left tackle and lost the ball when Oakland's Dave Browning hit him, and Charles Phillips picked up the ball and ran it 96 yards to cut the Oilers lead to 3. Then in quarter four, and late Ken Stabler who had 3 interceptions prior to this drive suddenly came to life as he successfully passes 71 of the 80 yards ending with a pass to Dave Casper. Oiler defender Greg Stemrick got his hands on the short winning pass, but Casper yanked the ball loose and held on for the score. His four-yard touchdown reception helped the Raiders go to 4-2 and a tie for first with Denver in the AFC West standings.

Standings

References

References

  1. Padecky, Bob. (1978). "Raider Future Bright Again Unless". The Sacramento Bee.
  2. https://www.profootballarchives.com/1978nfloak.html
  3. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197809100sdg.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved 2014-Jul-17.
  4. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197809170gnb.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]
Info: Wikipedia Source

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