1976 Oakland Raiders season

The 1976 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 17th season, and 7th in the National Football League (NFL).

After having appeared in the three previous AFC Championship Games – and having lost all three—the 1976 Raiders finally won the conference championship,AFC Championship Game results, ESPN, Jan. 23, 2016. and went on to win their first Super Bowl.

After posting a 13–1 regular season record and winning their sixth AFC West championship in seven seasons, and their fifth consecutive one, the Raiders won against both the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers to achieve the team's second Super Bowl berth. Then, on January 9, 1977, at the Rose Bowl, the Raiders won Super Bowl XI by rolling over the Minnesota Vikings 32–14. With this victory, the Raiders achieved a overall record. They were the best team in the NFL in 1976.

In 2012, the 1976 Oakland Raiders were named the greatest team of all time by NFL.com's "Bracketology"; a 15-day, six-round fan vote tournament that featured the 64 greatest teams from the Super Bowl era. Oakland beat the 2000 Baltimore Ravens in the final round by a .8% margin. The NFL on its 100th anniversary named the 1976 Raiders #8 on the 100 greatest teams of all time.

Offseason

+ 1976 Raiders draft selections Round Overall Player Position College 2 34 Charles PhilyawDETexas Southern 2 50 Jeb BlountQBTulsa 3 84 Rik BonnessLBNebraska 4 110 Herb McMathDEMorningside 5 146 Fred SteinfortKBoston College 7 204 Clarence ChapmanWREastern Michigan 8 220 Jerome DoveDBColorado State 8 231 Terry KunzHBColorado 10 286 Dwight LewisDBPurdue 11 313 Rick JenningsHBMaryland 12 343 Cedric BrownSKent State 13 367 Craig CrnickDEIdaho 13 370 Mark YoungGWashington State 14 397 Calvin YoungHBFresno State 15 427 Carl HargraveDBUpper Iowa 16 454 Doug HoganDBSouthern California 17 478 Buddy TateDBTulsa 17 481 Nate BeasleyHBDelaware

Personnel Staff / Coaches

Roster

Season summary The Road to their first World Championship began on opening day, as they hosted the two-time reigning world champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Oakland trailed 28–14 with just over five minutes to play, yet orchestrated what many to this day refer to as their Comeback Classic of . They won 31–28 on a 21-yard Fred Steinfort field goal with 18 seconds left.

What followed was a mammoth five-game road trip, featuring wins over each of the Raiders' three divisional foes. It also included Oakland's lone loss on the year, a 48–17 shocker at New England. However, this would just be a preview of things to come between the Raiders and the Patriots.

Oakland's first six wins were by a total of 28 points. Coupled with the loss, the Raiders actually were outscored 151–148 despite a 6–1 record. But they became virtually unbeatable after the defeat. Upon returning home, they cruised to big victories, like a 49–16 stomping of the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had nail biters like the 28–27 victory against a competitive Chicago Bear team at Soldier Field. They closed out the season with a 24–0 shutout of the San Diego Chargers in Oakland, and ended allowing only 16 points total to division foes Denver, Kansas City and San Diego at home (Tampa Bay was also in the AFC West, finishing 0–14).

The Raiders ended the 1976 season with 64.3% of their passes completed; Ken Stabler completed 66.7% of his passes. Fullback Mark van Eeghen passed the 1,000-yard mark at 1,012 yards. Tight end Dave Casper led the team in receptions with 53, while side receiver Cliff Branch led in reception yards (1,111), touchdowns (12), and yards per reception for receivers who caught more than one pass (24.2).

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 Dallas Cowboys W 17–14 1–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,391 Recap 2 vs. St. Louis Cardinals W 20–9 2–0 Sun Devil Stadium 33,216 Recap 3 at New York Jets W 41–17 3–0 Yankee Stadium 10,726 Recap 4 Los Angeles Rams L 14–23 3–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,615 Recap 5 August 29 at San Francisco 49ers W 14–9 4–1 Candlestick Park 52,704 Recap 6 Seattle Seahawks W 45–28 5–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,487 Recap

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 12 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–28 1–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,371 Recap 2 at Kansas City Chiefs W 24–21 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 60,884 Recap 3 September 26 at Houston Oilers W 14–13 3–0 Astrodome 42,338 Recap 4 October 3 at New England Patriots L 17–48 3–1 Schaefer Stadium 61,068 Recap 5 October 10 at San Diego Chargers W 27–17 4–1 San Diego Stadium 50,523 Recap 6 October 17 at Denver Broncos W 17–10 5–1 Mile High Stadium 63,431 Recap 7 October 24 Green Bay Packers W 18–14 6–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,232 Recap 8 October 31 Denver Broncos W 19–6 7–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,169 Recap 9 November 7 at Chicago Bears W 28–27 8–1 Soldier Field 53,585 Recap 10 November 14 Kansas City Chiefs W 21–10 9–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 48,259 Recap 11 November 21 at Philadelphia Eagles W 26–7 10–1 Veterans Stadium 65,990 Recap 12 November 28 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 49–16 11–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 49,590 Recap 13 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–20 12–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,430 Recap 14 December 12 San Diego Chargers W 24–0 13–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,102 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game notes Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers