1976 Buffalo Bills season

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.Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 306, Martin's Press, August 1994,

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

+ Buffalo Bills selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Gary HaymanRunning backSeattle Seahawks00Frank OliverDefensive backTampa Bay Buccaneers00Pat ToomayDefensive endTampa Bay Buccaneers

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 Majority owner/team president – Ralph Wilson Vice President & General Manager – Bob Lustig Vice president/minority owner – Pat McGroder

Coaching staff Head coach – Lou Saban Interim Head/Assistant Coach - Jim Ringo

Offensive coaches Running backs coach – Jim LaRue Offensive line coaches – Jim Ringo & Marvin Bass

Defensive/Special teams coaches Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs Coach - Richie McCabe Defensive line – Jerry Wampfler Linebackers – John Ray Defensive backfield – Billy Atkins Special teams – Ed Cavanaugh Scouting Director of Scouting - Marvin Bass

Roster

Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 Miami Dolphins L 21–30 0–1 Rich Stadium 77,683 2 September 19 Houston Oilers L 3–13 0–2 Rich Stadium 61,384 3 September 26 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 14–9 1–2 Tampa Stadium 44,505 4 October 3 Kansas City Chiefs W 50–17 2–2 Rich Stadium 51,909 5 October 10 at New York Jets L 14–17 2–3 Shea Stadium 59,110 6 October 17 Baltimore Colts L 13–31 2–4 Rich Stadium 71,009 7 October 24 New England Patriots L 22–26 2–5 Rich Stadium 45,144 8 October 31 New York Jets L 14–19 2–6 Rich Stadium 41,285 9 November 7 at New England Patriots L 10–20 2–7 Schaefer Stadium 61,157 10 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–17 2–8 Texas Stadium 51,799 11 November 21 San Diego Chargers L 13–34 2–9 Rich Stadium 36,539 12 at Detroit Lions L 14–27 2–10 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 66,875 13 December 5 at Miami Dolphins L 27–45 2–11 Miami Orange Bowl 43,475 14 December 12 at Baltimore Colts L 20–58 2–12 Memorial Stadium 50,451 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary Week 3

Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-06.

Week 4

Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.

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 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 377

1976 Buffalo Bills season

Bron en licentie