The 1976 Detroit Lions season was the 47th season in franchise history. After the first four games of the season, Rick Forzano resigned under pressure of owner William Clay Ford, and was replaced by one time Brigham Young University head coach and Lions assistant Tommy Hudspeth.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing, New York, , p. 114. In spite of a stellar season by quarterback Greg Landry, that year's NFL Comeback Player Of The Year, the team was still mired in mediocrity, finishing 6–8.
Offseason 1976 expansion draft
+ Detroit Lions selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Larry BallLinebackerTampa Bay Buccaneers00Gordon JolleyOffensive tackleSeattle Seahawks00John McMakinTight endSeattle Seahawks
NFL draft
Notes
Detroit were awarded a first-round pick (8th) from Los Angeles as compensation for the Rams signing Lions free agent WR Ron Jessie. During the draft, Detroit traded this 8th pick to Chicago in exchange for the Bears' first- and third-round picks (10th and 68th). Detroit were awarded a second-round pick (46th) from San Diego as compensation for the Chargers signing Lions free agent C Ed Flanagan. Detroit traded its fourth-round pick (108th) to Miami in exchange for LB Larry Ball and the Dolphins' fifth-round pick (145th). Detroit traded its fifth-round pick (140th) to San Francisco in exchange for QB Joe Reed. Detroit traded its sixth-round pick (170th) to New England in exchange for C Jon Morris. Detroit traded FB Leon Crosswhite to New England in exchange for the Patriots' eighth-round pick (217th) and sixth-round pick in 1975.
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Final roster
Regular season On November 25, O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills set a record with the most rushing yards in a Thanksgiving Day game, by rushing for 273 yards against the Lions.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 377
In spite of their poor overall record the Lions offense set a statistical record for Passer Rating Differential (40.9, 14th best 1960 to 2011). Such a high rating is usually reserved for playoff teams or Super Bowl winners.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 12 at Chicago Bears L 3–10 0–1 Soldier Field 54,125 2 September 19 Atlanta Falcons W 24–10 1–1 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 50,840 3 September 26 Minnesota Vikings L 9–10 1–2 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 77,292 4 October 3 at Green Bay Packers L 14–24 1–3 Lambeau Field 55,041 5 October 10 New England Patriots W 30–10 2–3 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 60,174 6 October 17 at Washington Redskins L 7–20 2–4 RFK Stadium 45,908 7 October 24 at Seattle Seahawks W 41–14 3–4 Kingdome 61,280 8 October 31 Green Bay Packers W 27–6 4–4 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 74,992 9 November 7 at Minnesota Vikings L 23–31 4–5 Metropolitan Stadium 46,735 10 November 14 at New Orleans Saints L 16–17 4–6 Louisiana Superdome 42,048 11 November 21 Chicago Bears W 14–10 5–6 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 78,042 12 Buffalo Bills W 27–14 6–6 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 66,875 13 December 5 at New York Giants L 10–24 6–7 Giants Stadium 66,069 14 Los Angeles Rams L 17–20 6–8 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 73,470 !Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Season summary Week 1 at Bears
Week 2 vs Falcons
Week 4 at Packers
Standings
References
Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com Detroit Lions on The Football Database