The 1976 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 57th season the franchise was in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 11–3, instead regressing by one win.1976 St. Louis Cardinals This was the first time in three seasons the team did not qualify for the playoffs. The Cardinals finished tied with the Washington Redskins for 2nd place in the NFC East, but they lost the tiebreaker due to Washington winning both matchups during the season.
Ultimately, the Cardinals became the only NFC team to win ten games without making the playoffs under a 14-game schedule.
Notably, they took on the San Diego Chargers in a preseason game in the first NFL game to take place in Japan.
Offseason 1976 expansion draft
+ St. Louis Cardinals selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Dwayne CrumpCornerbackSeattle Seahawks00Gary KeithleyQuarterbackSeattle Seahawks00Council RudolphDefensive endTampa Bay Buccaneers
NFL draft
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Roster 1976 St. Louis Cardinals roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams Reserve lists
rookies in italics
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 12 at Seattle Seahawks W 30–24 1–0 Kingdome 58,441 2 September 19 Green Bay Packers W 29–0 2–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,842 3 September 26 at San Diego Chargers L 24–43 2–1 San Diego Stadium 40,212 4 October 3 New York Giants W 27–21 3–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,039 5 October 10 Philadelphia Eagles W 33–14 4–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 44,933 6 October 17 Dallas Cowboys W 21–17 5–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,317 7 at Washington Redskins L 10–20 5–2 RFK Stadium 48,325 8 October 31 San Francisco 49ers W 23–20 6–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,365 9 November 7 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–14 7–2 Veterans Stadium 65,505 10 November 14 at Los Angeles Rams W 30–28 8–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,698 11 November 21 Washington Redskins L 10–16 8–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,833 12 November 25 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–19 8–4 Texas Stadium 62,498 13 Baltimore Colts W 24–17 9–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,282 14 December 12 at New York Giants W 17–14 10–4 Giants Stadium 60,553 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: @ Seattle Seahawks This was the first game for the Seattle Seahawks, who had been assigned to the NFC West for their inaugural season and would play one game against every NFC team during the season, and the first ever event held at the Kingdome. The Cardinals jumped out to leads of 23–3 and 30–10 before holding on to beat the Seahawks 30–24.
Standings
References