| 1976 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Head coach | Lou Saban (resigned) Jim Ringo (interim) |
| Home field | Rich Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–12 |
| Division place | 5th AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | G Joe DeLamielleure RB O. J. Simpson |
| AP All-Pros | G Joe DeLamielleure (1st team) RB O. J. Simpson (1st team) |
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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.[1]
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.[1]
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.[2][3] Lunsford was also ejected from the game as well. Neither player was fined or suspended by the league.
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.[1]
| Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | Gary Hayman | Running back | Seattle Seahawks |
| 0 | 0 | Frank Oliver | Defensive back | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 0 | 0 | Pat Toomay | Defensive end | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
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.[4] 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.
| = Pro Bowler [5] |
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Mario Clark | DB | Oregon | |
| 2 | 45 | Ken Jones | OG | Arkansas State | |
| 52 | Joe Devlin | T | Iowa | ||
| 3 | 78 | Ben Williams[6] | DE | Mississippi | |
| 4 | 109 | Dan Jilek | LB | Michigan | |
| 5 | 142 | Fred Coleman | TE | Northeast Louisiana | |
| 6 | 164 | Leslie Benson | DE | Baylor | |
| 171 | Scott Piper | WR | Arizona | ||
| 175 | Darnell Powell | RB | Tennessee-Chattanooga | ||
| 7 | 195 | Jackie Williams | DB | Texas A &M | |
| 8 | 215 | Scott Gardner | QB | Virginia | |
| 226 | Bobby Joe Easter | RB | Middle Tennessee State | ||
| 227 | Art Meadowcroft | G | Minnesota | ||
| 9 | 241 | Jeff Turner | LB | Kansas | |
| 255 | Bob Kotzur | DT | Southwest Texas State | ||
| 10 | 280 | Keith Moody | DB | Syracuse | |
| 11 | 309 | Forry Smith | WR | Iowa State | |
| 12 | 336 | Joe Lowery | RB | Jackson State | |
| 13 | 365 | Will Wilcox | G | Texas | |
| 14 | 392 | Tony Williams | WR | Middle Tennessee State | |
| 15 | 421 | Arnold Robinson | LB | Bethune-Cookman | |
| 16 | 448 | Gary Gorrell | LB | Boise State | |
| 17 | 477 | Bob Berg | K | New Mexico |
| 1976 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff Offensive coaches
Defensive/Special teams coaches
Scouting
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| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | 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 | atTampa 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 | atNew 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 | atNew England Patriots | L 10–20 | 2—7 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,157 | |
| 10 | November 15 | atDallas Cowboys | L 10–17 | 2—8 | Cotton Bowl | 51,799 | |
| 11 | November 21 | San Diego Chargers | L 13–34 | 2—9 | Rich Stadium | 36,539 | |
| 12 | November 25 | atDetroit Lions | L 14–27 | 2—10 | Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium | 66,875 | |
| 13 | December 5 | atMiami Dolphins | L 45–27 | 2—11 | Miami Orange Bowl | 43,475 | |
| 14 | December 12 | atBaltimore Colts | L 20–58 | 2—12 | Memorial Stadium | 50,451 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
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O. J. Simpson rushed for 273 yards, setting a Thanksgiving Day record that still holds as of the end of the 2016 season.
| AFC East | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Baltimore Colts(2) | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 7–1 | 11–1 | 417 | 246 | W1 |
| New England Patriots(4) | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 6–2 | 10–2 | 376 | 236 | W6 |
| Miami Dolphins | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 263 | 264 | L1 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 169 | 383 | L4 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0–8 | 2–10 | 245 | 363 | L10 |
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| Division championships (14) |
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Bold indicates AFL ChampionshiporSuper Bowl victory |
