1977 Buffalo Bills season

18th season in franchise history; final one with O. J. Simpson November 2013 February 2026 Buffalo Bills 1977 3–11 4th AFC East Jim Ringo Ralph Wilson Rich Stadium Did not qualify G Joe DeLamielleure Bills seasons The 1977 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 18th season, and their eighth in the National Football League. Improving on their 2–12 record from 1976 by only one game, the Bills failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and went 3–11 for their second consecutive losing season. Buffalo started the season with four consecutive losses, and failed to win consecutive games. The team was shut out two times at home. The Bills beat only one team with a winning record — the New England Patriots in an early November game in Foxboro that ultimately proved fatal to the Patriots' playoff hopes. After drawing 76,000 to Rich Stadium on opening day against the Dolphins, Buffalo drew an average of only 35,000 for the remaining six home games. The Bills had one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the NFL in 1977. Quarterback Joe Ferguson led the league in pass attempts (457, 32.6 per game) and passing yards (2,803, 200.2 per game). He also threw 24 interceptions, the most in the NFL.Pro-Football-Reference.com 1977 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards Although the Bills passed the ball more often than any other team, they were not efficient through the air: they ranked 19th out of 28 teams in passing touchdowns, 21st in yards per attempt, and 20th in quarterback rating (a dismal 54.7).Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics Buffalo's 160 points scored was the third-worst in the NFL. Buffalo’s defense also gave up 313 points, the fourth-worst total in the league.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics Buffalo's anemic scoring and porous defense gave the team a point-differential of −153, worst in the league.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Buffalo Bills This was the last season for O.J. Simpson as a member of the Bills, as he was traded to the 49ers the following season. Simpson would ultimately finish his last season with the Bills with 557 rushing yards on 126 attempts for a 4.4 rushing average. Offseason NFL draft 1977 NFL draft Seventh round pick Mike Nelms was cut by the Bills in the 1977 training camp, and went to play in the Canadian Football League for the next three seasons. He returned to the NFL in 1980, joining the Washington Redskins, and was voted to three consecutive NFC Pro Bowl squads from 1980–1982. Cornerback Charles Romes played in every game for the Bills from 1977 until his final season with Buffalo in 1986. He finished his career in Buffalo with 28 interceptions, fourth in Bills’ history.Pro-Football-Reference.com: Buffalo Bills Defense Career Register 1977 Buffalo Bills 1 12 Phil Dokes Defensive tackle Oklahoma State from Detroit yes 3 59 Curtis Brown Running back Missouri yes 3 73 John Kimbrough Wide receiver St. Cloud State yes 4 86 Jimmy Dean Defensive tackle Texas A&M no 5 115 Fred Besana Quarterback California no 5 127 Neil O'Donoghue Kicker Auburn no 6 157 Ron Pruitt Defensive end Nebraska no 7 170 Mike Nelms Defensive back Baylor yes no 8 197 Greg Morton Defensive tackle Michigan yes 11 282 Nate Jackson Running back Tennessee State no 12 309 Charles Romes Cornerback North Carolina Central yes no no Personnel Staff/coaches 1977 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 – Jim Ringo Offensive coaches Running backs coach – Jim LaRaue Wide Receivers Coach - Kay Dalton Offensive line coaches – Ray Wietecha Defensive/Special teams coaches Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs Coach - Richie McCabe Defensive line – Jerry Wampfler Linebackers – Jim Carr Scouting Director of Scouting - Marvin Bass Roster 1977 Buffalo Bills 45 5 0 11 Fred Besana y 12 Joe Ferguson 14 Ken Johnson quarterback 34 Jim Braxton 35 Mike Collier American football 36 Mike Franckowiak 25 Roland Hooks 38 Stan Winfrey 81 Bob Chandler 82 John Kimbrough wide receiver y 89 Lou Piccone 86 Leonard Willis 88 Reuben Gant 87 Paul Seymour American football 60 Bill Adams offensive lineman G 68 Joe DeLamielleure G 70 Joe Devlin American football T 78 Dave Foley American football T 73 Ken Jones American football T 67 Reggie McKenzie guard G 61 Willie Parker offensive lineman C 53 Connie Zelencik y C 85 Phil Dokes DE/DT y 76 Bill Dunstan DT 71 Mike Kadish DT 72 John Little American football DT 79 Greg Morton y DE 83 Sherman White American football DE 77 Ben Williams American football, born 1954 DE 50 Greg Collins American football MLB 30 Bo Cornell OLB 52 Merv Krakau MLB 51 Dan Jilek OLB 56 Bob Nelson linebacker MLB 59 Shane Nelson American football y OLB 54 Tom Ruud OLB 29 Mario Clark CB 22 Steve Freeman American football FS 43 Tony Greene FS 28 Dwight Harrison CB 24 Doug Jones American football SS 46 Keith Moody CB 26 Charles Romes y CB  7 Marv Bateman P  5 Carson Long y K 47 Curtis Brown running back, born 1954 y RB IR 86 Reggie Craig WR IR 80 John Holland American football WR IR 32 O. J. Simpson RB IR 55 John Skorupan LB IR Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 18 Miami Dolphins L 0–13 0–1 Rich Stadium 76,097 2 September 25 at Denver Broncos L 6–26 0–2 Mile High Stadium 74,897 3 October 2 at Baltimore Colts L 14–17 0–3 Memorial Stadium 49,247 4 October 9 New York Jets L 19–24 0–4 Rich Stadium 32,046 5 October 16 Atlanta Falcons W 3–0 1–4 Rich Stadium 27,348 6 October 23 Cleveland Browns L 16–27 1–5 Rich Stadium 60,905 7 October 30 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–56 1–6 Kingdome 61,180 8 November 6 at New England Patriots W 24–14 2–6 Schaefer Stadium 60,263 9 November 13 Baltimore Colts L 13–31 2–7 Rich Stadium 39,444 10 November 20 New England Patriots L 7–20 2–8 Rich Stadium 27,598 11 November 28 at Oakland Raiders L 13–34 2–9 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,558 12 December 4 Washington Redskins L 0–10 2–10 Rich Stadium 22,975 13 December 11 at New York Jets W 14–10 3–10 Shea Stadium 31,929 14 December 17 at Miami Dolphins L 14–31 3–11 Miami Orange Bowl 39,626 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 5 Falcons 0 0 0 0 Bills 0 3 0 0 October 16 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 27,348 45 °F °C 1, wind 17 mph km/h knots Bernie Ulman Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti NFL on CBS yes 2 BUF Neil O'Donoghue 30 yard field goal Bills 3–0 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 11 Bills 3 7 3 0 Raiders 13 7 14 0 November 28 Oakland Alameda Coliseum, Oakland, California 9:00 p.m. EST 56 °F °C 1, wind 6 mph km/h knots Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Don Meredith ABC Monday Night Football Week 12 Redskins 0 7 0 3 Bills 0 0 0 0 December 7 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 22,975 29 °F °C 1, wind 15 mph km/h knots Ben Dreith Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti NFL on CBS Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills - December 4th Week 13 Bills 0 7 0 7 Jets 0 3 0 7 December 11 Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 31,929 20 °F °C 1, wind 17 mph km/h knots Marv Albert,Len Dawson NBC Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 2 Jets Pat Leahy 25 yard field goal Jets 3–0 1 Bills Bob Chandler 5 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick) Bills 7–3 4 Jets Wesley Walker 9 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 10–7 4 Bills Bob Chandler 11 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick) Bills 14–10 yes Standings Awards and honors All-Pros 1977 All-Pro Team Joe DeLamielleure, Guard Notes note References External links Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Buffalo Bills Video Archives 1977 NFL Week 12: Redskins at Bills at YouTube 1977 NFL Week 13: Bills at Jets at YouTube Category:Buffalo Bills seasons Buffalo Bills Buffalo