1976 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

American football team season August 2023 March 2026 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) St. Louis Cardinals 1976 10–4 3rd NFC East Don Coryell Bill Bidwill Did not qualify C Tom BanksG Conrad DoblerT Dan DierdorfQB Jim HartWR Mel GrayCB Roger WehrliK Jim Bakken Cardinals seasons 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 1976 NFL 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 1976 NFL draft 1976 St. Louis Cardinals 1 22 Mike Dawson Defensive tackle Arizona yes 3 65 Brad Oates Offensive tackle BYU yes 4 114 Pat Tilley Wide receiver Louisiana Tech yes yes 5 141 Wayne Morris Running back SMU yes 7 203 Phil Rogers Running back Virginia Tech no 8 233 Randall Burks Wide receiver Southeastern Oklahoma State no 10 285 Randy Walker Linebacker Bethune–Cookman no 11 315 Marty Akins Defensive back Texas no 13 369 Greg Brewton Defensive tackle Michigan State no 14 399 Raymond Crosier Defensive end Abilene Christian no 15 420 Lee Nelson Safety Florida State yes 16 453 Cecil Beaird Wide receiver Fisk no 17 483 Dan Myers Defensive back Georgia Tech no yes no Personnel Staff / Coaches 1976 St. Louis Cardinals Principal Owner/de facto General Manager - Bill Bidwill Director of Pro Football Operations – Joe Sullivan Head Coach – Don Coryell Offensive Backs / Receivers – Joe Gibbs Offensive line – Jim Hanifan Defensive Coordinator / Secondary – Ray Willsey Defensive Line / Linebackers – Willie Zapalac Defensive Backs = Chuck Weber Special Assignments - Wayne Seiver Strength and Conditioning - Jim Curzi Source:1976 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) Scores, Roster, Stats , Coaches, Draft https://www.profootballarchives.com/1976nflstl.html 2026-08-31 www.profootballarchives.com Roster 1976 St. Louis Cardinals roster Quarterbacks 10 Bill Donckers y 17 Jim Hart American football Running backs 30 Gary Hammond 34 Steve Jones American football 32 Jerry Latin 21 Terry Metcalf 24 Wayne Morris American football y 27 Eddie Moss 35 Jim Otis Wide receivers 86 Melvin Baker 85 Mel Gray wide receiver 84 Ike Harris 83 Pat Tilley y Tight ends 88 J. V. Cain 81 Jackie Smith Offensive linemen 54 Tom Banks American football C 51 Tom Brahaney C/G 72 Dan Dierdorf T 66 Conrad Dobler G 60 Roger Finnie T 65 Brad Oates y T 62 Keith Wortman G 64 Bob Young offensive lineman G Defensive linemen 79 Bob Bell American football DE 70 Leo Brooks American football DE 76 Charlie Davis defensive tackle DT 73 Mike Dawson defensive end y DT 71 Steve Okoniewski DT 63 John Zook DE Linebackers 57 Mark Arneson OLB 58 Al Beauchamp OLB 59 Carl Gersbach MLB 56 Tim Kearney American football MLB 52 Mike McGraw OLB 67 Larry Stallings OLB Defensive backs 26 Dwayne Crump CB 41 Clarence Duren FS 36 Ken Reaves SS 20 Mike Sensibaugh FS 46 Jeff Severson SS 43 Norm Thompson American football CB 22 Roger Wehrli CB Special teams 25 Jim Bakken K 87 Terry Joyce y P Reserve lists 61 Hank Allison G/T IR 50 Greg Hartle LB IR 53 Steve Neils LB IR 38 Lee Nelson American football y CB IR 74 Walt Patulski DE IR 55 Ray White American football LB IR 78 Ron Yankowski DE IR 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 October 25, 1976 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 December 4, 1976 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 St. Louis Cardinals 1976 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week One: St. Louis Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks – Game summary September 12 1:09 pm local Cardinals 3 10 10 7 Seahawks 3 0 7 14 Kingdome, Seattle, Washington 58,441 indoors Tom Bell CBS Jim Thacker and Alex Hawkins Gamebook First quarter STL – Jim Bakken 28-yard field goal, 6:22 (STL 3–0) SEA – Don Bitterlich 27-yard field goal, 1:15 (Tied 3–3) Second quarter STL – Ike Harris 12-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick), 13:05 (STL 10–3) STL – Jim Bakken 22-yard field goal, 0:21 (STL 13–3) Third quarter STL – Pat Tilley 27-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick), 12:51 (STL 20–3) STL – Jim Bakken 26-yard field goal, 5:47 (STL 23–3) SEA – Sam McCullum 15-yard pass from Jim Zorn 3:52 (Don Bitterlich kick), (STL 23–10) Fourth quarter STL – Jim Otis 1-yard run (Jim Bakken kick), 14:10 (STL 30–10) SEA – Sam McCullum 72-yard pass from Jim Zorn 13:50 (Don Bitterlich kick), (STL 30–17) SEA – Jim Zorn 8-yard run (Don Bitterlich kick), 5:09 (STL 30–24) Top passers STL – Jim Hart: 15 completions/23 attempts, 180 yds, 2 TD touchdowns, 1 INT interceptions SEA – Jim Zorn: 17/37, 292 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers STL – Jim Otis: 27 car carries, 140 yds, 1 TD SEA – Andy Bolton: 12 car, 37 yds Top receivers STL – Steve Jones: 3 rec receptions, 59 yds SEA – Sam McCullum: 4 rec, 112 yds, 2 TD Team – pass passing yards – rush rushing yards – total total yards – to turnovers STL – 175 – 281 – 456 – 2 SEA – 279 – 73 – 352 – 3 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 Category:Arizona Cardinals seasons St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals