1974 Buffalo Bills season

15th season in franchise history; first NFL playoff appearance November 2013 February 2026 Buffalo Bills 1974 9–5 2nd AFC East Lou Saban Ralph Wilson Rich Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Steelers) 14–32 RB O.J. SimpsonCB Robert James Bills seasons The 1974 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League, and the 15th overall. Buffalo made the NFL playoffs for the first time and reached the postseason for the first time in eight seasons. In the divisional playoffs the Bills lost to the eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 32–14, in Pittsburgh. As it turned out, this was running back O. J. Simpson's only playoff appearance of his career. Buffalo did not make the playoffs again until 1980, by which time OJ had been traded to the 49ers. In his 2 seasons in San Francisco, the 49ers finished with 2-14 records and missed the playoffs, which was followed by Simpson announcing his retirement from the NFL. In his only playoff game, Simpson finished with 49 rushing yards on 11 carries and 0 touchdowns, though he did catch a touchdown pass from Joe Ferguson in the 3rd quarter. Buffalo debuted their new uniforms and helmets in 1974, replacing the red "standing buffalo" with the "streaking bison."The Gridiron Uniforms Database: Buffalo Bills This updated look was first displayed before a national audience on the first Monday Night Football game of the season, in a dramatic 21–20 victory over Oakland.Video: Oakland at Buffalo, Week 1, 1974, highlights at YouTube Simpson, coming off consecutive rushing titles, did not lead the league in 1974, but did cross the 1,000-yard barrier despite a sore knee.Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 270 Martin's Press, August 1994, 0-312-11073-1 Buffalo's defense was far more stout than it had been in previous years, as it gave up 3,489 yards in 1974, fifth-fewest in the NFL. The Bills' 1,611 passing yards allowed were the third-best in the league.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1974/opp.htm 1974 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics Pro-Football-Reference.com The 1974 Bills have the odd distinction of being the last team to go a full game without completing a pass,as of 2011 regular season in Week Three of the season against the New York Jets. Despite this, they still managed to defeat the Jets, behind 223 combined Buffalo rushing yards—as well as only 2 completions by Jets quarterback Joe Namath in 18 attempts.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197409290buf.htm New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - September 29th, 1974 Pro-Football-Reference.comhttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/1974.htm 1974 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Offseason NFL draft 1974 NFL draft Oklahoma State tight end Reuben Gant played his entire seven-year career with the Bills. Quarterback Gary Marangi was the Bills' backup quarterback for three seasons; in 1976, he started the final seven games of the season when starter Joe Ferguson was injured for the season with a back injury. 1974 Buffalo Bills 1 18 Reuben Gant Tight end Oklahoma State yes 2 27 Doug Allen Linebacker Penn State yes 3 70 Gary Marangi Quarterback Boston College yes 4 95 Carlester Crumpler Running back East Carolina 5 106 Gary Hayman Wide receiver Penn State yes 5 122 Tim Guy Offensive tackle Oregon 8 203 Greg Hare Quarterback Ohio State 9 226 Brian Doherty Punter Notre Dame 10 241 Art Cameron Tight end Albany State 10 249 Don Calhoun Running back Kansas State yes 11 278 Rod Kirby Linebacker Pittsburgh 12 303 Dave Means Defensive end Southeast Missouri State yes 13 331 Ed Gatewood Linebacker Tennessee State 14 339 Phil Lamm Defensive back North Carolina 14 355 Phil Gurbada Defensive back Mayville State 15 382 Ken Williams Linebacker Southwestern Louisiana 16 406 Sanford Qvale Offensive tackle North Dakota State 17 434 Sal Casola Placekicker Cincinnati no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/1974_draft.htm 1974 Buffalo Bills draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com December 27, 2014 Personnel Staff/Coaches 1974 Buffalo Bills President – Ralph Wilson Vice President and General Manager – Bob Lustig Vice President – Pat McGroder Head Coach – Lou Saban Receivers – Bob Shaw Offensive Line – Jim Ringo Defensive Line – Stan Jones Linebackers – John Ray Defensive Backfield – Bill Atkins Special Teams – Ed Cavanaugh Roster 1974 Buffalo Bills 12 Joe Ferguson 16 Scott Hunter American football 17 Gary Marangi y 34 Jim Braxton 29 Don Calhoun y 32 O. J. Simpson 36 Larry Watkins 81 Bob Chandler 89 Wallace Francis 47 Clint Haslerig y 40 J. D. Hill 27 Ahmad Rashad 88 Reuben Gant y 37 Ted Koy 87 Paul Seymour American football 60 Bill Adams offensive lineman G 68 Joe DeLamielleure G 70 Dave Foley American football T 74 Donnie Green T 76 Halvor Hagen T 51 Bruce Jarvis C 67 Reggie McKenzie guard G 53 Mike Montler C 65 Nick Nighswander y C 61 Willie Parker offensive lineman G 64 Dave Costa DE 72 Don Croft DT 74 Earl Edwards American football DE 71 Mike Kadish DT 77 Dave Means y DE 85 Walt Patulski DE 62 Jeff Yeates y DT 59 Doug Allen American football y OLB 50 Jim Cheyunski MLB 30 Bo Cornell OLB 52 Merv Krakau MLB 86 Dave Washington OLB 22 Bill Cahill American football FS 42 Neal Craig SS 43 Tony Greene FS 28 Dwight Harrison CB 20 Robert James defensive back CB 45 Rex Kern CB 24 Al Randolph SS 26 Donnie Walker FS  7 Marv Bateman P  3 John Leypoldt K 21 Gary Hayman y RB IR 55 John Skorupan LB IR 75 Jeff Winans DT IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 16 Oakland Raiders W 21–20 1–0 Rich Stadium Recap 2 September 22 Miami Dolphins L 16–24 1–1 Rich Stadium Recap 3 September 29 New York Jets W 16–12 2–1 Rich Stadium Recap 4 October 6 at Green Bay Packers W 27–7 3–1 Lambeau Field Recap 5 October 13 at Baltimore Colts W 27–14 4–1 Memorial Stadium Recap 6 October 20 New England Patriots W 30–28 5–1 Rich Stadium Recap 7 October 27 Chicago Bears W 16–6 6–1 Rich Stadium Recap 8 November 3 at New England Patriots W 29–28 7–1 Schaefer Stadium Recap 9 November 10 Houston Oilers L 9–21 7–2 Rich Stadium Recap 10 November 17 at Miami Dolphins L 28–35 7–3 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 11 November 24 at Cleveland Browns W 15–10 8–3 Cleveland Stadium Recap 12 December 1 Baltimore Colts W 6–0 9–3 Rich Stadium Recap 13 December 8 at New York Jets L 10–20 9–4 Shea Stadium Recap 14 December 15 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–19 9–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap Game summaries Week 1 Buffalo Snaps the Raiders MNF winning streak** Raiders 0 3 7 10 Bills 0 7 0 14 September 16 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 9:00 p.m. 59 F, wind 13 mph on Ben Dreith Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Alex Karras ABC Monday Night Football yes 2 BUF J.D. Hill 24 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick) Bills 7–0 2 OAK George Blanda 34 yard field goal Bills 7–3 3 OAK Clarence Davis 15 yard run (George Blanda kick) Raiders 10–7 4 OAK George Blanda 41 yard field goal Raiders 13–7 4 BUF Ahmad Rashad 8 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick) Bills 14–13 4 OAK Art Thoms 29 yard fumble return (George Blanda kick) Raiders 20–14 4 BUF Ahmad Rashad 13 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick) Bills 21–20 yes https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197409160buf.htm Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills - September 16th, 1974 Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 8 Bills 6 13 7 3 Patriots 7 14 7 0 November 3 Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts 1:00 p.m. EST 46 F, wind 7 mph on Ben Dreith Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 1 Bills John Leypoldt 45 yard field goal Bills 3–0 1 Patriots Mack Herron 43 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (John Smith kick) Patriots 7–3 1 Bills John Leypoldt 20 yard field goal Patriots 7–6 2 Patriots Mack Herron 20 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (John Smith kick) Patriots 14–6 2 Bills Ahmad Rashad 25 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (kick failed) Patriots 14–12 2 Patriots Sam Cunningham 31 yard run (John Smith kick) Patriots 21–12 2 Bills O. J. Simpson 1 yard run (John Leypoldt kick) Patriots 21–19 3 Bills Dave Washington 72 yard interception return (John Leypoldt kick) Bills 26–21 3 Patriots Mack Herron 2 yard run (John Smith kick) Patriots 28–26 4 Bills John Leypoldt 47 yard field goal Bills 29–28 yes Standings Playoffs Buffalo Bills 1974 2; text-align:center collapsed AFC Divisional Playoff: Buffalo Bills (9–5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10–3–1) December 22 1:00 p.m. Bills 7 0 7 0 Steelers 3 26 0 3 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 48,321 Light snow, 33 F C Norm Schachter NBC Jim Simpson and John Brodie Box Score First quarter PIT – Roy Gerela 21-yard field goal. Steelers 3–0. BUF – Paul Seymour 22-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick). Bills 7–3. Second quarter PIT – Rocky Bleier 27-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw. Steelers 9–7. PIT – Franco Harris 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 16–7. PIT – Franco Harris 4-yard run. Steelers 22–7. PIT – Franco Harris 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 29–7. Third quarter BUF – O. J. Simpson 3-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick). Steelers 29–14. Fourth quarter PIT – Roy Gerela 22-yard field goal. Steelers 32–14. Top passers BUF – Joe Ferguson – 11/26, 164 yards, 2 TD PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 12/19, 203 yards, TD Top rushers BUF – O. J. Simpson – 15 rushes, 49 yards PIT – Franco Harris – 24 rushes, 74 yards, 3 TD Top receivers BUF – J.D. Hill – 4 receptions, 59 yards PIT – Lynn Swann – 3 receptions, 60 yards References External links 1974 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Buffalo Bills seasons Buffalo Bills Buffalo