1976 Buffalo Bills season

17th season in franchise history November 2013 February 2026 Buffalo Bills 1976 2–12 5th AFC East Lou Saban (resigned) Jim Ringo (interim) Ralph Wilson Rich Stadium Did not qualify G Joe DeLamielleureRB O. J. Simpson G Joe DeLamielleure (1st team)RB O. J. Simpson (1st team) Bills seasons 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.Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 306, Martin's Press, August 1994, 0-312-11073-1 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. 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.http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/buffalo-bills-o-j-simpson-walks-along-sidelines-after-being-news-photo/515578096#buffalo-bills-oj-simpson-walks-along-sidelines-after-being-ejected-picture-id515578096 Buffalo Bills' O.J. Simpson walks along sidelines after being ejectedhttps://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/11/08/79793144.pdf Simpson Ejected for Fighting Lunsford was also ejected from the game. Neither player was fined or suspended by the league. Offseason 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. 1976 expansion draft 1976 NFL expansion draft + Buffalo Bills selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Gary HaymanRunning backSeattle Seahawks00Frank OliverDefensive backTampa Bay Buccaneers00Pat ToomayDefensive endTampa Bay Buccaneers NFL draft 1976 NFL draft 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.Databasefootball.com: Joe Devlin 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. 1976 Buffalo Bills 1 18 Mario Clark Cornerback Oregon yes 2 42 Ken Jones Guard Arkansas State yes 2 52 Joe Devlin Offensive tackle Iowa yes 3 78 Ben Williams Defensive end Ole Miss yes yes 4 109 Dan Jilek Linebacker Michigan yes 5 142 Fred Coleman Tight end Northeast Louisiana yes 6 164 Leslie Benson Defensive end Baylor no 6 171 Scott Piper Wide receiver Arizona no 6 175 Darnell Powell Running back Tennessee-Chattanooga yes 7 195 Jackie Williams Defensive back Texas A&M no 8 215 Scott Gardner Quarterback Virginia no 8 226 Bobby Joe Easter Running back Middle Tennessee State no 8 227 Art Meadowcroft Guard Minnesota no 9 241 Jeff Turner Linebacker Kansas no 9 255 Bob Kotzur Defensive tackle Southwest Texas State no 10 280 Keith Moody Cornerback Syracuse yes 11 309 Forry Smith Wide receiver Iowa State no 12 336 Joe Lowery Running back Jackson State no 13 365 Will Wilcox Guard Texas no 14 392 Tony Williams Wide receiver Middle Tennessee State no 15 421 Arnold Robinson Linebacker Bethune-Cookman no 16 448 Gary Gorrell Linebacker Boise State no 17 477 Bob Berg Kicker New Mexico no yes no Personnel Staff/coaches 1976 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 – Lou Saban Interim Head/Assistant Coach - Jim Ringo Offensive coaches Running backs coach – Jim LaRue Offensive line coaches – Jim Ringo & Marvin Bass Defensive/Special teams coaches Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs Coach - Richie McCabe Defensive line – Jerry Wampfler Linebackers – John Ray Defensive backfield – Billy Atkins Special teams – Ed Cavanaugh Scouting Director of Scouting - Marvin Bass Roster 1976 Buffalo Bills 17 Gary Marangi 14 Sam Wyche 25 Roland Hooks 36 Jeff Kinney American football 38 Eddie Ray 33 Andy Reid running back y 32 O. J. Simpson 81 Bob Chandler 86 Emmett Edwards 80 John Holland American football 88 Reuben Gant 87 Paul Seymour American football 60 Bill Adams offensive lineman T 68 Joe DeLamielleure G 70 Dave Foley American football T 76 Joe Devlin American football y T 74 Donnie Green T 67 Reggie McKenzie guard G 53 Mike Montler C 65 Bob Patton y C 50 Mark Johnson American football DE 69 Ken Jones American football y DE 71 Mike Kadish DT 75 Jeff Lloyd American football y DT 79 Marty Smith American football y DT 85 Tody Smith DE 83 Sherman White American football DE 77 Ben Williams American football, born 1954 y DE 30 Bo Cornell OLB 51 Dan Jilek y OLB 52 Merv Krakau MLB 56 Bob Nelson linebacker MLB 54 Tom Ruud OLB 55 John Skorupan OLB 23 Clifford Brooks SS 29 Mario Clark y CB 22 Steve Freeman American football FS 43 Tony Greene FS 28 Dwight Harrison CB 24 Doug Jones American football SS 46 Keith Moody y CB 7 Marv Bateman P 5 George Jakowenko K 34 Jim Braxton RB IR 85 Fred Coleman tight end y TE IR 12 Joe Ferguson QB IR 21 Van Green S IR 20 Robert James defensive back CB IR 61 Willie Parker offensive lineman C/G IR 35 Darnell Powell y RB IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 13, 1976 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 at Tampa 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 at New 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 at New England Patriots L 10–20 2–7 Schaefer Stadium 61,157 10 November 15, 1976 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–17 2–8 Texas Stadium 51,799 11 November 21 San Diego Chargers L 13–34 2–9 Rich Stadium 36,539 12 November 25, 1976 at Detroit Lions L 14–27 2–10 Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium 66,875 13 December 5 at Miami Dolphins L 27–45 2–11 Miami Orange Bowl 43,475 14 December 12 at Baltimore Colts L 20–58 2–12 Memorial Stadium 50,451 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 3 Bills 0 7 0 7 Buccaneers 6 0 0 3 September 26 Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL 1:00 p.m. 80 °F °C 1 or; wind 6 mph km/h knots yes Q1 TB Green 39 yard field goal TB 3–0 Q1 TB Green 24 yard field goal TB 6–0 Q2 BUF Chandler 58 yard pass from Ferguson (Ricardo kick) BUF 7–6 Q4 TB Green 19 yard field goal TB 9–7 Q4 BUF Gant 15 yard pass from Ferguson (Ricardo kick) BUF 14–9 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-06. Week 4 Chiefs 0 10 7 0 Bills 16 7 7 20 October 3 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 55 °F °C 1 or, wind 7 mph km/h knots yes 1 BUF George Jakowenko 30 yard field goal Bills 3–0 1 BUF Bob Chandler 1 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (George Jakowenko kick) Bills 10–0 1 BUF Bob Chandler 5 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (kick failed) Bills 16–0 2 KC Henry Marshall 31 yard pass from Tony Adams (Jan Stenerud kick) Bills 16–7 2 BUF Bob Chandler 7 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (George Jakowenko kick) Bills 23–7 2 KC Jan Stenerud 33 yard field goal Bills 23–10 3 BUF Jeff Kinney 1 yard run (George Jakowenko kick) Bills 30–10 3 KC Tommy Reamon 49 yard pass from Tony Adams (Jan Stenerud kick) Bills 30–17 4 BUF O. J. Simpson 1 yard run (kick failed) Bills 36–17 4 BUF O. J. Simpson 5 yard run (George Jakowenko kick) Bills 43–17 4 BUF Tony Greene 101 yard interception return (George Jakowenko kick) Bills 50–17 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013. Week 12 O. J. Simpson rushed for 273 yards, setting a Thanksgiving Day record that still holds as of the end of the 2016 season. Standings Awards and honors O. J. Simpson, Thanksgiving Day Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 273 yards vs. Detroit Lions, November 25 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 377 See also Electric Company References Bills on Pro Football Reference Bills on jt-sw.com Bills Stats on jt-sw.com Category:Buffalo Bills seasons Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills