1974 Buffalo Bills season

Last updated

1974 Buffalo Bills season
Owner Ralph Wilson
Head coach Lou Saban
Home field Rich Stadium
Results
Record9–5
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Steelers) 14–32

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 playoffs, they lost to the eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 32-14 in Pittsburgh.

Contents

This was O. J. Simpson's only playoff game of his career, as the Bills did not have another playoff team with him on the team. Simpson would be traded to the 49ers in 1978, but the 49ers did not make the playoffs that season nor the 1979 season, Simpson's final season in the NFL. In the game, Simpson would only rush for 49 yards on 11 carries and did not score a touchdown. He did, however, catch a touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Ferguson late in the 3rd quarter.

Buffalo debuted their new uniforms and helmets in 1974, replacing the red "standing buffalo" with the "streaking bison." [1] 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. [2]

Star running back O. J. 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. [3]

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. [4]

The 1974 Bills have the odd distinction of being the last team to go a full game without completing a pass, [5] 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. [6] [7]

Offseason

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 draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
118 Reuben Gant   Tight end Oklahoma State
227 Doug Allen   Linebacker Penn State
370 Gary Marangi   Quarterback Boston College
495Carlester Crumpler  Running back East Carolina
5106 Gary Hayman   Wide receiver Penn State
5122Tim Guy  Offensive tackle Oregon
8203Greg Hare Quarterback Ohio State
9226Brian Doherty  Punter Notre Dame
10241Art Cameron Tight end Albany State
10249 Don Calhoun  Running back Kansas State
11278Rod Kirby Linebacker Pittsburgh
12303 Dave Means   Defensive end Southeast Missouri State
13331Ed Gatewood Linebacker Tennessee State
14339Phil Lamm  Defensive back North Carolina
14355Phil Gurbada Defensive back Mayville State
15382Ken Williams Linebacker Southwestern Louisiana
16406Sanford Qvale Offensive tackle North Dakota State
17434Sal Casola  Placekicker Cincinnati
      Made roster  

[8]

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

1974 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches



Roster

1974 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

 Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1September 16 Oakland Raiders W 21–201–0 Rich Stadium Recap
2September 22 Miami Dolphins L 16–241–1Rich Stadium Recap
3September 29 New York Jets W 16–122–1Rich Stadium Recap
4October 6at Green Bay Packers W 27–73–1 Lambeau Field Recap
5October 13at Baltimore Colts W 27–144–1 Memorial Stadium Recap
6October 20 New England Patriots W 30–285–1Rich Stadium Recap
7October 27 Chicago Bears W 16–66–1Rich Stadium Recap
8November 3at New England Patriots W 29–287–1 Schaefer Stadium Recap
9November 10 Houston Oilers L 9–217–2Rich Stadium Recap
10November 17at Miami Dolphins L 28–357–3 Miami Orange Bowl Recap
11November 24at Cleveland Browns W 15–108–3 Cleveland Stadium Recap
12December 1 Baltimore Colts W 6–09–3Rich Stadium Recap
13December 8at New York Jets L 10–209–4 Shea Stadium Recap
14December 15at Los Angeles Rams L 14–199–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap

Game summaries

Week 1

    • Buffalo Snaps the Raiders MNF winning streak**
1234Total
Raiders0371020
• Bills0701421
Scoring summary
2BUF J.D. Hill 24 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 7–0
2OAK George Blanda 34 yard field goalBills 7–3
3OAK Clarence Davis 15 yard run (George Blanda kick)Raiders 10–7
4OAKGeorge Blanda 41 yard field goalRaiders 13–7
4BUF Ahmad Rashad 8 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 14–13
4OAK Art Thoms 29 yard fumble return (George Blanda kick)Raiders 20–14
4BUFAhmad Rashad 13 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 21–20

[9]

Week 8

1234Total
•Bills6137329
Patriots7147028
Scoring summary
1Bills John Leypoldt 45 yard field goalBills 3–0
1Patriots Mack Herron 43 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (John Smith kick)Patriots 7–3
1BillsJohn Leypoldt 20 yard field goalPatriots 7–6
2PatriotsMack Herron 20 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (John Smith kick)Patriots 14–6
2Bills Ahmad Rashad 25 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (kick failed)Patriots 14–12
2Patriots Sam Cunningham 31 yard run (John Smith kick)Patriots 21–12
2Bills O. J. Simpson 1 yard run (John Leypoldt kick)Patriots 21–19
3Bills Dave Washington 72 yard interception return (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 26–21
3PatriotsMack Herron 2 yard run (John Smith kick)Patriots 28–26
4BillsJohn Leypoldt 47 yard field goalBills 29–28

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins 1130.7866–29–2327216W3
Buffalo Bills 950.6435–37–4264244L2
New York Jets 770.5004–45–6279300W6
New England Patriots 770.5004–44–7348289L3
Baltimore Colts 2120.1431–71–10190329L4

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff: Buffalo Bills (9–5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10–3–1)
Quarter1234Total
Bills 707014
Steelers 3260332

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

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References

  1. ↑ The Gridiron Uniforms Database: Buffalo Bills
  2. ↑ Video: Oakland at Buffalo, Week 1, 1974, highlights at YouTube
  3. ↑ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 270 Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN   0-312-11073-1
  4. ↑ "1974 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. ↑ as of 2011 regular season
  6. ↑ "New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - September 29th, 1974". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  7. ↑ "1974 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  8. ↑ "1974 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills - September 16th, 1974". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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