1976 Oakland Raiders season

Last updated

1976 Oakland Raiders season
Oakland Raiders wordmark 1960-1979.gif
Owner Al Davis
General managerAl Davis
Head coach John Madden
Home field Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record13–1
Division place1st AFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Patriots) 24–21
Won AFC Championship
(vs. Steelers) 24–7
Won Super Bowl XI
(vs. Vikings) 32–14

The 1976 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 17th season, and 7th in the National Football League (NFL).

Contents

After having appeared in the three previous AFC Championship Games – and having lost all three—the 1976 Raiders finally won the conference championship, [1] and went on to win their first Super Bowl.

After posting a 13–1 regular season record and winning their sixth AFC West championship in seven seasons, and their fifth consecutive one, the Raiders won against both the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers to achieve the team's second Super Bowl berth. Then, on January 9, 1977, at the Rose Bowl, the Raiders won Super Bowl XI by rolling over the Minnesota Vikings 32–14. With this victory, the Raiders achieved a 16–1 (.941) overall record. They were the best team in the NFL in 1976.

In 2012, the 1976 Oakland Raiders were named the greatest team of all time by NFL.com's "Bracketology"; a 15-day, six-round fan vote tournament that featured the 64 greatest teams from the Super Bowl era. Oakland beat the 2000 Baltimore Ravens in the final round by a .8% margin. [2] The NFL on its 100th anniversary named the 1976 Raiders #8 on the 100 greatest teams of all time. [3] [4]

Offseason

1976 Raiders draft selections [5]
RoundOverallPlayerPositionCollege
234 Charles Philyaw DE Texas Southern
250 Jeb Blount QB Tulsa
384 Rik Bonness LB Nebraska
4110 Herb McMath DE Morningside
5146 Fred Steinfort K Boston College
7204 Clarence Chapman WR Eastern Michigan
8220 Jerome Dove DB Colorado State
8231 Terry Kunz HB Colorado
10286Dwight Lewis DB Purdue
11313 Rick Jennings HB Maryland
12343 Cedric Brown S Kent State
13367Craig Crnick DE Idaho
13370Mark Young G Washington State
14397Calvin Young HB Fresno State
15427Carl Hargrave DB Upper Iowa
16454Doug Hogan DB Southern California
17478 Buddy Tate DB Tulsa
17481 Nate Beasley HB Delaware

Roster

[6]

1976 Oakland Raiders 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

Reserved


Rookies in italics

Season summary

The Road to their first World Championship began on opening day, as they hosted the two-time reigning world champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Oakland trailed 28–14 with just over five minutes to play, yet orchestrated what many to this day refer to as their Comeback Classic of 1976. They won 31–28 on a 21-yard Fred Steinfort field goal with 18 seconds left.

What followed was a mammoth five-game road trip, featuring wins over each of the Raiders' three divisional foes. It also included Oakland's lone loss on the year, a 48–17 shocker at New England. However, this would just be a preview of things to come between the Raiders and the Patriots.

Oakland's first six wins were by a total of 28 points. Coupled with the loss, the Raiders actually were outscored 151–148 despite a 6–1 record. But they became virtually unbeatable after the defeat. Upon returning home, they cruised to big victories, like a 49–16 stomping of the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had nail biters like the 28–27 victory against a competitive Chicago Bear team at Soldier Field. They closed out the season with a 24–0 shutout of the San Diego Chargers in Oakland, and ended allowing only 16 points total to division foes Denver, Kansas City and San Diego at home (Tampa Bay was also in the AFC West, finishing 0–14).

The Raiders ended the 1976 season with 64.3% of their passes completed; Ken Stabler completed 66.7% of his passes. Fullback Mark van Eeghen passed the 1,000-yard mark at 1,012 yards. Tight end Dave Casper led the team in receptions with 53, while side receiver Cliff Branch led in reception yards (1,111), touchdowns (12), and yards per reception for receivers who caught more than one pass (24.2).

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1July 31 Dallas Cowboys W 17–141–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,391 Recap
2August 7vs. St. Louis Cardinals W 20–92–0 Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe, Arizona)33,216 Recap
3August 13at New York Jets W 41–173–0 Yankee Stadium 10,726 Recap
4August 21 Los Angeles Rams L 14–233–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,615 Recap
5August 29at San Francisco 49ers W 14–94–1 Candlestick Park 52,704 Recap
6September 4 Seattle Seahawks W 45–285–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,487 Recap

Regular season

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 12 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–281–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,371 Recap
2September 20at Kansas City Chiefs W 24–212–0 Arrowhead Stadium 60,884 Recap
3September 26at Houston Oilers W 14–133–0 Astrodome 42,338 Recap
4October 3at New England Patriots L 17–483–1 Schaefer Stadium 61,068 Recap
5October 10at San Diego Chargers W 27–174–1 San Diego Stadium 50,523 Recap
6October 17at Denver Broncos W 17–105–1 Mile High Stadium 63,431 Recap
7October 24 Green Bay Packers W 18–146–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,232 Recap
8October 31 Denver Broncos W 19–67–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,169 Recap
9November 7at Chicago Bears W 28–278–1 Soldier Field 53,585 Recap
10November 14 Kansas City Chiefs W 21–109–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 48,259 Recap
11November 21at Philadelphia Eagles W 26–710–1 Veterans Stadium 65,990 Recap
12November 28 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 49–1611–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 49,590 Recap
13December 6 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–2012–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,430 Recap
14December 12 San Diego Chargers W 24–013–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 50,102 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game notes

Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Steelers0771428
•Raiders0702431

Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
1234Total
•Raiders7100724
Chiefs0071421

Week 3: at Houston Oilers

Oakland Raiders at Houston Oilers
1234Total
•Raiders070714
Oilers600713

Week 4: at New England Patriots

Oakland Raiders at New England Patriots
1234Total
Raiders0100717
•Patriots714141348

Week 5: at San Diego Chargers

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
1234Total
•Raiders7701327
Chargers703717

Week 6: at Denver Broncos

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
1234Total
•Raiders0314017
Broncos0100010

Week 7: vs. Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Packers700714
•Raiders0180018

Week 8: vs. Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Broncos60006
•Raiders3031319

Week 9 at Chicago Bears

Week Nine: Oakland Raiders (7–1) at Chicago Bears (4–4)
Quarter1234Total
Raiders 0147728
Bears 7020027

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: November 7, 1976
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 36 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 53,585
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • Box Score
Game information

Oakland escaped Chicago with a victory after a 31-yard field goal attempt by Bob Thomas with 15 seconds left got caught in a gust of wind and hit the upright.

Week 10: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Chiefs073010
•Raiders777021

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles

Oakland Raiders at Philadelphia Eagles
1234Total
•Raiders1207726
Eagles70007

Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Buccaneers730616
•Raiders71421749

Week 13: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Bengals677020
•Raiders1477735
Scoring summary
1Bengals John McDaniel 40-yard pass from Ken Anderson (kick failed)Bengals 6–0
1Raiders Dave Casper 24-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 7–6
1RaidersDave Casper 3-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 14–6
2Bengals Stan Fritts 1-yard run (Chris Bahr kick)Raiders 14–13
2Raiders Pete Banaszak 1-yard run (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 21–13
3Raiders Cliff Branch 42-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 28–13
3Bengals Archie Griffin 21-yard run (Chris Bahr kick)Raiders 28–20
4Raiders Fred Biletnikoff 7-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 35–20

With the Raiders' victory, the Steelers tied the Bengals for first in the AFC Central. Pittsburgh would win the division on a tiebreaker.

Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Chargers00000
•Raiders7107024

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Oakland Raiders (1)1310.9297–010–1350237W10
Denver Broncos 950.6435–27–5315206W2
San Diego Chargers 680.4292–54–8248285L1
Kansas City Chiefs 590.3572–54–8290376W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0140.0000–40–13125412L14

Playoffs

WeekDateOpponentResultVenueAttendance
DivisionalDecember 18 New England Patriots W 24–21 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
  53,045
AFC Championship December 26 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
  53,739
Super Bowl XI January 9, 1977 Minnesota Vikings W 32–14 Rose Bowl
100,421
Source: [7]

AFC Divisional: vs. New England Patriots

AFC Divisional Playoff
New England Patriots at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Patriots7014021
•Raiders3701424

AFC Championship: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC Championship Game
Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
1234Total
Steelers07007
•Raiders3147024

Super Bowl XI: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14
Quarter1234Total
Raiders01631332
Vikings007714

at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Game information
Second quarter

Third quarter

Fourth quarter

  • OAK – Pete Banaszak 2-yard run (Errol Mann kick) – Raiders 26-7
  • OAK – Willie Brown 75-yard interception return (kick failed) – Raiders 32-7
  • MIN – Stu Voigt 13-yard pass from Bob Lee (Fred Cox kick) – Raiders 32-14

Awards and honors

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References

  1. ↑ AFC Championship Game results, ESPN, Jan. 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ "GREATEST TEAM OF ALL TIME". National Football League . Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ "NFL Top 100 Teams". Pro Football Reference.
  4. ↑ "100 Greatest Teams: Numbers 100-1 SUPERCUT". NFL.com.
  5. ↑ "1976 NFL Draft at databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on October 15, 2007.
  6. ↑ McDonald's History of the Super Bowl, Volume 3. McDonald's Corporation. 1977. p. 21.
  7. ↑ 1976 Oakland Raiders season at databaseFootball.com Archived May 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-28.

See also

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