1977 Buffalo Bills season

Last updated

1977 Buffalo Bills season
Owner Ralph Wilson
Head coach Jim Ringo
Home field Rich Stadium
Results
Record3–11
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1977 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 18th season, and their eighth in the National Football League. The team posted a losing record for the second-consecutive season, and missed the postseason for the third season.

Contents

Buffalo started the season with four consecutive losses, and failed to win consecutive games. The team was shut out two times at home. The Bills beat only one team with a winning record — the New England Patriots in an early November game in Foxboro that ultimately proved fatal to the Patriots' playoff hopes.

After drawing 76,000 to Rich Stadium on opening day against the Dolphins, Buffalo drew an average of only 35,000 for the remaining six home games.

The Bills had one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the NFL in 1977. Quarterback Joe Ferguson led the league in pass attempts (457, 32.6 per game) and passing yards (2,803, 200.2 per game). He also threw 24 interceptions, the most in the NFL. [1]

Although the Bills passed the ball more often than any other team, they were not efficient through the air: they ranked 19th out of 28 teams in passing touchdowns, 21st in yards per attempt, and 20th in quarterback rating (a dismal 54.7). [2] Buffalo's 160 points scored was the third-worst in the NFL.

Buffalo’s defense also gave up 313 points, the fourth-worst total in the league. [3] Buffalo's anemic scoring and porous defense gave the team a point-differential of −153, dead-last in the league. [4] This was the last season for O.J. Simpson as a member of the Bills, as he was traded to the 49ers the following season. Simpson would ultimately finish his last season with the Bills with 557 rushing yards on 126 attempts.

Offseason

NFL draft

Seventh round pick Mike Nelms was cut by the Bills in the 1977 training camp, and went to play in the Canadian Football League for the next three seasons. He returned to the NFL in 1980, joining the Washington Redskins, and was voted to three consecutive NFC Pro Bowl squads from 1980–1982.

Cornerback Charles Romes played in every game for the Bills from 1977 until his final season with Buffalo in 1986. He finished his career in Buffalo with 28 interceptions, fourth in Bills’ history. [5]

= Pro Bowler [note 1]
1977 Buffalo Bills Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
112 [note 2] Phil Dokes DT Oklahoma State
359 Curtis Brown RB Missouri
73 John Kimbrough WR St. Cloud State
486Jimmy DeanDT Texas A & M
5115 Fred Besana QB California
127 Neil O'Donoghue K Auburn
6157Ron Pruitt DE Nebraska
7170 Mike Nelms DB Baylor
8197 Greg Morton DT Michigan
11282Nate JacksonRB Tennessee State
12309 Charles Romes DB North Carolina Central

Personnel

Staff/coaches

1977 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive/Special teams coaches

Scouting

Roster

1977 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 18 Miami Dolphins L 0–130–1 Rich Stadium 76,097
2September 25at Denver Broncos L 6–260–2 Mile High Stadium 74,897
3October 2at Baltimore Colts L 14–170–3 Memorial Stadium 49,247
4October 9 New York Jets L 19–240–4Rich Stadium32,046
5October 16 Atlanta Falcons W 3–01–4Rich Stadium27,348
6October 23 Cleveland Browns L 16–271–5Rich Stadium60,905
7October 30at Seattle Seahawks L 17–561–6 Kingdome 61,180
8November 6at New England Patriots W 24–142–6 Schaefer Stadium 60,263
9November 13 Baltimore Colts L 13–312–7Rich Stadium39,444
10November 20 New England Patriots L 7–202–8Rich Stadium27,598
11November 28at Oakland Raiders L 13–342–9 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,558
12December 4 Washington Redskins L 0–102–10Rich Stadium22,975
13December 11at New York Jets W 14–103–10 Shea Stadium 31,929
14December 17at Miami Dolphins L 14–313–11 Miami Orange Bowl 39,626
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 5

1234Total
Falcons00000
• Bills03003
Scoring summary
2BUF Neil O'Donoghue 30 yard field goalBills 3–0

[6]

Week 11

1234Total
Bills373013
• Raiders13714034

Week 12

1234Total
• Redskins070310
Bills00000

[7]

Week 13


1234Total
•Bills070714
Jets030710
  • Date: December 11
  • Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 31,929
  • Game weather: 20 °F (−6.7 °C), wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn)
Scoring summary
2Jets Pat Leahy 25 yard field goalJets 3–0
1Bills Bob Chandler 5 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick)Bills 7–3
4Jets Wesley Walker 9 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick)Jets 10–7
4BillsBob Chandler 11 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick)Bills 14–10

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Baltimore Colts (2)1040.7146–29–3295221W1
Miami Dolphins 1040.7146–28–4313197W1
New England Patriots 950.6434–47–5278217L1
New York Jets 3110.2142–62–10191300L2
Buffalo Bills 3110.2142–62–10160313L1

Awards and honors

All-Pros

Notes

  1. ↑ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  2. ↑ (from Detroit)

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