1978 Buffalo Bills season | |
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Owner | Ralph Wilson |
Head coach | Chuck Knox |
Home field | Rich Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 5–11 |
Division place | 4th AFC East |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | G Joe DeLamielleure |
All-Pros | G Joe DeLamielleure (2nd team) |
The 1978 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, and the 19th overall. The Bills were coming off a season in which they only won three games, making 1978 a slight improvement.
Head coach Chuck Knox began his first season with the team, having coached the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons. [note 1] It was also Buffalo's first season after the departure of star running back O. J. Simpson, who was traded to San Francisco for five draft picks in the offseason.
The Bills offense acquired a pair of weapons for quarterback Joe Ferguson: wide receiver Frank Lewis, who had spent the previous 7 seasons in Pittsburgh, and rookie running back Terry Miller, who ended the season with over 1,000 yards. [note 2]
The 1978 Bills' run defense allowed an NFL record 3,228 rushing yards; the 677 rushing attempts the Bills faced in 1978 is also an NFL record. [1] Oddly, the Bills were first in the league in yards allowed on pass defense, giving up only 1,960 yards through the air. [2]
Buffalo's week eight victory over the Cincinnati Bengals produced the second 5-0 final score in modern NFL history (since 1933); the other was a 1970 NFC divisional playoff between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions.
1978 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
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1 | 5 | Terry Miller | Running back | Oklahoma State | |
2 | 32 | Dee Hardison | Defensive end | North Carolina | |
2 | 38 | Scott Hutchinson | Defensive end | Florida | |
3 | 59 | Dennis Johnson | Running back | Mississippi State | |
3 | 65 | Danny Fulton | Wide receiver | Nebraska–Omaha | |
4 | 89 | Lucius Sanford | Linebacker | Georgia Tech | |
5 | 114 | Ken Spaeth | Tight end | Nebraska | |
6 | 145 | Eric Smith | Offensive tackle | Southern Miss | |
7 | 171 | Mario Celotto | Linebacker | USC | |
7 | 183 | Steve Powell | Running back | NE Missouri State | |
10 | 255 | Will Grant | Center | Kentucky | |
11 | 282 | Jerry Blanton | Linebacker | Kentucky | |
12 | 309 | Richard Crump | Running back | Northeast Oklahoma A&M | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
1978 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
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Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
Defensive/special teams coaches
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Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
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1 | September 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–28 | 0–1 | Rich Stadium | 64,147 | |
2 | September 10 | New York Jets | L 20–21 | 0–2 | Rich Stadium | 40,985 | |
3 | September 17 | at Miami Dolphins | L 24–31 | 0–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 48,373 | |
4 | September 24 | Baltimore Colts | W 24–17 | 1–3 | Rich Stadium | 55,270 | |
5 | October 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 28–13 | 2–3 | Rich Stadium | 47,310 | |
6 | October 8 | at New York Jets | L 14–45 | 2–4 | Shea Stadium | 44,545 | |
7 | October 15 | at Houston Oilers | L 10–17 | 2–5 | Astrodome | 47,727 | |
8 | October 22 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 5–0 | 3–5 | Rich Stadium | 47,754 | |
9 | October 29 | at Cleveland Browns | L 20–41 | 3–6 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 51,409 | |
10 | November 5 | New England Patriots | L 10–14 | 3–7 | Rich Stadium | 44,897 | |
11 | November 12 | Miami Dolphins | L 24–25 | 3–8 | Rich Stadium | 48,623 | |
12 | November 19 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 10–31 | 3–9 | Tampa Stadium | 61,383 | |
13 | November 26 | New York Giants | W 41–17 | 4–9 | Rich Stadium | 28,496 | |
14 | December 3 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 10–14 | 4–10 | Arrowhead Stadium | 25,781 | |
15 | December 10 | at New England Patriots | L 24–26 | 4–11 | Schaefer Stadium | 59,598 | |
16 | December 17 | at Baltimore Colts | W 21–14 | 5–11 | Memorial Stadium | 25,415 | |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
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Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Chiefs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
Bills | 0 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Giants | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Bills | 7 | 0 | 7 | 27 | 41 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game information | ||
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Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Bills | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
Chiefs | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Game information | ||
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1978 AFC East standings | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
New England Patriots (2) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 358 | 286 | L1 |
Miami Dolphins (4) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 372 | 254 | W3 |
New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 6–2 | 7–5 | 359 | 364 | L2 |
Buffalo Bills | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–10 | 302 | 354 | W1 |
Baltimore Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–7 | 3–9 | 240 | 421 | L5 |
Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
Player | Games | Completions | Attempts | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
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Joe Ferguson | 16 | 175 | 330 | 2136 | 16 | 15 | 70.5 |
Note: FGA = Field Goals Attempted; FGM = Field Goals Made; FG% = Field goal percentage; XPA = Extra Points Attempted; XPM = Extra Points Made; XP% = Extra Points Percentage
Player | Games | FGA | FGM | FG % | XPA | XPM | XP % |
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Tom Dempsey | 16 | 13 | 10 | 76.9% | 38 | 36 | 94.7% |