1976 Buffalo Bills season


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.
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. Lunsford was also ejected from the game as well. Neither player was fined or suspended by the league.

Offseason

Before the 1976 season, Buffalo lost some key players, notably wide receivers Ahmad Rashād and J. D. Hill, and defensive linemen Earl Edwards, Walt Patulski and Pat Toomay.

1976 Expansion Draft

RoundOverallNamePositionExpansion Team
00Gary HaymanRunning backSeattle Seahawks
00Frank OliverDefensive backTampa Bay Buccaneers
00Pat ToomayDefensive endTampa Bay Buccaneers

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. 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.
RoundPick #PlayerPositionCollege
118Mario ClarkDefensive backOregon
245Ken JonesGuardArkansas State
252Joe DevlinTackleIowa
378Ben WilliamsDefensive endMississippi
4109Dan JilekLinebackerMichigan
5142Fred ColemanTight endN.E. Louisiana
6164Leslie BensonDefensive endBaylor
6171Scott PiperWide receiverArizona
6175Darnell PowellRunning backTennessee-Chattanooga
7195Jackie WilliamsDefensive backTexas A & M
8215Scott GardnerQuarterbackVirginia
8226Bobby Joe EasterRunning backMiddle Tennessee State
8227Art MeadowcroftGuardMinnesota
9241Jeff TurnerLinebackerKansas
9255Bob KotzurDefensive tackleSouthwest Texas State
10280Keith MoodyDefensive backSyracuse
11309Forry SmithWide receiverIowa State
12336Joe LoweryRunning backJackson State
13365Will WilcoxGuardTexas
14392Tony WilliamsWide receiverMiddle Tennessee State
15421Arnold RobinsonLinebackerBethune-Cookman
16448Gary GorrellLinebackerBoise State
17477Bob BergKickerNew Mexico

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Season summary

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

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.

Week 13

Week 14

Standings

Awards and honors