1977 Buffalo Bills season

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.

1977 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach	Jim Ringo
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	3–11
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

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

Main article: 1977 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]

Round	Pick #	Player	Position	College
1	12[note 2]	Phil Dokes	Defensive tackle	Oklahoma State
3	59	Curtis Brown	Running back	Missouri
3	73	John Kimbrough	Wide receiver	St. Cloud State
4	86	Jimmy Dean	Defensive tackle	Texas A & M
5	115	Fred Besana	Quarterback	California
5	127	Neil O'Donoghue	Kicker	Auburn
6	157	Ron Pruitt	Defensive end	Nebraska
7	170	Mike Nelms	Defensive back	Baylor
8	197	Greg Morton	Defensive tackle	Michigan
11	282	Nate Jackson	Running back	Tennessee State
12	309	Charles Romes	Defensive back	North Carolina Central

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

1977 Buffalo Bills staff

Front Office Majority Owner/Team President – Ralph Wilson Vice President & General Manager – Bob Lustig Vice President/Minority Owner – Pat McGroder Coaching Staff Head Coach – Jim Ringo Offensive Coaches Running Backs Coach – Jim LaRaue Wide Receivers Coach - Kay Dalton Offensive Line Coaches – Ray Wietecha Defensive/Special Teams Coaches Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs Coach - Richie McCabe Defensive Line – Jerry Wampfler Linebackers – Jim Carr Scouting Director of Scouting - Marvin Bass

Roster

1977 Buffalo Bills roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Joe Ferguson 14 Fred Besana 17 Gary Marangi Running backs 34 Jim Braxton FB 47 Curtis Brown 35 Mike Collier 36 Mike Franckowiak 25 Roland Hooks 32 O. J. Simpson Wide receivers 81 Bob Chandler 80 John Holland 82 John Kimbrough 89 Lou Piccone 86 Leonard Willis Tight ends 88 Reuben Gant 87 Paul Seymour		Offensive linemen 60 Bill Adams G 68 Joe DeLamielleure G 70 Joe Devlin T 78 Dave Foley T 73 Ken Jones T 67 Reggie McKenzie G 61 Willie Parker C 53 Connie Zelencik C Defensive linemen 85 Phil Dokes DT 76 Bill Dunstan DT 71 Mike Kadish DT 72 John Little DT 79 Greg Morton DE 83 Sherman White DE 77 Ben Williams DE		Linebackers 50 Greg Collins 30 Bo Cornell 52 Merv Krakau 51 Dan Jilek 56 Bob Nelson 59 Shane Nelson 54 Tom Ruud Defensive backs 29 Mario Clark CB 22 Steve Freeman FS 43 Tony Greene SS 28 Dwight Harrison CB 24 Doug Jones SS 46 Keith Moody CB 26 Charles Romes CB Special teams  7 Marv Bateman P  5 Carson Long K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 18, 1977	Miami Dolphins	L 13–0	76,097
2	September 25, 1977	at Denver Broncos	L 26–6	74,897
3	October 2, 1977	at Baltimore Colts	L 17–14	49,247
4	October 9, 1977	New York Jets	L 24–19	32,046
5	October 16, 1977	Atlanta Falcons	W 3–0	27,348
6	October 23, 1977	Cleveland Browns	L 27–16	60,905
7	October 30, 1977	at Seattle Seahawks	L 56–17	61,180
8	November 6, 1977	at New England Patriots	W 24–14	60,263
9	November 13, 1977	Baltimore Colts	L 31–13	39,444
10	November 20, 1977	New England Patriots	L 20–7	27,598
11	November 28, 1977	at Oakland Raiders	L 34–13	51,558
12	December 4, 1977	Washington Redskins	L 10–0	22,975
13	December 11, 1977	at New York Jets	W 14–10	31,929
14	December 17, 1977	at Miami Dolphins	L 31–14	39,626

Season summary

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 0 0 0 0 0 • Bills 0 3 0 0 3 Date: October 16 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 27,348 Game weather: 45 °F (7.2 °C), wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn) Referee: Bernie Ulman TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti

Scoring summary 2 BUF Neil O'Donoghue 30 yard field goal Bills 3–0

[6]

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 3 7 3 0 13 • Raiders 13 7 14 0 34 Date: November 28 Location: Oakland Alameda Coliseum, Oakland, California Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 56 °F (13.3 °C), wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn) TV announcers (ABC Monday Night Football): Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford , Don Meredith

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total • Redskins 0 7 0 3 10 Bills 0 0 0 0 0 Date: December 7 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 22,975 Game weather: 29 °F (−1.7 °C), wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn) Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers (NFL on CBS): Don Criqui, Nick Buoniconti

[7]

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 7 0 7 14 Jets 0 3 0 7 10 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) Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 2 Jets Pat Leahy 25 yard field goal Jets 3–0 1 Bills Bob Chandler 5 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick) Bills 7–3 4 Jets Wesley Walker 9 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) Jets 10–7 4 Bills Bob Chandler 11 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick) Bills 14–10

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts^(2)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	9–3	295	221	W1
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–4	313	197	W1
New England Patriots	9	5	0	.643	4–4	7–5	278	217	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	191	300	L2
Buffalo Bills	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	160	313	L1

Awards and honors

All-Pros

Main article: 1977 All-Pro Team

• Joe DeLamielleure, Guard

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)

References

1. Pro-Football-Reference.com 1977 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Buffalo Bills
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com: Buffalo Bills Defense Career Register
6. Pro-Football-Reference.com
7. Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills - December 4th, 1977

External links

• Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Buffalo Bills

Video Archives

• 1977 NFL Week 12: Redskins at Bills at YouTube
• 1977 NFL Week 13: Bills at Jets at YouTube