The 1976 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 7th season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, 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 Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

. Simpson had been demanding a trade, before finally agreeing to a three-year, $2.5 million contract.Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Ric
The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition
p. 306, Martin's Press, August 1994, The Bills started the season 2–2, before losing their final ten games of the season. Quarterback

Joe Ferguson Joseph Carlton Ferguson Jr. (born April 23, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football fo ...

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 James "Bubby" Robert Braxton (May 23, 1949 – July 28, 1986) was an American professional football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. College career Jim Braxton started playing college fo ...

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 Louis Henry Saban (October 13, 1921 – March 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) between ...

resigned after the fifth game of the season, with the Bills struggling at 2–3. Offensive line coach

Jim Ringo James Stephen Ringo (November 21, 1931 – November 19, 2007) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played 15 years as a center for the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles, ea ...

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 receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

Ahmad Rashad Ahmad Rashad ( ; born Robert Earl Moore; November 19, 1949) is an American sportscaster and former professional football wide receiver. He was the fourth overall selection of the 1972 NFL draft, taken by the St. Louis Cardinals. He was known ...

and J. D. Hill, and defensive linemen Earl Edwards,

Walt Patulski Walter George Patulski (born February 3, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. High school Patulski ...

and

Pat Toomay Patrick Jay Toomay (born May 17, 1948) is an American former professional football player, a defensive end for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Oakland Raiders. He ...

1976 expansion draft

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 All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

for the 1982 season.

Personnel

Staff/coaches

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Season summary

Week 3

Week 4

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.

Standings

Awards and honors

* O. J. Simpson, Thanksgiving Day Record, Most Rushing Yards in One Game, 273 yards vs. Detroit Lions, November 25 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 377

References

Bills on Pro Football Reference

Bills on jt-sw.com

Bills Stats on jt-sw.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1976 Buffalo Bills Season Buffalo Bills seasons

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...