1977 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachJim Ringo
Home fieldRich 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.

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
1 12[note 2] Phil Dokes DT Oklahoma State
3 59 Curtis Brown RB Missouri
73 John Kimbrough WR St. Cloud State
4 86 Jimmy Dean DT Texas A & M
5 115 Fred Besana QB California
127 Neil O'Donoghue K Auburn
6 157 Ron Pruitt DE Nebraska
7 170 Mike Nelms DB Baylor
8 197 Greg Morton DT Michigan
11 282 Nate Jackson RB Tennessee State
12 309 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

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 18 Miami Dolphins L 0–13 0–1 Rich Stadium 76,097
2 September 25 at Denver Broncos L 6–26 0–2 Mile High Stadium 74,897
3 October 2 at Baltimore Colts L 14–17 0–3 Memorial Stadium 49,247
4 October 9 New York Jets L 19–24 0–4 Rich Stadium 32,046
5 October 16 Atlanta Falcons W 3–0 1–4 Rich Stadium 27,348
6 October 23 Cleveland Browns L 16–27 1–5 Rich Stadium 60,905
7 October 30 at Seattle Seahawks L 17–56 1–6 Kingdome 61,180
8 November 6 at New England Patriots W 24–14 2–6 Schaefer Stadium 60,263
9 November 13 Baltimore Colts L 13–31 2–7 Rich Stadium 39,444
10 November 20 New England Patriots L 7–20 2–8 Rich Stadium 27,598
11 November 28 at Oakland Raiders L 13–34 2–9 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,558
12 December 4 Washington Redskins L 0–10 2–10 Rich Stadium 22,975
13 December 11 at New York Jets W 14–10 3–10 Shea Stadium 31,929
14 December 17 at Miami Dolphins L 14–31 3–11 Miami Orange Bowl 39,626
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 5

1 234Total
Falcons 0 000 0
• Bills 0 300 3
Scoring summary
2BUFNeil O'Donoghue 30 yard field goalBills 3–0

[6]

Week 11

1 234Total
Bills 3 730 13
• Raiders 13 7140 34

Week 12

1 234Total
• Redskins 0 703 10
Bills 0 000 0

[7]

Week 13


1 234Total
• Bills 0 707 14
Jets 0 307 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)
Scoring summary
2JetsPat Leahy 25 yard field goalJets 3–0
1BillsBob Chandler 5 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick)Bills 7–3
4JetsWesley 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
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

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

Video Archives

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