1977 Buffalo Bills season

1977 Buffalo Bills season
1977 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Jim Ringo
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	3–11
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1976; Bills seasons; 1978 →;

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
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	12^{[note 2]}	Phil Dokes	DT	Oklahoma State
3	59	Curtis Brown	RB	Missouri
3	73	John Kimbrough	WR	St. Cloud State
4	86	Jimmy Dean	DT	Texas A & M
5	115	Fred Besana	QB	California
5	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

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 (QB) 12 Joe Ferguson 14 Fred Besana 17 Gary Marangi Running backs (RB) 34 Jim Braxton FB 35 Mike Collier 36 Mike Franckowiak 25 Roland Hooks 32 O. J. Simpson -- Stan Winfrey FB Wide receivers (WR) 81 Bob Chandler 82 John Kimbrough 89 Lou Piccone 86 Leonard Willis Tight ends (TE) 88 Reuben Gant 87 Paul Seymour		Offensive linemen (OL) 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 (DL) 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 (LB) 50 Greg Collins 30 Bo Cornell 52 Merv Krakau 51 Dan Jilek 56 Bob Nelson 59 Shane Nelson 54 Tom Ruud 55 John Skorupan Defensive backs (DB) 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 47 Curtis Brown RB (IR) 80 John Holland WR (IR) 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	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

^[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

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	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

Joe DeLamielleure, Guard

Notes

^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
^ (from Detroit)

References

External links

Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Buffalo Bills

Video Archives

[6] Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.

[7] (from Detroit)

[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

[8] Pro-Football-Reference.com

[9] Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills - December 4th

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[note 1]

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v t e Buffalo Bills
Founded in 1960 Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York
Franchise	Franchise History All-time roster Seasons Pro Bowl selections First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Coaches NFL in Toronto
Stadiums	War Memorial Stadium Highmark Stadium Rogers Centre (Bills Toronto Series) New Highmark Stadium (set to open in 2026)
Culture	Ralph Wilson Billy Buffalo Buffalo Jills Bills Mafia Ken "Pinto Ron" Johnson Tim Russert Buffalo '66 Second String Flutie Flakes "Shout" song "Mr. Brightside" "3 Acts of God" Elway to Marino Four Falls of Buffalo Zubaz "No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!"
Lore	Electric Company Wide Right No Punt Game The Comeback Music City Miracle Snowvertime Hail Murray 13 Seconds
Rivalries	Kansas City Chiefs Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets Tennessee Titans
Division championships (14)	1964 1965 1966 1980 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1995 2020 2021 2022 2023
Conference championships (4)	1990 1991 1992 1993
League championships (2)	1964 1965
Wall of Fame	Simpson Kemp McGroder Sestak Shaw Wilson 12th Man Dubenion Stratton Ferguson Levy DeLamielleure James Abramoski Kalsu Saimes Kelly Smerlas Hull Talley Ritcher Thomas Reed Tasker Smith Edgerson Hansen Polian Miller Saban Gilchrist
Media	Broadcasters Radio Radio Network WGR 550 Television MSG Western New York Personalities: Chris Brown Van Miller Eric Wood Steve Tasker
Owners	Ralph Wilson Pegula family Terry Kim
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)
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