1977 Buffalo Bills season

18th season in franchise history; final one with O. J. Simpson

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[edit]

### NFL draft[edit]

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]

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1977 Buffalo Bills Draft  Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes

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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[edit]

### Staff/coaches[edit]

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[edit]

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
* 55 John Skorupan

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[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance

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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[edit]

#### Week 5[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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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[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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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[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• 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[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• 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[edit]

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[edit]

### All-Pros[edit]

Main article: 1977 All-Pro Team

* Joe DeLamielleure, Guard

## Notes[edit]

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[edit]

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[1]

## External links[edit]

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

## Video Archives[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

Buffalo Bills

* Founded in 1960
* Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York

Franchise|

* Franchise
* History
* Players
* 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
* Ken "Pinto Ron" Johnson
* Tim Russert
* Buffalo '66
* Second String
* Flutie Flakes
* "Shout" song
* "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:
* John Murphy
* 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)

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Buffalo Bills seasons

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
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* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
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* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
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* 1978
* 1979
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* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
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* 1987
* 1988
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* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

* v
* t
* e

1977 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

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Baltimore | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Buffalo | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| Los Angeles
Miami | Houston| Oakland| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
New England | Pittsburgh| San Diego| St. Louis| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | Seattle| Washington| Tampa Bay|

* 1977 NFL Draft
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl XII

This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template