1977 Buffalo Bills season

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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

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.[1]

After drawing 76,000 to Rich Stadium on opening day against the Dolphins, Buffalo drew an average of only 35,000 for the remaining 6 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.[2]

Although the Bills passed the ball more often than any other team, they were not efficient through the air: they ranked 19th[3] in passing touchdowns, 21st in yards per attempt, and 20th in quarterback rating (a dismal 54.7).[4] 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.[5] Buffalo's anemic scoring and porous defense gave the team a point-differential of −153, dead-last in the league.[6]

Offseason

NFL Draft

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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.[7]

= Pro Bowler [8]
Round Pick # Player Position College
1 12[9] 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

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

[10]

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total
• Bills 0 7 0 7 14
Jets 0 3 0 7 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

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Main article: 1977 All-Pro Team

External links

Video Archives

References

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  1. ↑ New England
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com 1977 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards
  3. ↑ out of 28 teams
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
  5. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
  6. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Buffalo Bills
  7. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Buffalo Bills Defense Career Register
  8. ↑ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  9. ↑ (from Detroit)
  10. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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