The 1977 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 18th season, and their eighth in the National Football League. Improving on their 2–12 record from 1976 by only one game, the Bills failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and went 3–11 for their second consecutive losing 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.Pro-Football-Reference.com 1977 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards
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).Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics 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.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics Buffalo's anemic scoring and porous defense gave the team a point-differential of −153, worst in the league.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Buffalo Bills 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 for a 4.4 rushing average.
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.Pro-Football-Reference.com: Buffalo Bills Defense Career Register
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
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
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 11
Week 12
Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills - December 4th
Week 13
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Standings
Awards and honors All-Pros
Joe DeLamielleure, Guard
Notes
References
External links Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1977 Buffalo Bills
Video Archives 1977 NFL Week 12: Redskins at Bills at YouTube 1977 NFL Week 13: Bills at Jets at YouTube