1976 Oakland Raiders season

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1976 Oakland Raiders season
Head coach John Madden
General manager Al Davis
Owner Al Davis
Home field Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record 13–1
Division place 1st AFC West
Playoff finish Won Divisional Playoffs (Patriots) 24–21
Won Conference Championship (Steelers) 24–7
Won Super Bowl XI (Vikings) 32–14

The 1976 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 17th season, and 7th in the National Football League.

After having appeared in the three previous AFC Championship Games – and having lost all three—the 1976 Raiders finally won the conference championship, and went on to win their first Super Bowl.

After posting a 13–1 regular season record and winning their sixth AFC West championship in seven seasons, the Raiders rolled to victories against the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers to achieve the second Super Bowl berth in team history. Then on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl, the Raiders won Super Bowl XI by defeating the Minnesota Vikings 32–14. The victory had the Raiders compile a spectacular 16–1 overall record.

On March 30, 2012, the 1976 Oakland Raiders were named the greatest team of all time by NFL.com's "Bracketology"; a 15-day, 6 round fan vote tournament that features the 64 greatest teams from the Super Bowl era. Oakland beat the 2000 Baltimore Ravens in the final round by a .8% margin.[1]

Offseason

1976 Raiders Draft Selections[2]
Round Overall Player Position College
2 34 Charles Philyaw DE Texas Southern
2 50 Jeb Blount QB Tulsa
3 84 Rik Bonness LB Nebraska
4 110 Herb McMath DE Morningside
5 146 Fred Steinfort K Boston College
7 204 Clarence Chapman WR Eastern Michigan
8 220 Jerome Dove DB Colorado State
8 231 Terry Kunz HB Colorado
10 286 Dwight Lewis DB Purdue
11 313 Rick Jennings HB Maryland
12 343 Cedric Brown S Kent State
13 367 Craig Crnick DE Idaho
13 370 Mark Young G Washington State
14 397 Calvin Young HB Fresno State
15 427 Carl Hargrave DB Upper Iowa
16 454 Doug Hogan DB Southern California
17 478 Buddy Tate DB Tulsa
17 481 Nate Beasley HB Delaware

Players[3]>

1976 Oakland Raiders roster
Quarterbacks

Ken Stabler, David Humm, Mike Rae

Running backs Clarence Davis HB, Mark van Eeghen FB, Pete Banaszak, Carl Garrett, Manfred Moore, Hubert Ginn

Wide receivers Fred Biletnikoff, Cliff Branch, Mike Siani, Morris Bradshaw

Tight ends Dave Casper, Warren Bankston

 Offensive linemen

LT Art Shell, LG Gene Upshaw, C Dave Dalby, RG George Buehler, RT John Vella, Dan Medlin, Henry Lawrence, Steve Sylvester

Defensive linemen John Matuszak, Dave Rowe, Otis Sistrunk, Charles Philyaw, Herb McMath

 Linebackers

LOLB Phil Villapiano, LILB Willie Hall, RILB Monte Johnson, ROLB Ted Hendricks, Rodrigo Barnes, Floyd Rice, Rik Bonness

Defensive backs George Atkinson, Willie Brown, Neal Colzie, Charlie Phillips, Mike Reinfeldt, Jack Tatum, Alonzo "Skip" Thomas

Special teams K Errol Mann, P Ray Guy, PR Neal Colzie, KR Carl Garrett


Defense
[1]




CB
Skip Thomas
⋅


CB
Willie Brown
⋅
Offense
[2]
WR
Fred Biletnikoff
⋅
LT LG C RG RT
Art Shell Gene Upshaw Dave Dalby George Buehler John Vella
⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅
TE
Dave Casper
⋅
WR
Cliff Branch
⋅
QB
Ken Stabler
⋅
RB
Clarence Davis
⋅
FB
Mark van Eeghen
⋅
Special Teams
PK Errol Mann
P Ray Guy
KR Carl Garrett
PR Neal Colzie



Season

The Road to their first World Championship began on opening day as they faced the reigning world champion Pittsburgh Steelers. In their home opener, Oakland trailed 28–14 with just over five minutes to play, yet orchestrated what many to this day refer to as their Comeback Classic of 1976. They won 31–28 on a 21-yard Fred Steinfort field goal with 18 seconds left.

What followed was a mammoth 5-game road trip, featuring wins over each of the Raiders' three divisional foes. It also included Oakland's lone loss on the year, a 48–17 shocker in New England. However, this would just be a preview of things to come between the Raiders and the Patriots.

Oakland became virtually unbeatable after the defeat. Upon returning home, the Raiders cruised to big victories, like a 49–16 stomping of the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had nail biters like the 28–27 victory against a competitive Chicago Bear team at Soldier Field. They closed out the season with a 24–0 shutout of the San Diego Chargers in Oakland.

The Raiders would end the 1976 season with a 64.3% pass completion. Ken Stabler would complete 66.7% of his passes. Mark van Eeghan would reach the 1000 yard mark with 1012 yards. Dave Casper would lead the team in receptions with 53 while Cliff Branch would lead the team in reception yards (1111), touch downs (12), and yards per reception for receivers who caught more than one pass (24.2).

Schedule

Week Opponent Result Game site Attendance
1 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–28 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
51,371
2 at Kansas City Chiefs W 24–21 Arrowhead Stadium
60,884
3 at Houston Oilers W 14–13 Houston Astrodome
42,338
4 at New England Patriots L 17–48 Schaefer Stadium
61,068
5 at San Diego Chargers W 27–17 San Diego Stadium
50,523
6 at Denver Broncos W 17–10 Mile High Stadium
63,431
7 Green Bay Packers W 18–14 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,232
8 Denver Broncos W 19–6 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,169
9 at Chicago Bears W 28–27 Soldier Field (I)
53,585
10 Kansas City Chiefs W 21–10 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
48,259
11 at Philadelphia Eagles W 26–7 Veterans Stadium
65,990
12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 49–16 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
49,590
13 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–20 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,430
14 San Diego Chargers W 24–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
50,102

Game notes

Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 7 7 14 28
• Raiders 0 7 0 24 31

Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
1 2 3 4 Total
• Raiders 7 10 0 7 24
Chiefs 0 0 7 14 21

Week 3: at Houston Oilers

Oakland Raiders at Houston Oilers
1 2 3 4 Total
• Raiders 0 7 0 7 14
Oilers 6 0 0 7 13

Week 4: at New England Patriots

Oakland Raiders at New England Patriots
1 2 3 4 Total
Raiders 0 10 0 7 17
• Patriots 7 14 14 13 48

Week 5: at San Diego Chargers

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
1 2 3 4 Total
• Raiders 7 7 0 13 27
Chargers 7 0 3 7 17

Week 6: at Denver Broncos

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
1 2 3 4 Total
• Raiders 0 3 14 0 17
Broncos 0 10 0 0 10

Week 7: vs. Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Packers 7 0 0 7 14
• Raiders 0 18 0 0 18

Week 8: vs. Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Broncos 6 0 0 0 6
• Raiders 3 0 3 13 19

Week 9: at Chicago Bears

Oakland Raiders at Chicago Bears
1 2 3 4 Total
• Raiders 0 14 7 7 28
Bears 7 0 20 0 27
  • Date: November 7
  • Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 53,585
  • Game weather: 36°F, wind 15 mph

Oakland escaped Chicago with a victory after a 31-yard field goal attempt by Bob Thomas with 15 seconds left got caught in a gust of wind and hit the upright.

Week 10: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Chiefs 0 7 3 0 10
• Raiders 7 7 7 0 21

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles

Oakland Raiders at Philadelphia Eagles
1 2 3 4 Total
• Raiders 12 0 7 7 26
Eagles 7 0 0 0 7

Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Buccaneers 7 3 0 6 16
• Raiders 7 14 21 7 49

Week 13: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 6 7 7 0 20
• Raiders 14 7 7 7 35

With the victory, the Raiders clinched a playoff berth for the Steelers.

Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Chargers 0 0 0 0 0
• Raiders 7 10 7 0 24

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Oakland Raiders(1) 13 1 0 .929 7–0 10–1 350 237 W10
Denver Broncos 9 5 0 .643 5–2 7–5 315 206 W2
San Diego Chargers 6 8 0 .429 2–5 4–8 248 285 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 5 9 0 .357 2–5 4–8 290 376 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 14 0 .000 0–4 0–13 125 412 L14

Playoffs

Week Opponent Result Game site Notes Attendance
Divisional New England Patriots W 24–21 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum AFC Divisional
53,045
Conference Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–7 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum AFC Championship
53,739
Super Bowl Minnesota Vikings W 32–14 Rose Bowl Super Bowl XI
100,421

[4]

AFC Divisional: vs. New England Patriots

AFC Divisional Playoff
New England Patriots at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Patriots 7 0 14 0 21
• Raiders 3 7 0 14 24

AFC Championship: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC Championship Game
Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 7 0 0 7
• Raiders 3 14 7 0 24

Super Bowl XI: vs. Minnesota Vikings

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Main article: Super Bowl XI
Oakland Raiders 56, Minnesota Vikings 14
1 2 3 4 Total
Raiders 0 16 3 13 32
Vikings 0 0 7 7 14

at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Game information
Second Quarter
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
  • OAK – Pete Banaszak 2-yard run (Errol Mann kick) – Raiders 26-7
  • OAK – Willie Brown 75-yard interception return (kick failed) – Raiders 32-7
  • MIN – Stu Voigt 13-yard pass from Bob Lee (Fred Cox kick) – Raiders 32-14

Awards and honors

References

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See also

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  4. ↑ 1976 Oakland Raiders season at databaseFootball.com
  5. ↑ http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm
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