NFL team season
The 1976 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 17th season, and 7th in the National Football League (NFL).
After having appeared in the three previous AFC Championship Games – and having lost all three—the 1976 Raiders finally won the conference championship,[1] 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, and their fifth consecutive one, the Raiders won against both the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers to achieve the team's second Super Bowl berth. Then, on January 9, 1977, at the Rose Bowl, the Raiders won Super Bowl XI by rolling over the Minnesota Vikings 32–14. With this victory, the Raiders achieved a 16–1 (.941) overall record. They were the best team in the NFL in 1976.
In 2012, the 1976 Oakland Raiders were named the greatest team of all time by NFL.com's "Bracketology"; a 15-day, six-round fan vote tournament that featured the 64 greatest teams from the Super Bowl era. Oakland beat the 2000 Baltimore Ravens in the final round by a .8% margin.[2] The NFL on its 100th anniversary named the 1976 Raiders #8 on the 100 greatest teams of all time.[3][4]
Offseason
Roster
[6]
1976 Oakland Raiders roster |
| Quarterbacks Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends | | Offensive linemen Defensive linemen | | Linebackers Defensive backs Special teams | | Reserve lists Practice squad
Rookies in italics |
Defense [1] | | WLB | ILB | ILB | SLB | Ted Hendricks | Monte Johnson | Willie Hall | ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ | | | | | DE | NT | DE | Otis Sistrunk | Dave Rowe | John Matuszak | ⋅ | ⋅ | Charles Philyaw | | | | Offense [2] | | | LT | LG | C | RG | RT | Art Shell | Gene Upshaw | Dave Dalby | George Buehler | John Vella | ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ | | | | | | | | | | | Special teams | PK Errol Mann | PK Fred Steinfort (1st 7 games) | P Ray Guy | KR Carl Garrett | PR Neal Colzie | | | | | |
Season summary
The Road to their first World Championship began on opening day, as they hosted the two-time reigning world champion Pittsburgh Steelers. 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 five-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 at New England. However, this would just be a preview of things to come between the Raiders and the Patriots.
Oakland's first six wins were by a total of 28 points. Coupled with the loss, the Raiders actually were outscored 151–148 despite a 6–1 record. But they became virtually unbeatable after the defeat. Upon returning home, they 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, and ended allowing only 16 points total to division foes Denver, Kansas City and San Diego at home (Tampa Bay was also in the AFC West, finishing 0–14).
The Raiders ended the 1976 season with 64.3% of their passes completed; Ken Stabler completed 66.7% of his passes. Fullback Mark van Eeghen passed the 1,000-yard mark at 1,012 yards. Tight end Dave Casper led the team in receptions with 53, while side receiver Cliff Branch led in reception yards (1,111), touchdowns (12), and yards per reception for receivers who caught more than one pass (24.2).
Preseason
Regular season
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
1 | September 12 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 31–28 | 1–0 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 51,371 | Recap |
2 | September 20 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 24–21 | 2–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 60,884 | Recap |
3 | September 26 | at Houston Oilers | W 14–13 | 3–0 | Astrodome | 42,338 | Recap |
4 | October 3 | at New England Patriots | L 17–48 | 3–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,068 | Recap |
5 | October 10 | at San Diego Chargers | W 27–17 | 4–1 | San Diego Stadium | 50,523 | Recap |
6 | October 17 | at Denver Broncos | W 17–10 | 5–1 | Mile High Stadium | 63,431 | Recap |
7 | October 24 | Green Bay Packers | W 18–14 | 6–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 52,232 | Recap |
8 | October 31 | Denver Broncos | W 19–6 | 7–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 52,169 | Recap |
9 | November 7 | at Chicago Bears | W 28–27 | 8–1 | Soldier Field | 53,585 | Recap |
10 | November 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 21–10 | 9–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 48,259 | Recap |
11 | November 21 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 26–7 | 10–1 | Veterans Stadium | 65,990 | Recap |
12 | November 28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 49–16 | 11–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 49,590 | Recap |
13 | December 6 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 35–20 | 12–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 52,430 | Recap |
14 | December 12 | San Diego Chargers | W 24–0 | 13–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 50,102 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Week 9 at Chicago Bears
Game information |
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter - OAK – Clarence Davis 2-yard run (Errol Mann kick). Raiders 21–7.
- CHI – James Scott 36-yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick). Raiders 21–14.
- CHI – Walter Payton 12-yard run (kick failed). Raiders 21–20.
- CHI – Walter Payton 2-yard run (Bob Thomas kick). Bears 27–21.
Fourth quarter - OAK – Cliff Branch 49-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick). Raiders 28–27.
| - Top passers
- Top rushers
- Top receivers
- OAK – Cliff Branch – 5 receptions, 163 yards, 2 TD
- CHI – James Scott – 3 receptions, 76 yards, TD
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Scoring summary |
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| 1 | | Bengals | John McDaniel 40-yard pass from Ken Anderson (kick failed) | Bengals 6–0 | | 1 | | Raiders | Dave Casper 24-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 7–6 | | 1 | | Raiders | Dave Casper 3-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 14–6 | | 2 | | Bengals | Stan Fritts 1-yard run (Chris Bahr kick) | Raiders 14–13 | | 2 | | Raiders | Pete Banaszak 1-yard run (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 21–13 | | 3 | | Raiders | Cliff Branch 42-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 28–13 | | 3 | | Bengals | Archie Griffin 21-yard run (Chris Bahr kick) | Raiders 28–20 | | 4 | | Raiders | Fred Biletnikoff 7-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 35–20 | |
With the Raiders' victory, the Steelers tied the Bengals for first in the AFC Central. Pittsburgh would win the division on a tiebreaker.
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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Standings
Playoffs
- Source:[7]
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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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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 | - Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Super Bowl XI: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Raiders | 0 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 32 |
Vikings | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- Date: January 9
- Game time: 12:50 pm. PST
- Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h), relative humidity 59%
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Don Meredith
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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
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Awards and honors
References
- ^ AFC Championship Game results, ESPN, Jan. 23, 2016.
- ^ "GREATEST TEAM OF ALL TIME". National Football League. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ "NFL Top 100 Teams". Pro Football Reference.
- ^ "100 Greatest Teams: Numbers 100-1 SUPERCUT". NFL.com.
- ^ "1976 NFL Draft at databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on October 15, 2007.
- ^ McDonald's History of the Super Bowl, Volume 3. McDonald's Corporation. 1977. p. 21.
- ^ 1976 Oakland Raiders season at databaseFootball.com Archived May 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
See also
Las Vegas Raiders seasons |
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Played in Oakland (1960–1981, 1995–2019) and Los Angeles (1982–1994) |
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Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XI champions |
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Las Vegas Raiders |
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- Founded in 1960
- Played in Oakland, California (1960–1981, 1995–2019) and Los Angeles (1982–1994)
- Based in Paradise, Nevada
- Headquartered in Henderson, Nevada
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Franchise | |
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Key personnel | |
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Culture | |
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Lore | |
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Rivalries | |
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Media | |
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Wild card berths (6) | |
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Division championships (15) | |
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Conference championships (4) | |
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League championships (4) | |
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Former league affiliation | |
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