1974 Buffalo Bills season

1974 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach Lou Saban
Owner Ralph Wilson
Home field Rich Stadium
Results
Record 9–5
Division place 2nd AFC East
Playoff finish Lost AFC Divisional Playoff

The 1974 Buffalo Bills season was the 15th season for the club in pro football and fifth in the National Football League (NFL). Buffalo made the NFL playoffs for the first time, and reached the postseason for the first time in eight seasons. In the playoffs, they lost to the eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 32-14 in Pittsburgh. This was O.J. Simpson's only playoff game of his career, as the Bills did not have another playoff team with him on the team. Simpson would be traded to the 49ers in 1978, but the 49ers did not make the playoffs that season nor the 1979 season, Simpson's final season in the NFL. In the game, Simpson would only rush for 49 yards on 11 carries and did not score a touchdown. He did, however, catch a touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Ferguson late in the 3rd quarter.

Buffalo debuted their new uniforms and helmets in 1974, replacing the red "standing buffalo" with the "streaking bison."[1] The look first shown to a national audience on the first Monday Night Football game of the season, in a dramatic 21–20 victory over Oakland.[2]

Star running back O.J. Simpson, coming off consecutive rushing titles, did not lead the league in 1974, but did cross the 1,000-yard barrier despite a sore knee.[3]

Buffalo's defense was far more stout than it had been in previous years, as it gave up 3,489 yards in 1974, fifth-fewest in the NFL. The Bills' 1,611 passing yards allowed were the third-best in the league.[4]

The 1974 Bills have the odd distinction of being the last team to go a full game without completing a pass,[5] in Week Three of the season against the New York Jets. Despite this, they still managed to defeat the Jets, behind 223 combined Buffalo rushing yards—as well as only 2 completions by Jets quarterback Joe Namath in 18 attempts.[6]

Offseason

NFL draft

Oklahoma State tight end Reuben Gant played his entire seven-year career with the Bills. Quarterback Gary Marangi was the Bills' backup quarterback for three seasons; in 1976, he started the final seven games of the season when starter Joe Ferguson was injured for the season with a back injury.

1974 Buffalo Bills draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 18 Reuben Gant  Tight end Oklahoma State
2 27 Doug Allen  Linebacker Penn State
3 70 Gary Marangi  Quarterback Boston College
4 95 Carlester Crumpler  Running back East Carolina
5 106 Gary Hayman  Wide receiver Penn State
5 122 Tim Guy  Offensive tackle Oregon
8 203 Greg Hare  Quarterback Ohio State
9 226 Brian Doherty  Punter Notre Dame
10 241 Art Cameron  Tight end Albany State
10 249 Don Calhoun  Running back Kansas State
11 278 Rod Kirby  Linebacker Pittsburgh
12 303 Dave Means  Defensive end Southeast Missouri State
13 331 Ed Gatewood  Linebacker Tennessee State
14 339 Phil Lamm  Defensive back North Carolina
14 355 Phil Gurbada  Defensive back Mayville State
15 382 Ken Williams  Linebacker Southwestern Louisiana
16 406 Sanford Qvale  Offensive tackle North Dakota State
17 434 Sal Casola  Placekicker Cincinnati
      Made roster  

[7]

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

1974 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Roster

1974 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

GameDateOpponentResultBills pointsOpponentsBills first downsRecord'Attendance
1Sep 16Oakland RaidersWin2120221–0
80,020
2Sep 22Miami DolphinsLoss1624161–1
80,020
3Sep 29New York JetsWin1612172–1
76,978
4Oct 6at Green Bay PackersWin277223–1
56,267
5Oct 13at Baltimore ColtsWin2714154–1
40,626
6Oct 20New England PatriotsWin3028195–1
78,935
7Oct 27Chicago BearsWin166166–1
78,084
8Nov 3at New England PatriotsWin2928227–1
61,279
9Nov 10Houston OilersLoss921167–2
79,144
10Nov 17at Miami DolphinsLoss2835167–3
69,313
11Nov 24at Cleveland BrownsWin1510108–3
66,504
12Dec 1Baltimore ColtsWin6099–3
75,325
13Dec 8at New York JetsLoss1020129–4
61,091
14Dec 15at Los Angeles RamsLoss141989–5
84,324

[8]

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Raiders 0 3710 20
• Bills 0 7014 21

[9]

Week 8

1 234Total
• Bills 6 1373 29
Patriots 7 1470 28

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins 11 3 0 .786 6–2 9–2 327 216 W3
Buffalo Bills 9 5 0 .643 5–3 7–4 264 244 L2
New England Patriots 7 7 0 .500 4–4 4–7 348 289 L3
New York Jets 7 7 0 .500 4–4 5–6 279 300 W6
Baltimore Colts 2 12 0 .143 1–7 1–10 190 329 L4

Playoffs

Pittsburgh Steelers 32, Buffalo Bills 14
1 2 34Total
Bills 7 0 7014
Steelers 3 26 0332

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

References

  1. ↑ The Gridiron Uniforms Database: Buffalo Bills
  2. ↑ Video: Oakland at Buffalo, Week 1, 1974, highlights at YouTube
  3. ↑ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 270 Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1974 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
  5. ↑ as of 2011 regular season
  6. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: New York Jets 12 at Buffalo Bills 16
  7. ↑ "1974 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/1974.htm
  9. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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