1976 Oakland Raiders season

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 AFC 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.

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.[1]

Offseason

1976 Raiders draft selections[2]
RoundOverallPlayerPositionCollege
234Charles PhilyawDETexas Southern
250Jeb BlountQBTulsa
384Rik BonnessLBNebraska
4110Herb McMathDEMorningside
5146Fred SteinfortKBoston College
7204Clarence ChapmanWREastern Michigan
8220Jerome DoveDBColorado State
8231Terry KunzHBColorado
10286Dwight LewisDBPurdue
11313Rick JenningsHBMaryland
12343Cedric BrownSKent State
13367Craig CrnickDEIdaho
13370Mark YoungGWashington State
14397Calvin YoungHBFresno State
15427Carl HargraveDBUpper Iowa
16454Doug HoganDBSouthern California
17478Buddy TateDBTulsa
17481Nate BeasleyHBDelaware

Players[3]

1976 Oakland Raiders roster
Quarterbacks

David Humm, Mike Rae

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

Wide receivers

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



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

WeekOpponentResultGame siteAttendance
1Pittsburgh SteelersW 31–28Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
51,371
2at Kansas City ChiefsW 24–21Arrowhead Stadium
60,884
3at Houston OilersW 14–13Houston Astrodome
42,338
4at New England PatriotsL 17–48Schaefer Stadium
61,068
5at San Diego ChargersW 27–17San Diego Stadium
50,523
6at Denver BroncosW 17–10Mile High Stadium
63,431
7Green Bay PackersW 18–14Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,232
8Denver BroncosW 19–6Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,169
9at Chicago BearsW 28–27Soldier Field (I)
53,585
10Kansas City ChiefsW 21–10Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
48,259
11at Philadelphia EaglesW 26–7Veterans Stadium
65,990
12Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 49–16Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
49,590
13Cincinnati BengalsW 35–20Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,430
14San Diego ChargersW 24–0Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
50,102

Game notes

Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Steelers 0 7714 28
• Raiders 0 7024 31

Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
1 234Total
• Raiders 7 1007 24
Chiefs 0 0714 21

Week 3: at Houston Oilers

Oakland Raiders at Houston Oilers
1 234Total
• Raiders 0 707 14
Oilers 6 007 13

Week 4: at New England Patriots

Oakland Raiders at New England Patriots
1 234Total
Raiders 0 1007 17
• Patriots 7 141413 48

Week 5: at San Diego Chargers

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
1 234Total
• Raiders 7 7013 27
Chargers 7 037 17

Week 6: at Denver Broncos

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
1 234Total
• Raiders 0 3140 17
Broncos 0 1000 10

Week 7: vs. Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Packers 7 007 14
• Raiders 0 1800 18

Week 8: vs. Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Broncos 6 000 6
• Raiders 3 0313 19

Week 9: at Chicago Bears

Oakland Raiders at Chicago Bears
1 234Total
• Raiders 0 1477 28
Bears 7 0200 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 234Total
Chiefs 0 730 10
• Raiders 7 770 21

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles

Oakland Raiders at Philadelphia Eagles
1 234Total
• Raiders 12 077 26
Eagles 7 000 7

Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Buccaneers 7 306 16
• Raiders 7 14217 49

Week 13: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Bengals 6 770 20
• Raiders 14 777 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 234Total
Chargers 0 000 0
• Raiders 7 1070 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

WeekOpponentResultGame siteNotesAttendance
DivisionalNew England PatriotsW 24–21Oakland–Alameda County ColiseumAFC Divisional
53,045
ConferencePittsburgh SteelersW 24–7Oakland–Alameda County ColiseumAFC Championship
53,739
Super BowlMinnesota VikingsW 32–14Rose BowlSuper Bowl XI
100,421

[4]

AFC Divisional: vs. New England Patriots

AFC Divisional Playoff
New England Patriots at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Patriots 7 0140 21
• Raiders 3 7014 24

AFC Championship: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC Championship Game
Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Steelers 0 700 7
• Raiders 3 1470 24

Super Bowl XI: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14
1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 16 31332
Vikings 0 0 7714

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

  1. ↑ "GREATEST TEAM OF ALL TIME". National Football League. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "1976 NFL Draft at databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on October 15, 2007.
  3. ↑ McDonald's History of the Super Bowl, Volume 3. McDonald's Corporation. 1977. p. 21.
  4. ↑ 1976 Oakland Raiders season at databaseFootball.com Archived May 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-28.

See also

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