1978 Buffalo Bills season
The 1978 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, and the 19th overall. The Bills were coming off a season in which they only won three games, making 1978 a slight improvement.
| 1978 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Chuck Knox |
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Home field | Rich Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–11 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Head coach Chuck Knox began his first season with the team, having coached the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons.[1] It was also Buffalo's first season after the departure of star running back O.J. Simpson, who was traded to the San Francisco for five draft picks in the offseason.
The Bills offense acquired a pair of weapons for quarterback Joe Ferguson: wide receiver Frank Lewis, who had spent the previous 7 seasons in Pittsburgh, and rookie running back Terry Miller, who ended the season with over 1,000 yards.[2]
The 1978 Bills' run defense allowed an NFL record 3,228 rushing yards; the 677 rushing attempts the Bills faced in 1978 is also an NFL record.[3] Oddly, the Bills were first in the league in yards allowed on pass defense, giving up only 1,960 yards through the air.[4]
Offseason
Draft
| 1978 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Terry Miller | Running back | Oklahoma State | |
| 2 | 32 | Dee Hardison | Defensive end | North Carolina | |
| 2 | 38 | Scott Hutchinson | Defensive end | Florida | |
| 3 | 59 | Dennis Johnson | Running back | Mississippi State | |
| 3 | 65 | Danny Fulton | Wide receiver | Nebraska–Omaha | |
| 4 | 89 | Lucius Sanford | Linebacker | Georgia Tech | |
| 5 | 114 | Ken Spaeth | Tight end | Nebraska | |
| 6 | 145 | Eric Smith | Offensive tackle | Southern Miss | |
| 7 | 171 | Mario Celotto | Linebacker | USC | |
| 7 | 183 | Steve Powell | Running back | NE Missouri State | |
| 10 | 255 | Will Grant | Center | Kentucky | |
| 11 | 282 | Jerry Blanton | Linebacker | Kentucky | |
| 12 | 308 | Richard Crump | Running back | NE Oklahoma A&M | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
Staff/Coaches
| 1978 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front Office
Coaching Staff
Offensive Coaches
Defensive/Special Teams Coaches
| ||||||
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3, 1978 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 28–17 | |
| 2 | September 10, 1978 | New York Jets | L 21–20 | |
| 3 | September 17, 1978 | at Miami Dolphins | L 31–24 | |
| 4 | September 24, 1978 | Baltimore Colts | W 24–17 | |
| 5 | October 1, 1978 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 28–13 | |
| 6 | October 8, 1978 | at New York Jets | L 45–14 | |
| 7 | October 15, 1978 | at Houston Oilers | L 17–10 | |
| 8 | October 22, 1978 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 5–0 | |
| 9 | October 29, 1978 | at Cleveland Browns | L 41–20 | |
| 10 | November 5, 1978 | New England Patriots | L 14–10 | |
| 11 | November 12, 1978 | Miami Dolphins | L 25–24 | |
| 12 | November 19, 1978 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 31–10 | |
| 13 | November 26, 1978 | New York Giants | W 41–17 | |
| 14 | December 3, 1978 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 14–10 | |
| 15 | December 10, 1978 | at New England Patriots | L 26–24 | |
| 16 | December 17, 1978 | at Baltimore Colts | W 21–14 |
Season summary
Week 4
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Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| New England Patriots(2) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 358 | 286 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins(4) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 372 | 254 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 6–2 | 7–5 | 359 | 364 | L2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–10 | 302 | 354 | W1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–7 | 3–9 | 240 | 421 | L5 |
Player stats
Passing
Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
| Player | Games | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
| Joe Ferguson | 16 | 175 | 330 | 2136 | 16 | 15 | 70.5 |
Special Teams
Note: FGA = Field Goals Attempted; FGM = Field Goals Made; FG% = Field Goal Percentage; XPA = Extra Points Attempted; XPM = Extra Points Made; XP% = Extra Points Percentage
| Player | Games | FGA | FGM | FG % | XPA | XPM | XP % |
| Tom Dempsey | 16 | 13 | 10 | 76.9% | 38 | 36 | 94.7% |
Awards and honors
All-Pros
- Joe DeLamielleure, Guard
External links
Video Archives
References
- Knox would coach the Bills for five seasons – through the 1982 season – before leaving for Seattle.
- Miller's 1,060 yards would be the only 1,000-yard total of his three year career in Buffalo.
- Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending opp Rushing Att
- 1978 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
- "1978 Bufflo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-Oct-09.
- https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/1978.htm
