1975 Buffalo Bills season

1975 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach Lou Saban
Owner Ralph Wilson
Home field Rich Stadium
Results
Record 8–6
Division place 3rd AFC East
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 1975 Buffalo Bills season was the 16th season for the club, and their 6th in the National Football League.

The Bills led the league in points scored, with 420 (30.0 per game). This amount is the most point scored by any team in a 14-game season after the merger,[1] and the most points scored by any team in the 1970s.[2]

Buffalo won their first four games by an average of 17 points. They were 5–2 at the halfway point of the season, and one game behind the 6–1 Miami Dolphins in the AFC East. Buffalo then lost four of their final seven games, ultimately falling two games short of the division title.

Bills' running back O.J. Simpson rushed for 1817 yards on the season, and set a then-record with 23 touchdowns scored for the season. Fullback Jim Braxton had 823 yards rushing. Buffalo's ground game dominated the league, with a total of 2974 rushing yards, over 300 yards more than the second best rushing total.[3]

The 1975 Bills have the distinction of giving up the most total passing yards (3,080) in a 14-game schedule during the merger era.[4][5][6] However, the Bills' 45 takeaways on defense led the league in 1975. Defensive back Robert James and safety Doug Jones were lost to the season with knee injuries.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1975 NFL Draft

Buffalo's defense gave up the fourth-most yards in the NFL in 1974, and so the Bills' first two picks in the 1975 draft were a pair of Nebraska linebackers – Tom Ruud and Bob Nelson—both of whom played for Buffalo for three seasons. N.C. State running back Roland Hooks played in every Bills game from 1976–1981. He is best known for his "Hail Mary" reception against New England in Week Twelve of the 1981 season, a catch which was instrumental in putting Buffalo into the postseason that year.

Round Pick # Player Position College
1 19 Tom Ruud Linebacker Nebraska
2 42 Bob Nelson Linebacker Nebraska
2 50 Glenn Loft Defensive back Drake University
4 102 Tom Donchez Running back Penn State
5 115 John McCrumbly Linebacker Texas A&M
7 166 Gil Chapman Running back Michigan
7 174 Reggie Cherry Running back Houston
7 175 Harry Banks Defensive back Michigan
8 201 John Hill Defensive tackle Duke
10 253 Roland Hooks Running back North Carolina State
11 279 Tom Drake Defensive back Michigan
12 305 Mark Johnson Defensive end Missouri
13 331 Mark Dienhart Tackle St. Thomas (MN)
14 357 Robert Evans Wide receiver Morris Brown
15 383 Chris Kupec Quarterback North Carolina
16 408 Tom Fine Tight end Notre Dame
17 435 Jeff Turcotte Defensive end Colorado

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 21, 1975 New York Jets W 42–14
77,837
2 September 28, 1975 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–21
49,348
3 October 5, 1975 Denver Broncos W 38–14
79,864
4 October 12, 1975 at Baltimore Colts W 38–31
43,907
5 October 20, 1975 New York Giants L 17–14
79,428
6 October 26, 1975 Miami Dolphins L 35–30
79,141
7 November 2, 1975 at New York Jets W 24–23
58,343
8 November 9, 1975 Baltimore Colts L 42–35
77,320
9 November 17, 1975 at Cincinnati Bengals L 33–24
56,666
10 November 23, 1975 New England Patriots W 45–31
65,655
11 November 27, 1975 at St. Louis Cardinals W 32–14
41,899
12 December 7, 1975 at Miami Dolphins L 31–21
78,701
13 December 14, 1975 at New England Patriots W 34–14
58,393
14 December 20, 1975 Minnesota Vikings L 35–13
54,993

Week 1

1 2 34Total
Jets 7 7 0014
Bills 14 7 14742

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Week 3

1 234Total
Broncos 0 770 14
• Bills 10 14140 38
  • Date: October 5
  • Location: Rich Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 58°F, wind 11 mph

[7]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts(3) 10 4 0 .714 6–2 8–3 395 269 W9
Miami Dolphins 10 4 0 .714 6–2 7–4 357 222 W1
Buffalo Bills 8 6 0 .571 5–3 7–4 420 355 L1
New York Jets 3 11 0 .214 2–6 3–8 258 433 L2
New England Patriots 3 11 0 .214 1–7 2–9 258 358 L6

Awards and honors

All-Pros

Main article: 1975 All-Pro Team

First Team

Second Team

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1970 to 1977, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points For.
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1970 to 1979, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points For.
  3. ↑ Pittsburgh, 2633
  4. ↑ Post-Merger 14-game schedule era: 1970–1977
  5. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1970 to 1977, in the regular season, sorted by descending opp Passing Yds
  6. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, in 1975, in the regular season, sorted by descending opp Passing Yds
  7. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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