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 Conference 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.

On March 30, 2012, the 1976 Oakland Raiders were named the greatest team of all time by NFL.com's "Bracketology"; a 15-day, 6 round fan vote tournament that features 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]
Round	Overall	Player	Position	College
2	34	Charles Philyaw	DE	Texas Southern
2	50	Jeb Blount	QB	Tulsa
3	84	Rik Bonness	LB	Nebraska
4	110	Herb McMath	DE	Morningside
5	146	Fred Steinfort	K	Boston College
7	204	Clarence Chapman	WR	Eastern Michigan
8	220	Jerome Dove	DB	Colorado State
8	231	Terry Kunz	HB	Colorado
10	286	Dwight Lewis	DB	Purdue
11	313	Rick Jennings	HB	Maryland
12	343	Cedric Brown	S	Kent State
13	367	Craig Crnick	DE	Idaho
13	370	Mark Young	G	Washington State
14	397	Calvin Young	HB	Fresno State
15	427	Carl Hargrave	DB	Upper Iowa
16	454	Doug Hogan	DB	Southern California
17	478	Buddy Tate	DB	Tulsa
17	481	Nate Beasley	HB	Delaware

Players^[3]

1976 Oakland Raiders roster

Quarterbacks

Ken Stabler, David Humm, Mike Rae

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

Wide receivers Fred Biletnikoff, Cliff Branch, Mike Siani, Morris Bradshaw

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

Defense

CB
Skip Thomas
⋅

CB
Willie Brown
⋅

Offense

WR
Fred Biletnikoff
⋅

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Art Shell	Gene Upshaw	Dave Dalby	George Buehler	John Vella
⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅

TE
Dave Casper
⋅

WR
Cliff Branch
⋅

QB
Ken Stabler
⋅

RB
Clarence Davis
⋅

FB
Mark van Eeghen
⋅

Special Teams
PK Errol Mann
P Ray Guy
KR Carl Garrett
PR Neal Colzie

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

Week	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 31–28	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	51,371
2	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 24–21	Arrowhead Stadium	60,884
3	at Houston Oilers	W 14–13	Houston Astrodome	42,338
4	at New England Patriots	L 17–48	Schaefer Stadium	61,068
5	at San Diego Chargers	W 27–17	San Diego Stadium	50,523
6	at Denver Broncos	W 17–10	Mile High Stadium	63,431
7	Green Bay Packers	W 18–14	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	52,232
8	Denver Broncos	W 19–6	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	52,169
9	at Chicago Bears	W 28–27	Soldier Field (I)	53,585
10	Kansas City Chiefs	W 21–10	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	48,259
11	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 26–7	Veterans Stadium	65,990
12	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 49–16	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	49,590
13	Cincinnati Bengals	W 35–20	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	52,430
14	San Diego Chargers	W 24–0	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	50,102

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

Date: September 12
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST
Game weather: 62°F, wind 8 mph
TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Don Meredith

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: September 20
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Game start: 8:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: 66°F, wind 13 mph
Television network: ABC

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: September 26
Location: Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: indoors (dome)

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: October 3
Location: Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 60°F, wind 10 mph

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: October 10
Location: San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: October 17
Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
Game start: 1:00 p.m. MST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: October 24
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: October 31
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 9: at Chicago Bears

Oakland Raiders at Chicago Bears

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Raiders	0	14	7	7	28
Bears	7	0	20	0	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

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1	Bears	Walter Payton 5-yard run (Bob Thomas kick)	Bears 7–0

2	Raiders	Dave Casper 17-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)	Tie 7–7

2	Raiders	Cliff Branch 75-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)	Raiders 14–7

3	Raiders	Clarence Davis 2-yard run (Errol Mann kick)	Raiders 21–7

3	Bears	James Scott 36-yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick)	Raiders 21–14

3	Bears	Walter Payton 12-yard run (kick failed)	Raiders 21–20

3	Bears	Walter Payton 2-yard run (Bob Thomas kick)	Bears 27–21

4	Raiders	Cliff Branch 49-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)	Raiders 28–27

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

Date: November 14
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: November 21
Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: November 28
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: December 6
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 6:00 p.m. PST
Game weather: 52°F, wind 6 mph
Television network: ABC

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

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 victory, the Raiders clinched a playoff berth for the Steelers.

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

Date: December 12
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Week	Opponent	Result	Game site	Notes	Attendance
Divisional	New England Patriots	W 24–21	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	AFC Divisional	53,045
Conference	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24–7	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	AFC Championship	53,739
Super Bowl	Minnesota Vikings	W 32–14	Rose Bowl	Super Bowl XI	100,421

^[4]

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

Date: December 18
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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

Date: December 26
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Super Bowl XI: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Main article: Super Bowl XI

Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14

	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: 3:50 PM EST
Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), wind 6 mph, relative humidity 59%
TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Don Meredith
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

Second Quarter

OAK – Errol Mann 24-yard field goal – Raiders 3-0
OAK – Dave Casper 1-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) – Raiders 10-0
OAK – Pete Banaszak 1-yard run (kick failed) – Raiders 16-0

Third Quarter

OAK – Errol Mann 40-yard field goal – Raiders 19-0
MIN – Sammy White 8-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Fred Cox kick) – Raiders 19-7

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

Ken Stabler, Bert Bell Award^[5]

References

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

Los Angeles / Oakland Raiders seasons

Oakland 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 Los Angeles 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 Oakland 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

Oakland Raiders Super Bowl XI champions

4 Fred Steinfort 8 Ray Guy 11 David Humm 12 Ken Stabler 14 Errol Mann 15 Mike Rae 20 Neal Colzie 21 Cliff Branch 24 Willie Brown 25 Fred Biletnikoff (MVP) 26 Skip Thomas 28 Clarence Davis 29 Hubert Ginn 30 Mark van Eeghen 31 Carl Garrett 32 Jack Tatum 33 Rick Jennings 34 Terry Kunz 36 Manfred Moore 39 Willie Hall 40 Pete Banaszak 41 Phil Villapiano 43 George Atkinson 44 Marv Hubbard 46 Warren Bankston 47 Charlie Phillips 49 Mike Siani 50 Dave Dalby 51 Rodrigo Barnes 52 Floyd Rice 54 Rik Bonness 58 Monte Johnson 60 Otis Sistrunk 61 Herb McMath 63 Gene Upshaw 64 George Buehler 66 Steve Sylvester 70 Henry Lawrence 72 John Matuszak 74 Dave Rowe 75 John Vella 77 Charles Philyaw 78 Art Shell 79 Dan Medlin 81 Morris Bradshaw 83 Ted Hendricks 87 Dave Casper 89 Ted Kwalick

Head coach: John Madden

Coaches: Tom Dahms Lew Erber Tom Flores Joe Scannella Don Shinnick Oliver Spencer Bob Zeman

Oakland Raiders

Founded in 1960 Played in Los Angeles (1982–1994) Based in Oakland, California Headquartered in Alameda, California

Franchise	History in Los Angeles Seasons Players First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Head coaches

Stadiums	Kezar Stadium Candlestick Park Frank Youell Field Oakland Alameda Coliseum Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Las Vegas Raiders Stadium (proposed)

Key personnel	Owner/CEO: Mark Davis General manager: Reggie McKenzie Head coach: Jack Del Rio

Culture	Oakland Raiderettes Raider Nation The Autumn Wind

Lore	Heidi Game Immaculate Reception The Sea of Hands Ghost to the Post Holy Roller Red Right 88 Tuck Rule Game

Rivalries	Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs San Diego Chargers Pittsburgh Steelers

Media	Television: Comcast SportsNet California Comcast SportsNet Bay Area KTVU Radio: KGMZ KITS Other: Compass Media Networks The Raider Cast Personalities: Bill King Greg Papa J. T. the Brick

Playoff appearances (21)	1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1990 1991 1993 2000 2001 2002

Division championships (15)	1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1983 1985 1990 2000 2001 2002

Conference championships (4)	1976 1980 1983 2002

League championships (3^†)	1976 (XI) 1980 (XV) 1983 (XVIII) ^† does not include 1967 AFL championship

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: West Division

Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

Seasons (55)	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold

1976 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Tampa Bay	Washington		Seattle

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.