1974 Buffalo Bills season

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1974 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachLou Saban
Home fieldRich Stadium
Results
Record9–5
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishLost 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.

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

Main article: 1974 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

1974 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Regular season

Schedule

Game Date Opponent Result Bills points Opponents Bills first downs Record 'Attendance
1 Sep 16 Oakland Raiders Win 21 20 22 1–0
80,020
2 Sep 22 Miami Dolphins Loss 16 24 16 1–1
80,020
3 Sep 29 New York Jets Win 16 12 17 2–1
76,978
4 Oct 6 at Green Bay Packers Win 27 7 22 3–1
56,267
5 Oct 13 at Baltimore Colts Win 27 14 15 4–1
40,626
6 Oct 20 New England Patriots Win 30 28 19 5–1
78,935
7 Oct 27 Chicago Bears Win 16 6 16 6–1
78,084
8 Nov 3 at New England Patriots Win 29 28 22 7–1
61,279
9 Nov 10 Houston Oilers Loss 9 21 16 7–2
79,144
10 Nov 17 at Miami Dolphins Loss 28 35 16 7–3
69,313
11 Nov 24 at Cleveland Browns Win 15 10 10 8–3
66,504
12 Dec 1 Baltimore Colts Win 6 0 9 9–3
75,325
13 Dec 8 at New York Jets Loss 10 20 12 9–4
61,091
14 Dec 15 at Los Angeles Rams Loss 14 19 8 9–5
84,324

[8]

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Raiders 0 3710 20
• Bills 0 7014 21
Scoring summary
2BUFJ.D. Hill 24 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 7–0
2OAKGeorge Blanda 34 yard field goalBills 7–3
3OAKClarence Davis 15 yard run (George Blanda kick)Raiders 10–7
4OAKGeorge Blanda 41 yard field goalRaiders 13–7
4BUFAhmad Rashad 8 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 14–13
4OAKArt Thoms 29 yard fumble return (George Blanda kick)Raiders 20–14
4BUFAhmad Rashad 13 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 21–20

[9]

Week 8

1 234Total
• Bills 6 1373 29
Patriots 7 1470 28
Scoring summary
1BillsJohn Leypoldt 45 yard field goalBills 3–0
1PatriotsMack Herron 43 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (John Smith kick)Patriots 7–3
1BillsJohn Leypoldt 20 yard field goalPatriots 7–6
2PatriotsMack Herron 20 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (John Smith kick)Patriots 14–6
2BillsAhmad Rashad 25 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (kick failed)Patriots 14–12
2PatriotsSam Cunningham 31 yard run (John Smith kick)Patriots 21–12
2BillsO.J. Simpson 1 yard run (John Leypoldt kick)Patriots 21–19
3BillsDave Washington 72 yard interception return (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 26–21
3PatriotsMack Herron 2 yard run (John Smith kick)Patriots 28–26
4BillsJohn Leypoldt 47 yard field goalBills 29–28

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 York Jets 7 7 0 .500 4–4 5–6 279 300 W6
New England Patriots 7 7 0 .500 4–4 4–7 348 289 L3
Baltimore Colts 2 12 0 .143 1–7 1–10 190 329 L4

Playoffs

Pittsburgh Steelers 32, Buffalo Bills 14
Period 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. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/1974.htm
  9. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com

External links

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