1976 Oakland Raiders season


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 won against both the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers to achieve the team's second Super Bowl berth. Then, on January 9, 1977, at the Rose Bowl, the Raiders won Super Bowl XI by rolling over the Minnesota Vikings 32–14. With this victory, the Raiders achieved a 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.

Offseason

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

Season

The Road to their first World Championship began on opening day, as they hosted the two-time reigning world champion Pittsburgh Steelers. 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. They won 31–28 on a 21-yard Fred Steinfort field goal with 18 seconds left.
What followed was a mammoth five-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 at 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 ended the 1976 season with a 64.3% pass completion; Ken Stabler completed 66.7% of his passes. Fullback Mark van Eeghen passed the 1,000-yard mark at 1,012 yards. Tight end Dave Casper led the team in receptions with 53, while side receiver Cliff Branch led in reception yards, touchdowns, and yards per reception for receivers who caught more than one pass.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 12Pittsburgh SteelersW 31–281–0Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
51,371
2September 20at Kansas City ChiefsW 24–212–0Arrowhead Stadium
60,884
3September 26at Houston OilersW 14–133–0Astrodome
42,338
4October 3at New England PatriotsL 17–483–1Schaefer Stadium
61,068
5October 10at San Diego ChargersW 27–174–1San Diego Stadium
50,523
6October 17at Denver BroncosW 17–105–1Mile High Stadium
63,431
7October 24Green Bay PackersW 18–146–1Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,232
8October 31Denver BroncosW 19–67–1Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,169
9November 7at Chicago BearsW 28–278–1Soldier Field
53,585
10November 14Kansas City ChiefsW 21–109–1Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
48,259
11November 21at Philadelphia EaglesW 26–710–1 Veterans Stadium
65,990
12November 28Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 49–1611–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
49,590
13December 6Cincinnati BengalsW 35–2012–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
52,430
14December 12San Diego ChargersW 24–013–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
50,102

Game notes

Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

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









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

Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers

Playoffs

WeekDateOpponentResultVenueAttendance
DivisionalDecember 18New England PatriotsW 24–21Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
53,045
ConferenceDecember 26Pittsburgh SteelersW 24–7Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
53,739
Super BowlJanuary 9, 1977Minnesota VikingsW 32–14Rose Bowl
100,421

AFC Divisional: vs. New England Patriots

Awards and honors