1975 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachLou Saban
Home fieldRich Stadium
Results
Record8–6
Division place3rd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1975 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's sixth season in the NFL, and its 16th overall. The Bills failed to improve on their 9–5 record from last year and finished 8–6. They enjoyed their third consecutive winning season, but they still failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1973.

Season summary

The Bills led the league in points scored, with 420 (30.0 per game). This amount is the most points 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] The Bills were the only team in NFL history to average at least 30 points per game and miss the playoffs, until being joined by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004.

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

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.

RoundPick #PlayerPositionCollege
119Tom RuudLinebackerNebraska
242Bob NelsonLinebackerNebraska
250Glenn LoftDefensive backDrake University
4102Tom DonchezRunning backPenn State
5115John McCrumblyLinebackerTexas A&M
7166Gil ChapmanRunning backMichigan
7174Reggie CherryRunning backHouston
7175Harry BanksDefensive backMichigan
8201John HillDefensive tackleDuke
10253Roland HooksRunning backNorth Carolina State
11279Tom DrakeDefensive backMichigan
12305Mark JohnsonDefensive endMissouri
13331Mark DienhartTackleSt. Thomas (MN)
14357Robert EvansWide receiverMorris Brown
15383Chris KupecQuarterbackNorth Carolina
16408Tom FineTight endNotre Dame
17435Jeff TurcotteDefensive endColorado

Personnel

Staff/coaches

1975 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive/Special teams coaches


Final roster

1975 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 21 New York Jets W 42–14 1–0 Rich Stadium 77,837
2 September 28 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–21 2–0 Three Rivers Stadium 49,348
3 October 5 Denver Broncos W 38–14 3–0 Rich Stadium 79,864
4 October 12 at Baltimore Colts W 38–31 4–0 Memorial Stadium 43,907
5 October 20 New York Giants L 14–17 4–1 Rich Stadium 79,428
6 October 26 Miami Dolphins L 30–35 4–2 Rich Stadium 79,141
7 November 2 at New York Jets W 24–23 5–2 Shea Stadium 58,343
8 November 9 Baltimore Colts L 35–42 5–3 Rich Stadium 77,320
9 November 17 at Cincinnati Bengals L 24–33 5–4 Riverfront Stadium 56,666
10 November 23 New England Patriots W 45–31 6–4 Rich Stadium 65,655
11 November 27 at St. Louis Cardinals W 32–14 7–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 41,899
12 December 7 at Miami Dolphins L 21–31 7–5 Miami Orange Bowl 78,701
13 December 14 at New England Patriots W 34–14 8–5 Schaefer Stadium 58,393
14 December 20 Minnesota Vikings L 13–35 8–6 Rich Stadium 54,993

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Jets

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

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 2 at Steelers

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills (1-0) 0 10 13 7 30
Steelers (1-0) 0 0 7 14 21

Week 3 vs Broncos

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 (14 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
Scoring summary
1BUFJohn Leypoldt 39 yard field goalBills 3–0
1BUFJim Braxton 3 yard run (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 10–0
2BUFJim Braxton 19 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 17–0
2DENFloyd Little 35 yard pass from Charley Johnson (Jim Turner kick)Bills 17–7
2BUFJ. D. Hill 16 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 24–7
3BUFO. J. Simpson 16 yard run (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 31–7
3BUFJim Braxton 4 yard run (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 38–7
3DENRick Upchurch 80 yard pass from John Hufnagel (Jim Turner kick)Bills 38–14

[7]

Week 4 at Colts

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills (3-0) 10 14 7 7 38
Colts (1-2) 14 7 7 3 31

Week 5 vs Giants

1 234Total
• Giants 0 7010 17
Bills 7 700 14

Week 6 vs Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total
Dolphins (4-1) 0 14 7 14 35
Bills (4-1) 13 10 0 7 30

Week 7 at Jets

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills (4-2) 7 0 10 7 24
Jets (2-4) 3 13 7 0 23

Week 8 vs Colts

1 2 3 4 Total
Colts (3-4) 0 21 0 21 42
Bills (5–2) 7 21 0 7 35

Week 9 at Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills (5-3) 3 7 7 7 24
Bengals (7-1) 6 14 3 10 33

MNF

Week 10 vs Patriots

1 2 3 4 Total
Patriots (3-6) 7 14 7 3 31
Bills (5-4) 14 10 7 14 45

Week 11 at Cardinals

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills (6-4) 6 7 6 13 32
Cardinals (8-2) 7 0 0 7 14

Thursday game

Week 12 at Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills (7-4) 0 0 14 7 21
Dolphins (8-3) 7 14 3 7 31

Week 13 at Patriots

1 2 3 4 Total
Bills (7-5) 6 7 14 7 34
Patriots (3-9) 0 7 0 7 14

Week 14 vs Vikings

1 2 3 4 Total
Vikings (11-2) 14 7 14 0 35
Bills (8-5) 0 7 6 0 13

Saturday game

  • Snow

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

First Team

Second Team

See also

References

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