1976 Oakland Raiders season
OwnerAl Davis
General managerAl Davis
Head coachJohn Madden
Home fieldOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record13–1
Division place1st AFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Patriots) 24–21
Won AFC Championship
(vs. Steelers) 24–7
Won Super Bowl XI
(vs. Vikings) 32–14

The 1976 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 17th season, and 7th in the National Football League (NFL).

After having appeared in the three previous AFC Championship Games – and having lost all three—the 1976 Raiders finally won the conference championship,[1] 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, and their fifth consecutive one, 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 16–1 (.941) overall record. They were the best team in the NFL in 1976.

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.[2] The NFL on its 100th anniversary named the 1976 Raiders #8 on the 100 greatest teams of all time.[3][4]

Offseason

1976 Raiders draft selections[5]
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

Roster

[6]

1976 Oakland Raiders roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Season summary

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 1976. 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's first six wins were by a total of 28 points. Coupled with the loss, the Raiders actually were outscored 151–148 despite a 6–1 record. But they became virtually unbeatable after the defeat. Upon returning home, they 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, and ended allowing only 16 points total to division foes Denver, Kansas City and San Diego at home (Tampa Bay was also in the AFC West, finishing 0–14).

The Raiders ended the 1976 season with 64.3% of their passes completed; 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 (1,111), touchdowns (12), and yards per reception for receivers who caught more than one pass (24.2).

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 July 31 Dallas Cowboys W 17–14 1–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,391 Recap
2 August 7 vs. St. Louis Cardinals W 20–9 2–0 Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe, Arizona) 33,216 Recap
3 August 13 at New York Jets W 41–17 3–0 Yankee Stadium 10,726 Recap
4 August 21 Los Angeles Rams L 14–23 3–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 52,615 Recap
5 August 29 at San Francisco 49ers W 14–9 4–1 Candlestick Park 52,704 Recap
6 September 4 Seattle Seahawks W 45–28 5–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,487 Recap

Regular season

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

Game notes

Week 1: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Steelers 0 7714 28
• Raiders 0 7024 31

Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
1 234Total
• Raiders 7 1007 24
Chiefs 0 0714 21

Week 3: at Houston Oilers

Oakland Raiders at Houston Oilers
1 234Total
• Raiders 0 707 14
Oilers 6 007 13

Week 4: at New England Patriots

Oakland Raiders at New England Patriots
1 234Total
Raiders 0 1007 17
• Patriots 7 141413 48

Week 5: at San Diego Chargers

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers
1 234Total
• Raiders 7 7013 27
Chargers 7 037 17

Week 6: at Denver Broncos

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
1 234Total
• Raiders 0 3140 17
Broncos 0 1000 10

Week 7: vs. Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Packers 7 007 14
• Raiders 0 1800 18

Week 8: vs. Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Broncos 6 000 6
• Raiders 3 0313 19

Week 9 at Chicago Bears

Week Nine: Oakland Raiders (7–1) at Chicago Bears (4–4)
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 14 7728
Bears 7 0 20027

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: November 7, 1976
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Sunny, 36 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 53,585
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • Box Score
Game information

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 234Total
Chiefs 0 730 10
• Raiders 7 770 21

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles

Oakland Raiders at Philadelphia Eagles
1 234Total
• Raiders 12 077 26
Eagles 7 000 7

Week 12: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Buccaneers 7 306 16
• Raiders 7 14217 49

Week 13: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Bengals 6 770 20
• Raiders 14 777 35
Scoring summary
1BengalsJohn McDaniel 40-yard pass from Ken Anderson (kick failed)Bengals 6–0
1RaidersDave Casper 24-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 7–6
1RaidersDave Casper 3-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 14–6
2BengalsStan Fritts 1-yard run (Chris Bahr kick)Raiders 14–13
2RaidersPete Banaszak 1-yard run (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 21–13
3RaidersCliff Branch 42-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 28–13
3BengalsArchie Griffin 21-yard run (Chris Bahr kick)Raiders 28–20
4RaidersFred Biletnikoff 7-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick)Raiders 35–20

With the Raiders' victory, the Steelers tied the Bengals for first in the AFC Central. Pittsburgh would win the division on a tiebreaker.

Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Chargers 0 000 0
• Raiders 7 1070 24

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

WeekDateOpponentResultVenueAttendance
DivisionalDecember 18New England PatriotsW 24–21Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
  53,045
AFC ChampionshipDecember 26Pittsburgh SteelersW 24–7Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
  53,739
Super Bowl XIJanuary 9, 1977Minnesota VikingsW 32–14Rose Bowl
100,421
Source:[7]

AFC Divisional: vs. New England Patriots

AFC Divisional Playoff
New England Patriots at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Patriots 7 0140 21
• Raiders 3 7014 24

AFC Championship: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

AFC Championship Game
Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders
1 234Total
Steelers 0 700 7
• Raiders 3 1470 24

Super Bowl XI: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Oakland Raiders 32, Minnesota Vikings 14
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 16 31332
Vikings 0 0 7714

at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

Game information
Second quarter

Third quarter

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

References

  1. ↑ AFC Championship Game results, ESPN, Jan. 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ "GREATEST TEAM OF ALL TIME". National Football League. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ "NFL Top 100 Teams". Pro Football Reference.
  4. ↑ "100 Greatest Teams: Numbers 100-1 SUPERCUT". NFL.com.
  5. ↑ "1976 NFL Draft at databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on October 15, 2007.
  6. ↑ McDonald's History of the Super Bowl, Volume 3. McDonald's Corporation. 1977. p. 21.
  7. ↑ 1976 Oakland Raiders season at databaseFootball.com Archived May 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-28.

See also

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