1974 Buffalo Bills season

The 1974 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League, and the 15th overall. Buffalo made the NFL playoffs for the first time and reached the postseason for the first time in eight seasons. In the playoffs, they lost to the eventual champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 32-14 in Pittsburgh.

1974 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachLou Saban
Home fieldRich Stadium
Results
Record9–5
Division place2nd AFC East
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Steelers) 14–32

This was O. J. Simpson's only playoff game of his career, as the Bills did not have another playoff team with him on the team. Simpson would be traded to the 49ers in 1978, but the 49ers did not make the playoffs that season nor the 1979 season, Simpson's final season in the NFL. In the game, Simpson would only rush for 49 yards on 11 carries and did not score a touchdown. He did, however, catch a touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Ferguson late in the 3rd quarter.

Buffalo debuted their new uniforms and helmets in 1974, replacing the red "standing buffalo" with the "streaking bison."[1] This updated look was first displayed before 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][7]

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  

[8]

Personnel

Staff/Coaches
1974 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Roster
1974 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 Recap
1 September 16 Oakland Raiders W 21–20 1–0 Rich Stadium Recap
2 September 22 Miami Dolphins L 16–24 1–1 Rich Stadium Recap
3 September 29 New York Jets W 16 –12 2–1 Rich Stadium Recap
4 October 6 at Green Bay Packers W 27– 7 3–1 Lambeau Field Recap
5 October 13 at Baltimore Colts W 27–14 4–1 Memorial Stadium Recap
6 October 20 New England Patriots W 30–28 5–1 Rich Stadium Recap
7 October 27 Chicago Bears W 16–6 6–1 Rich Stadium Recap
8 November 3 at New England Patriots W 29–28 7–1 Schaefer Stadium Recap
9 November 10 Houston Oilers L 9–21 7–2 Rich Stadium Recap
10 November 17 at Miami Dolphins L 28–35 7–3 Miami Orange Bowl Recap
11 November 24 at Cleveland Browns W 15–10 8–3 Cleveland Stadium Recap
12 December 1 Baltimore Colts W 6–0 9–3 Rich Stadium Recap
13 December 8 at New York Jets L 10–20 9–4 Shea Stadium Recap
14 December 15 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–19 9–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap

Week 1
    • Buffalo Snaps the Raiders MNF winning streak**
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
AFC Divisional Playoff: Buffalo Bills (9–5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10–3–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 7 0 7014
Steelers 3 26 0332

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

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. "1974 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. as of 2011 regular season
  6. "New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - September 29th, 1974". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  7. "1974 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  8. "1974 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  9. "Oakland Raiders at Buffalo Bills - September 16th, 1974". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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