1977 Oakland Raiders season
NFL team season
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The 1977 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 18th season overall, and 8th season since joining the NFL. The Raiders entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions. The team could not match its 13–1 record from 1976 and finished 11–3, which was only good enough for second place in the AFC West next to the Denver Broncos, who won 12 games (the two split victories over each other in the regular season).
| 1977 Oakland Raiders season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Al Davis |
| General manager | Al Davis |
| Head coach | John Madden |
| Home stadium | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–3 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC West |
| Playoffs | Won Divisional Playoffs (at Colts) 37–31 (2OT) Lost AFC Championship (at Broncos) 17–20 |
The Raiders reached the AFC Championship Game for the fifth consecutive season, and their sixth in eight years. They lost the AFC Championship, however, to the division rival Denver Broncos.[1] This marked the seventh time in ten seasons that the Raiders' season ended one game short of the Super Bowl. They did not return to the AFC Championship for the next two seasons.
The 1977 Raiders set a professional football record with 681 rushing attempts.[2] Fullback Mark van Eeghen 324 times for 1273 yards, and running back Clarence Davis ran 194 times for 787 yards.[3]
Offseason
NFL draft
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 35 | Mike Davis | DB | Colorado |
| 2 | 56 | Ted McKnight | RB | Minnesota-Duluth |
| 4 | 112 | Mickey Marvin | OG | Tennessee |
| 5 | 126 | Lester Hayes | DB | Texas A&M |
| 5 | 139 | Jeff Barnes | LB | California |
| 7 | 190 | Rich Martini | WR | California-Davis |
| 8 | 223 | Terry Robiskie | RB | Louisiana State |
| 12 | 317 | Rod Martin | LB | Southern California |
| 12 | 334 | Rolf Benirschke | PK | California-Davis |
Personnel
Staff / Coaches
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
- Source:[4]
Roster
- Source:
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 18 | San Diego Chargers | W 24–0 | 1–0 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 51,022 | |
| 2 | September 25 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 16–7 | 2–0 | Three Rivers Stadium | 50,398 | |
| 3 | October 3 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 37–28 | 3–0 | Arrowhead Stadium | 60,684 | |
| 4 | October 9 | at Cleveland Browns | W 26–10 | 4–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 80,236 | |
| 5 | October 16 | Denver Broncos | L 7–30 | 4–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,616 | |
| 6 | October 23 | at New York Jets | W 28–27 | 5–1 | Shea Stadium | 56,734 | |
| 7 | October 30 | at Denver Broncos | W 24–14 | 6–1 | Mile High Stadium | 75,007 | |
| 8 | November 6 | Seattle Seahawks | W 44–7 | 7–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 50,929 | |
| 9 | November 13 | Houston Oilers | W 34–29 | 8–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,667 | |
| 10 | November 20 | at San Diego Chargers | L 7–12 | 8–2 | San Diego Stadium | 50,887 | |
| 11 | November 28 | Buffalo Bills | W 34–13 | 9–2 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 51,558 | |
| 12 | December 4 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 14–20 | 9–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 67,075 | |
| 13 | December 11 | Minnesota Vikings | W 35–13 | 10–3 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 52,771 | |
| 14 | December 18 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 21–20 | 11–3 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 50,304 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Results
Week 1
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Raiders | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
at Oakland Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C) (24.4 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
- TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson, Merlin Olsen
- Box Score
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Week 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Raiders | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
- Date: September 25
- Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game start: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
| 2 | OAK | Errol Mann 21 yard field goal | Raiders 3–0 | |
| 2 | OAK | Errol Mann 40 yard field goal | Raiders 6–0 | |
| 2 | OAK | Errol Mann 41 yard field goal | Raiders 9–0 | |
| 4 | OAK | Mark van Eeghen 8 yard run (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 16–0 | |
| 4 | PIT | Bennie Cunningham 43 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick) | Raiders 16–7 | |
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Raiders | 7 | 6 | 21 | 3 | 37 |
| Chiefs | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
- Date: October 3
- Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
- Game start: 8:00 p.m.
- Television network: ABC
| 1 | OAK | Fred Biletnikoff 21 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann) kick | Raiders 7–0 | |
| 2 | OAK | Errol Mann 42 yard field goal | Raiders 10–0 | |
| 2 | KC | Walter White 48 yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick) | Raiders 10–7 | |
| 2 | KC | Walter White 1 yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick) | Chiefs 14–10 | |
| 2 | KC | Henry Marshall 41 yard pass from Mike Livingston (Jan Stenerud kick) | Chiefs 21–10 | |
| 2 | OAK | Errol Mann 34 yard field goal | Chiefs 21–13 | |
| 3 | OAK | Pete Banaszak 1 yard run (Errol Mann kick) | Chiefs 21–20 | |
| 3 | OAK | Clarence Davis 37 yard run (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 27–21 | |
| 3 | OAK | Clarence Davis 2 yard run (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 34–21 | |
| 4 | KC | Lawrence Williams 13 yard run (Jan Stenerud kick) | Raiders 34–28 | |
| 4 | OAK | Errol Mann 22 yard field goal | Raiders 37–28 | |
Week 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Raiders | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Jets | 13 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
- Date: October 23
- Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York
- Game start: 1:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 56,734
| Q1 | OAK | Mark van Eeghen 3 yard run (Errol Mann kick) | OAK 7–0 | |
| Q1 | NYJ | Jerome Barkum 18 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q1 | OAK | Dave Casper 19 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | OAK 14–7 | |
| Q1 | NYJ | Wesley Walker 87 yard pass from Richard Todd (kick failed) | OAK 14–13 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Rich Caster 14 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) | NYJ 20–14 | |
| Q2 | NYJ | Clark Gaines 14 yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick) | NYJ 27–14 | |
| Q4 | OAK | Fred Biletnikoff 7 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | NYJ 27–21 | |
| Q4 | OAK | Mike Siani 24 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | OAK 28–27 | |
Week 11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| • Raiders | 13 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 34 |
- Date: November 28
- Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Game start: 6:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 51,558
- Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C) • Wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
- Television network: ABC
| 1 | OAK | Cliff Branch 28 yard pass from Ken Stabler (kick failed) | Raiders 6–0 | |
| 1 | BUF | Carson Long 33 yard field goal | Raiders 6–3 | |
| 1 | OAK | Fred Biletnikoff 44 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 13–3 | |
| 2 | BUF | John Kimbrough 29 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Carson Long kick) | Raiders 13–10 | |
| 2 | OAK | Pete Banaszak 1 yard run (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 20–10 | |
| 3 | BUF | Carson Long 40 yard field goal | Raiders 20–13 | |
| 3 | OAK | Cliff Branch 12 yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 27–13 | |
| 3 | OAK | Pete Banaszak 1 yard run (Errol Mann kick) | Raiders 34–13 | |
Week 13
- Network: CBS
- Announcers: Vin Scully, Alex Hawkins
Oakland capitalizing on Minnesota mistakes, scored three times in the first 8 minutes and kept their hopes for a playoff berth alive. "We Got Stomped", Vikings coach Bud Grant said after his team had lost a total of five fumbles and had three passes intercepted. Ken Stabler threw three touchdown passes one to Carl Garrett for 2 yards, and two others to Cliff Branch from 32 and 10 yards. Mark Van Eeghan who rushed for 112 yards on 28 yards got the Raiders day going with a 2-yard touchdown run. While Willie Hall of Super Bowl XI fame scored a fumble recovery touchdown off a Tommy Kramer blunder.
Standings
| AFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Denver Broncos(1) | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 6–1 | 11–1 | 274 | 148 | L1 |
| Oakland Raiders(4) | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 5–2 | 10–2 | 351 | 230 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–4 | 6–6 | 222 | 205 | L2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1–3 | 4–9 | 282 | 373 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1–6 | 1–11 | 225 | 349 | L6 |
Playoffs
Oakland made the playoffs as a wild card and won its divisional round game against the Baltimore Colts when Errol Mann tied the game with a late field goal, set up by a pass to tight end Dave Casper, a play known as the Ghost to the Post. In the second overtime, Casper caught another touchdown pass for the victory.[9][10][11] The following week on New Year's Day, they lost the AFC Championship Game 20–17 in Denver.[1][12][13][14]
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 24 | at Baltimore Colts | W 37–31 (2OT) | 1–0 | Memorial Stadium | 60,763 |
| AFC Championship | January 1, 1978 | at Denver Broncos | L 17–20 | 1–1 | Mile High Stadium | 74,982 |