1974 Buffalo Bills season

1974 Buffalo Bills season
1974 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Lou Saban
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	9–5
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs; (at Steelers) 14–32
	← 1973; Bills seasons; 1975 →;

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.

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

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.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1974 Buffalo Bills draft
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 President – Ralph Wilson Vice President and General Manager – Bob Lustig Vice President – Pat McGroder Head coaches Head Coach – Lou Saban Offensive coaches Receivers – Bob Shaw Offensive Line – Jim Ringo			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Stan Jones Linebackers – John Ray Defensive Backfield – Bill Atkins Special teams coaches Special Teams – Ed Cavanaugh

Roster

**1974 Buffalo Bills roster**

	Quarterbacks 12 Joe Ferguson 16 Scott Hunter 17 Gary Marangi Running backs 34 Jim Braxton FB 29 Don Calhoun 21 Gary Hayman 32 O. J. Simpson 36 Larry Watkins Wide receivers 81 Bob Chandler 89 Wallace Francis 47 Clint Haslerig 40 J. D. Hill 27 Ahmad Rashad Tight ends 88 Reuben Gant 87 Paul Seymour		Offensive linemen 60 Bill Adams G 68 Joe DeLamielleure G 70 Dave Foley T 74 Donnie Green T 76 Halvor Hagen T 67 Reggie McKenzie G 53 Mike Montler C 65 Nick Nighswander C 61 Willie Parker G Defensive linemen 64 Dave Costa DT 72 Don Croft DT 74 Earl Edwards DE 71 Mike Kadish DT 77 Dave Means DE 85 Walt Patulski DE 62 Jeff Yeates DE		Linebackers 59 Doug Allen 50 Jim Cheyunski 30 Bo Cornell 52 Merv Krakau 55 John Skorupan 86 Dave Washington Defensive backs 22 Bill Cahill CB 42 Neal Craig SS 43 Tony Greene FS 28 Dwight Harrison CB 20 Robert James CB 45 Rex Kern FS 26 Donnie Walker CB Special teams 11 Spike Jones P 3 John Leypoldt K		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

Game summaries

Week 1

- Buffalo Snaps the Raiders MNF winning streak**

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	3	7	10	20
• Bills	0	7	0	14	21

Date: September 16
Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Game start: 9:00 p.m.
Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers (ABC Monday Night Football): Frank Gifford , Howard Cosell, Alex Karras

^[9]

Week 8

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bills	6	13	7	3	29
Patriots	7	14	7	0	28

Date: November 3
Location: Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
Referee: Ben Dreith

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	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	3	4	Total
Bills	7	0	7	0	14
Steelers	3	26	0	3	32

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Date: December 22
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: Light snow, 33 °F (1 °C)
Game attendance: 48,321
Referee: Norm Schachter
TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson and John Brodie
Box Score

Game information

References

External links

1974 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com

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v t e Buffalo Bills
Founded in 1960 Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York
Franchise	Franchise History Players Seasons Pro Bowl selections First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Coaches NFL in Toronto
Stadiums	War Memorial Stadium Highmark Stadium Rogers Centre (Bills Toronto Series) New Highmark Stadium (set to open in 2026)
Culture	Ralph Wilson Billy Buffalo Buffalo Jills Ken "Pinto Ron" Johnson Tim Russert Buffalo '66 Second String Flutie Flakes "Shout" song "3 Acts of God" Elway to Marino Four Falls of Buffalo Zubaz "No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!"
Lore	Electric Company Wide Right No Punt Game The Comeback Music City Miracle Snowvertime Hail Murray 13 Seconds
Rivalries	Kansas City Chiefs Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets Tennessee Titans
Division championships (14)	1964 1965 1966 1980 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1995 2020 2021 2022 2023
Conference championships (4)	1990 1991 1992 1993
League championships (2)	1964 1965
Wall of Fame	Simpson Kemp McGroder Sestak Shaw Wilson 12th Man Dubenion Stratton Ferguson Levy DeLamielleure James Abramoski Kalsu Saimes Kelly Smerlas Hull Talley Ritcher Thomas Reed Tasker Smith Edgerson Hansen Polian Miller Saban Gilchrist
Media	Broadcasters Radio Radio Network WGR 550 Television MSG Western New York Personalities: John Murphy Chris Brown Van Miller Eric Wood Steve Tasker
Owners	Ralph Wilson Pegula family Terry Kim
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)
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